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FRENCH WORD OF THE DAY

French expression of the day: Genre

This youthful expression is a must-know if you want to understand French teenagers.

French expression of the day: Genre

Why do I need to know genre?

Young people use it all the time so if you want to hang out with the hip crowd, or just understand what your own teenagers are on about, this one is for you.

What does it mean?

There are two types of genre: the term that means “gender” in English and the slang version, which is slightly more complicated. When used as slang, genre can most often be translated into “like” in English.

When used this way, genre – like “like” – is neither adding any value to the sentence or necessary for the sentence to make sense. But it makes you sound young and hip:

Genre, je n'avais pas de choix – Like, I didn't have any choice.

Il n'avait genre aucun respect pour moi – He had, like, no respect for me.

Any other options?

Another way of using genre is through the expression faire genre, or pretend to do something.

J'ai fais genre de ne pas comprendre – I pretended not to understand.

Elle a fait genre de m'écouter – She pretended to listen to me.

It can also be used as a way of expressing rejection of an idea or a statement. 

Oh, genre! – Oh, as if!

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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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