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FRENCH WORD OF THE DAY

French phrase of the day: J’avoue !

If you hear somebody use this exclamation, don't worry, they're not about to confess to a crime.

French phrase of the day: J’avoue !
Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond

Why do I need to know j’avoue?

It’ll help you better understand the young French people in your life.

What does it mean?

J’avoue, from the verb avouer, means “I confess”, or “I admit”. There’s nothing unusual or informal about the verb itself – for instance, you might say, Il a avoué le meurtre de son patron – He confessed to murdering his boss.

Or in casual conversation, you could say J’avoue que je n’ai pas fait beaucoup de sport pendant le confinement – I’ll admit that I didn’t do a lot of exercise during lockdown.

It’s pronounced the same way as vous, to rhyme with ‘you’ in English.  

But these days you’re more likely to hear somebody use j’avoue on its own. Particularly among younger French people, it’s often used as an informal way of expression agreement with something that’s just been said. In this case, you’re admitting that the person you’re speaking to makes a good point.

If you think exclaiming “I admit” doesn’t make much sense, you’re not alone, because its use divides opinion in France itself. Be sure to judge your audience before trying this one out – much like verlan slang, it’s an element of speech which traditionalists find particularly upsetting.

“You might not have noticed right away, but there is somebody living in your home whose entire vocabulary seems to have suddenly flown away only to be replaced by this strange expression which seems to mean ‘yeah’, ‘yes’, or, ‘I agree with you’,” complains one writer in Elle magazine.

Use it like this

Elle aurait pu nous prévenir si elle ne voulait pas venir ! – J’avoue. – She could have let us know if she didn’t want to come. – I know, right?

Tu as déjà rencontré son frère ? Il est grave cool.- Ouais, j’avoue. – Have you met his brother? He’s really cool. Yeah, true!

Ces frites sont trop bonnes. – J’avoue. – These chips are so good. – Totally.

Synonyms

Grave ! – Absolutely!

Tu m’étonnes – Tell me about it

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FRENCH WORD OF THE DAY

French Word of the Day: Métropole

This French word might come up when learning about why France has 12 time zones.

French Word of the Day: Métropole

Why do I need to know métropole?

Because you might be curious about this distinction that is sometimes made before talking about France.

What does it mean?

Métropole – roughly pronounced may-troh-pole – translates as ‘metropolis’ in English. 

Most of the time, you will hear this word from public figures, local officials and the French press when discussing the urban area encompassing a city. As such, you could talk about la métropole de Bordeaux or la métropole de Lyon – this is a defined area that includes both the city and its suburbs or sometimes even a neighbouring town.

Explained: How French métropoles, départements and communes work

It is also the term used to distinguish mainland France from its overseas territories, as such you might hear people say la France métropolitaine, or just la Métropole. This is similar to how people might use L’Hexagone to refer to mainland France, which is sort of shaped like a hexagon.

You may hear people discuss the situation in la Métropole to draw comparisons with France’s overseas territories (referred to as les DOM, départements d’outre-mer), particularly when it comes to issues of inequality. 

Use it like this

Le taux de chômage est plus élevé dans les DOM qu’en métropole -The rate of unemployment is higher in the overseas territories than in mainland France.

Elle est de la métropole, elle n’a jamais visité la Martinique. – She is from mainland France, she has never visited Martinique.

La France métropolitaine n’a qu’un seul fuseau horaire, mais si l’on considère les territoires d’outre-mer, il y a 12 fuseaux horaires français. – Mainland France is only under one timezone, but when you consider the overseas territories there are 12 French time zones.

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