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FRENCH WORD OF THE DAY

French Word of the Day: tiens

"Tiens, tiens, tiens" -- it's impossible to avoid this five letter word when you're in France - but be careful, it has more than one (very common) meaning.

French Word of the Day: tiens
Photo: Depositphotos

Why do I need to know tiens?

Tiens is said all the time in France, particularly when someone is serving you food and drink, and while in certain situations it can be easy to guess what people mean when they say it, that isn't always the case. 

So, what does tiens mean?

One of the meanings of tiens is 'here you go' or 'there you go'. For example: Tu me pretes un stylo? – Tiens — Can I borrow a pen? – Here you go.

You'll hear this use of tiens, along with the plural form tenez, very frequently in places like cafes and bars as the server hands you your order. 

The plural form works in exactly the same way: Tenez, je vous ai acheté des fraises – 'Here, I bought you some strawberries.'

However tiens can also be used to indicate surprise. 

In this situation it would be the equivalent of someone saying 'damn', 'blast', 'well' or else 'darn' or shoot' in American English. 

For example, Tiens, je me suis encore trompé! (Damn, I got it wrong again!).

On top of that it can also be used to draw attention to something. 

So, for example, if you hear someone say Tiens, prends ce vase et pose-le là-bas. (Hey, take this vase and put it over there). 

All uses of tiens are very colloquial so it's important to avoid using it when you're in a formal environment. 

 

Pronunciation

Here's a handy YouTube video to help you get the right pronunciation of tiens.

 

For more French Expressions and French Words of the Day you can CLICK HERE to see our full list.

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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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