h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Another confusing and ubiquitous word.

Unlike the English 'sympathetic', there is no sense of compassion or pity. "Sympathique/sympa" means nice, friendly, easy to talk to, when talking of people. "Très sympa" = very nice.
When it comes to inanimate objects, it also means very nice.
"Un petit coin très sympa" = a very attractive area
"Cette tarte a l'air assez sympathique" = this tart/pie looks appetising.

And of course, used ironically for 'nasty'. Hence this exchange:
"Il dit que sa femme est une une gourde.
- Sympa!"
meaning
"He says his wife is a ninny."
"How nasty of him"

ML is "très sympa" on the whole. And hootoo too.

Hi Martine, don't know whether you'll see this.

Offspring learned "sympa" at school - precisely the sort of useful expression hidden from my generation by the Grammarians of "O" Level.

However, my au-paring days brought me "chouette" usually "c'est chouette ca", and "vachement". Never quite gleaned what their force was: child-orientated, 70's French equivalent of "brill" or even "awesome". or less transient than that?

pj

Hello, pj. I also picked up "vachement" and "chouette" in my younger days, and was even known to use them together ("ah, c'est vachement chouette, ca!") (please imagine the cedilla there). This was in the early 1980s. I have since been told by French friends that these are Belgian expressions. I'd love to hear Martine's views. Cheers. Gaye

You've lured me away from work both of you.

"Vachement" and "Chouette" are still used by my generation, the former less so by the more refined. But the young would say things like "Il est trop ce mec" (this guy is awesome). I sometimes use it to O/H : mutton dressed as lamb as it were.

No, no , perfectly valid French phrases. "Vachement" was considered mildly vulgar, my mother would never have uttered it.

Showing our age, in this household, we use : "il a été très chouette" (he was very kind) or " C'est chouette" (it's lovely/perfect), not for Berlioz but for a gardening job well done or a piece of furniture finding its right place.

Vous êtes très chouettes toutes les deux, I must say.

Btw a chouette is an owl.

Hello Gaye

Yes - I'd be interested to hear from Martine on that as well. Both expressions are used by my Belgian cousins so you may well be right!

Re cedillas etc (ignore this if you know it already!). You can produce accents by holding down the ALT key and typing on the numeric pad comme suit:


131 â
133 à
135 ç
130 é
138 è
147 ô

Useful if you haven't got a French keyboard!

Portia

Thanks, Martine - most enlightening.

Just pursuing the owl theme: would chouette be barn owl and hibou tawny owl? My French dictionary just says "owl" for both; the bird book is away with OH at the moment; but Google Images seems to indicate as above.

Gaye

Portia, thanks. I lose track of the number of times I've written these down and promptly lost them - shall try to do better this time! Gaye

Gaye

I kept doing exactly the same but eventually copied them into Notepad and now have a shortcut so they're always to hand.

Go on - you know it makes sense!

Portia