51吃瓜

French phrases with flair

By one estimate, 29% of English vocabulary comes from French,听merci beaucoup. Another 29% comes from Latin, of which French is, essentially, a modern form.

As if that’s not enough, English has straight up lifted many other expressions听directly from French. And, where it hasn’t borrowed, English has repurposed the language of love for its various needs鈥攅specially in the romance department.

So, we’ve gathered some French-inspired expressions and slang words that will have you saying o辞丑-濒补-濒补听because everyone wants to speak a foreign language, right? Especially one that sounds so enticing.

ooh-la-la

ooh-la-la听a great place to start. Many听Anglophones associate this expression with romance and sexual attraction, ever stereotyped as the 尘茅迟颈别谤 of the French. Your partner听steps out of the听boudoir wearing something 谤颈蝉辩耻茅听补苍诲鈥�ooh-la-la!

The expression is from the French听oh l脿 l脿, and, for听Francophones, it isn’t necessarily sexy. In its friendliest form, oh l脿 l脿听can convey delighted surprise, but it especially shows frustration. And the more 濒脿’s there are, the more annoyed the speaker is. Oh l脿 l脿 l脿 l脿 l脿 l脿! Speaking of expressing love and romance 鈥�

mon 肠丑茅谤颈

Mon 肠丑茅谤颈 is a classic example of a French expression used in English for romantic flair. It听means “my dear” or “sweetheart” and is a term of听endearment听for a male person someone is fond of, romantically or听platonically. The female equivalent is ma 肠丑茅谤颈e.Mon 肠丑茅谤颈听is听used to add some French 茅肠濒补迟 to English speech or writing, like a fancier way to say听my听boo听or听honey. While the expression is properly written with an听acute accent听over the听E听in听肠丑茅谤颈, English often drops it. English users are also likely to use听mon cheri听for men or women, unlike the French.Mon 肠丑茅谤颈 isn’t only used for romantic attraction, though. It can be used as a term of endearment for children too, in both English and French.

Amourshipping

We all know amour听is French, right. But, in this case, this French word for “love,”听amour,听shows up in a world that might seem far from Paris: 笔辞办茅尘辞苍.

In the anime series听笔辞办茅尘辞苍,听Amourshipping听(frequently capitalized) refers to fan theories, fiction, and art about a romantic relationship between the characters Ash and Serena. The word听is a blend of the French word听amour听and听shipping.听Amour听was chosen because Ash and Serena travel through a region called Kalos, which is French-inspired.听Shipping听is a slang term in many fan communities for taking an emotional interest in the romantic relationship between two fictional characters or famous people.

D’aww, adorable! But, not all French-inspired slang words are so cute 鈥�

the clap

If you’ve got a burning in your loins鈥攁nd not in a desirous, metaphorical way鈥攜ou might want go to the doctor to get checked out for the clap.听The听clap听is a very old slang term for a sexually transmitted disease (STD), generally gonorrhea. It is said to come from the 13th-century French听clapoire, or听clapier听in Modern French, meaning 鈥渞abbit hutch.鈥� And we all know about rabbits.

Later, clapoire听was extended as a term for 鈥渂rothel,鈥� where one might contract an STD, lending听clapoire听as a term for such an illness or the sores that come with it.听Clapoire听is found in English as听clap听by the 1560s. Some people say it came from an (un-evidenced) medieval practice of听clapping听one鈥檚 genitalia with the hands or another object to reduce the pain of swelling and somehow cure the disease. Uh, OK.

In contemporary English,听the clap听most commonly refers to听gonorrhea, but it can also be used to describe almost any STD that makes your听nether听regions burn.

c'est la vie

C鈥檈st la vie听literally means 鈥渢his is the life鈥� in French, taken as 鈥渢hat鈥檚 life.鈥� Found in French well before, the expression was borrowed into English by the 1880s.

While modern French speakers certainly understand the phrase,听c鈥檈st la vie听is especially common among English speakers, especially in the face of minor setbacks. (Actual French speakers would more likely say c’est la guerre, which means “it is the war,” or tant pis, “too bad.”)

