SHARE
COPY LINK
For members

FRENCH WORD OF THE DAY

French Word of the Day: Genre

This French word is useful if you want to sound French, but you're still not quite sure how to express yourself.

French Word of the Day: Genre
Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond

Why do I need to know genre?

Because genre is used all the time in conversation in France, even if people aren’t talking about anything to do with gender or movies. 

What does it mean?

Genre is roughly pronounced jahn-ruh, though the last bit is very understated so you end up saying more of a nasally ‘jahn’.

Aside from being the French term for ‘gender’, it can also be translated as ‘type’, which may explain why we use it in English to discuss the different categories for films and novels.

It has many uses in French, but you’ll mostly hear people use genre as a filler word to imply a certain degree of vagueness or nonchalance, similar to the way English speakers will (over) use the word ‘like’.

So genre can precede an estimation, and mean ‘about’ or ‘more or less’. For example, Le mec faisait, genre, 2 mètres et 120 kilos. (The guy was, like, 6 foot 6 and 260 pounds.)

It can also be used to vaguely describe a certain ‘type’, often when giving examples, as in the following example: J’aime bien les chanteuses françaises genre Zaz ou Carla Bruni. (I like French singers, like Zaz or Carla Bruni.)

Since genre is a filler word, you may also hear it pop up in conversation without any real meaning or explanation.

As you can probably tell, using genre in this way probably won’t make you sound more educated or professional (though it may make you sound more natural or laid-back), so it’s probably best to save it for informal social situations or conversations with teenagers.

Use it like this

On a bu genre 5 bouteilles de vin avant de sortir. – We drank like 5 bottles of wine before going out.

Je la trouve prétentieuse, genre trop belle pour traîner avec des gens comme nous. – I find her pretentious, like, too beautiful to hang out with people like us.

Member comments

  1. In one of Truffaut’s later films (“L’Amour en fuite” perhaps?) I recall that Jean-Pierre Leaud is followed on to a train by a private detective described by Marie-France Pisier as ‘Un type genre Lino Ventura’. Played, of course, by Lino Ventura.

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

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.

SHOW COMMENTS