Saturday, November 25, 2006

The French Are Annoyed

One night at dinner with Melanie and her parents, the topic came up on how to translate into English certain French expressions of annoyance. The general conclusion was that in English, things can be irksome, things can bug you, irritate you, maybe bother you, and things can be perturbing but generally, you'll just say that it's all annoying.

In French, however, there are many different ways to express annoyance, all of varying degrees of intensity. Once you are in France and comfortably integrated, you will notice how often the French are bothered and find things, situations, and people "annoying."

Melanie's mom concluded that perhaps it is because the French (wo)man (somehow "le Français" sounds better) loves complaining and is often unsatisfied. Everyone's a critic but I wouldn't be surprised if someone told me the French invented that expression just so they wouldn't feel so alone.

Not a comprehensive list but the following are some expressions I have heard the most:
C'est chiant:
literally translated into "it's/that's shitty" but shitty in an annoying way. You can also say il/elle est chiant(e). This expression is the one most often used.

Ça fait chier/ça me fait chier: you can make the literal translation, it does and doesn't make sense in English.

J'en ai marre!: "I've had enough!" [Note: bears resemblance but no relation in terms of meaning to c'est/il/elle est marrant(e) which means "that's/s/he's hilarious".]

Ça m'embête: "That bugs me!" You can also say, c'est/il/elle est embêtant(e).

J'en ai ras-le-bol!: To understand this one, I was told to picture a bowl being filled to the brim and pretty much spilling over, as a visual expression of how you feel. Maybe equivalent to when people say "I've had it up to here!" and make that cutting gesture at their necks.

Ça me soûle: Maybe equivalent to "that pisses me off." This one is quite strong. You can also say tu/il/elle me soûle. [Note: not to be confused with je suis/il/elle est soûle which means "I am/s/he is drunk".

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