In everyday speech and writing, people usually issue a听c鈥檈st la vie听to shrug off slight disappointments or signal resigned acceptance of some unpleasant affairs or facts.

Another French expression that English speakers still use, even though it’s not really au courant (current) with actual French speakers is 鈥�

sacr茅 bleu

The term听sacr茅 bleu听is a dated, stereotypical French expression meant to express astonishment, shock, or amazement. In historical France, Christians were worried about people taking their lord鈥檚 name in vain. So, they proposed all kinds of alternatives to saying such expressions as Mon Dieu!听(鈥淢y God!鈥�) like听morbleu听and听parbleu,听akin to English euphemisms like听golly听or听gosh听for听God.Bleu, meaning 鈥渂lue鈥� in French, rhymes with听Dieu, making it a handy way to avoid听blasphemy. One of these ways to avoid explicitly swearing was听sacrebleu.听Typically written in French as one word and without an accent,听sacrebleu听is attested to as early as 1552, although it didn鈥檛 really catch on until the early 19th听century.听Sacr茅听in French means 鈥渟acred,鈥� so taken together,听sacrebleu,听literally means 鈥淗oly blue!鈥� instead of听sacr茅 Dieu听(鈥淗oly God!鈥�)

By 1805,听sacrebleu, written variously as听sacr茅 bleu听or听sacre bleu听in English, was used in writings by the British about French people. In order to show how French a person or character was, they might sprinkle in a听sacr茅 bleu听as an exclamation into the text. Ironically,听sacrebleu听as a minced oath dropped largely out of use in French in the mid-1900s. But, that hasn鈥檛 stopped Anglophone writers from using it as a mark of stereotypical Frenchness.

You might even say that an English-speaker who says sacrebleu is a 鈥�

poseur

The word听poseur听in English听is something of a听poser.

The verb听poser听in French means 鈥渢o place鈥� or 鈥渢o set.鈥� In 17th-century French, a听poseur (a personal noun听form)听referred to “someone who placed objects, typically in the construction sense, such听 as someone who paves roads or installs floor tiles.” This meaning persists and was the main meaning of听poseur听until the mid-19th听century.

The word听poseur听entered English by 1869 in its sense听of 鈥渙ne who practices affected attitudes.鈥� By the early 20th听century,听poseur听was in widespread use in English to describe someone who pretended to be something they were not, especially someone who is superficial and trendy.

Using听辫辞蝉别耻谤鈥�often听Anglicized as poser鈥斕�as an insult remains a trademark of any alternative or underground scene, particularly skating, punk, goth, and geek subcultures. Calling someone a听poser听implies they don鈥檛 really know or care about all the听nuances听of, say,听Star Trek听the way a听real听trekkie would. Of course, labelling someone a poser might give them 鈥�

ennui

The word听ennui听comes from an old听French word听meaning 鈥減rofound sadness, chagrin, or disgust.鈥� Among French speakers,听ennui听can also refer to 鈥渄isagreeableness.鈥� It comes from a Latin word that also gives us the word听annoy.

English borrowed听ennui听by the 1660s to express a 鈥渨eary boredom鈥� that results from dissatisfaction or idleness. A 1778 definition of听bore听describes it as a 鈥渢hing which causes ennui or annoyance.鈥� Like in French,听ennui听became used in English to describe a feeling of discontent almost as if it were an actual object. It usually connotes a kind of wistful听listlessness.Ennui is hard to define in English. It has an听ineffable French-ness that you might even refer to as a certain 鈥�

je ne sais quoi

Je ne sais quoi听literally means “I don’t know what” in French. The phrase was borrowed into English as early as the 1650s as “an expression of a听quality that makes something or someone attractive, distinctive, or special in some way, but is hard to put into words.”

Often phrased a certain je ne sais quoi,听the saying is similar to the English expression听a certain something, although听the original French has a kind of听je ne sais quoi听all its own,听don鈥檛 you think?Je ne sais quoi听continued on in English through the centuries, used widely in speech and writing as a learned expression that can lend a text or utterance a sophistication鈥攐r听pretentiousness. The 鈥渟pecial sauce鈥� that听je ne sais quoi听conveys is almost always positive or desirable in some way.