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FRENCH WORD OF THE DAY

French Word of the Day: hein

Huh? What? Not sure what hein means? Or even how to pronounce it? Read on, please.

French Word of the Day: hein
Photo: Depositphotos
Why do I need to know hein?
 
French speakers pepper informal conversation with hein all the time. It’s one of those words that no one teaches in school, but will make you sound a lot more natural when you talk. 
 
What does it mean?
 
Hein is an interjection which is used to pose a question or seek confirmation. It is usually found at the end of a phrase, but also sometimes at the beginning or on its own, and serves a number of different purposes. 
 
Hein?, when it’s on its own or at the beginning of a phrase, is very similar to the English ‘huh?’ or ‘what?’, used to indicate that the speaker has not understood something and would like it to be repeated. As in, Hein? Qu’est-ce que tu as dit? – ‘Huh? What did you say?’
 
And just like ‘what?’, hein? used in this way can also indicate the surprise of the speaker, rather than that they have not heard what the person they are talking with has said: Hein? Tu as déjà fini? – ‘What? You already finished?’
 
It can also be used to insist on a response, even when the speaker may already suspect that they know the answer: Pourquoi est-ce que vous êtes en retard, hein? Vous êtes réveillé tard ? – ‘Why are you late, huh? Did you wake up late?’
 
Or to simply solicit the agreement of the listener, like ‘eh?’ or ‘right?’, especially at the end of the phrase. For example, Ce n’est pas si facile que ça, hein? – ‘It’s not so easy, right?’
 
Finally, hein can be used at the end of a phrase to emphasize what has just been said, as in Laissez-moi tranquille, hein! – Let me be, ok? (In this case, no question is actually being asked).
 
However hein is used, it's usually in an informal context, and is the kind of filler word you want to avoid in presentations at work or school.
 
How is it pronounced?
 
While written as hein, remember that the h is silent and the n is not actually an ‘n’, but signals the presence of a nasal vowel.
 
For those familiar with the International Phonetic Alphabet, hein is written as ɛ̃. For those who are not, the closest way to write it in English would probably be ‘uh?’, but rather than drawing the ‘u’ out, cut it short and hold your nose while you say it. Or better yet, watch the YouTube video below and hear a French person say it at least 15 times…
 
How do I use hein?
 
Still not sure how to use hein ? This video gives plenty of examples, explained by an actual Frenchman.
 
 

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FRENCH WORD OF THE DAY

French Word of the Day: Flipper

This French word does not have anything to do with marine mammals.

French Word of the Day: Flipper

Why do I need to know flipper?

Because this anglicism is used a bit differently in French than it would be in English.

What does it mean?

Flipper – roughly pronounced flea-pay – is a colloquial French term and these days it means to be upset or overly anxious. People often use it similarly to the English expression ‘to freak out’.

As you may have expected, the term is an anglicism, and it comes from the English word ‘to flip’. 

However, in French it does not mean to literally flip something over – you would use renverser for that. It comes from a different usage of the word ‘flip’, more in line with ‘losing one’s head’.

The word started being popular in France in the 1970s, and at that time it was almost exclusively used to describe the experience of ‘freaking out’ or having a bad trip after taking LSD or other hallucinogenic drugs, according to Le Figaro.

Over time, it started to refer to the period of depression many people experience after feelings of euphoria when high, as well as the anxiety that one might feel due to withdrawal. 

Nowadays, people mainly use it to refer to any irrational response. You can also call something flippant (shocking).

A more formal synonym for flipper might be paniquer.

And if you find yourself in an arcade, you may hear the word a few times, as flipper is also the French term for a pinball machine.

Use it like this

Arrête de flipper, on va être à l’heure.  – Stop freaking out, we’re going to be on time.

Les résultats des élections m’ont vraiment fait flipper. Mes amis n’ont pas été surpris pour autant. – The results of the election really freaked me out. My friends weren’t surprised though.

J’ai flippé en regardant le film d’horreur. – I freaked out when I was watching the horror movie.

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