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- Attache ta tuque! This phrase is used to express excitement or anticipation. It is often used when something thrilling or unexpected is about to happen.
- Fais-le au plus sacrant! This phrase is used to urge someone to do something quickly or without hesitation. It conveys a sense of urgency or impatience.
- C’est le fun! This phrase is used to express enjoyment or excitement about something. It conveys a sense of fun and pleasure. For example, if someone suggests going to an amusement park, someone might respond, “C’est le fun!”
- Jaser. This verb is used to describe the act of chatting or having a conversation. It can refer to casual or friendly conversations. For instance, if someone is talking to a friend on the phone, they might say, “Je jase avec mon ami.”
Oct 23, 2024 · Canadian French words are pretty unique – copain (boyfriend) becomes chum, copine (girlfriend) becomes blonde, and voiture (car) becomes char. If the reason why you want to learn French is related to Canada – you have a Canadian French-speaking partner or you’re planning to study there, for example – it makes sense to familiarize yourself with the common words and expressions.
Discover essential French-Canadian slang terms and phrases to understand the Québécois culture and language.
The differences between French from France and French from Canada are mainly in pronunciation. But some Canadian French words and expressions are local specialties. As for Canadian French swear words, you will notice that they mainly refer to Christian rites or objects. While French swear words are almost always related to sex or sexual behaviours.
- Attache Ta Tuque
- Aweille
- Bibitte
- Boss Des Bécosses
- Correct
- Coupe Longueuil
- Là
- Patnais
- Tiguidou
- Quétaine
Québeckers encourage each other to “get ready” with the expression attache ta tuque! (“attach your tuque!”). Tuque is the word used throughout Canada to refer to the hibernal headwear elsewhere known as a “beanie” or a “knit cap.” It’s essentially a very Québec way to say “hold on to your hat” or “fasten your seatbelt.” As Université de Montréal pr...
It’s pronounced like the English “away,” but comes from the French verb “to send” (envoyer), and expresses encouragement (or exasperation), something like “let’s go” or “c’mon.” Aweille can be spelled in a multiplicity of ways (awèye, envouèye, enwoye, etc.), though “aweille” was the spelling chosen by the hip-hop group Dead Obies for their 2016 hi...
With apologies to speakers of Louisiana French (who use it as a vulgarity), bibitte in Québec refers literally to a bug (like the ubiquitous mosquito) and metaphorically to one of life’s little troubles that is similarly irritating.
Another earthy expression, a boss des bécosses is literally the “boss of the outhouses.” It refers to someone who exercises an authoritarian attitude (usually when such an attitude is unnecessary, unhelpful, or comically exaggerated). Bécosse is thought to derive from the old-fashioned English word for a latrine, “backhouse.” Though the expression ...
Correct is the Québecois equivalent of the English “OK,” and is used just as often. “C’est correct” (“it’s OK” or “it’s all good”) can be used to console and reassure or express understanding and satisfaction. Just don’t pronounce the Ts: it’s “say correck,” not “set correct.” But don’t worry. C’est correctif you forget and pronounce it anyway.
Known elsewhere in North America as a “mullet,” this business in the front, party in the back hairstyle is known as the coupe Longueuil (“Longueuil cut”) after the Montréal suburb. Currently making the improbable—or, as they say in Québec, “l’improbable”—comeback, the coup Longueuil has a special place in hockey, where one’s hair, or “flow,” is an ...
It’s technically the word for “there,” but you’ll often just hear it at the end of an expression. There it functions as Québec’s second-most frequently used discourse marker, a word like “like” or “you know” that punctuates speech. You can add it to basically any sentence in order to sound more authentically Canadian. (Bonus fact: English speakers ...
Since the 1960s, Québec has been a destination for many Haitian immigrants who have brought a rich trove of Creole words to the informal lexicon of Québec. Patnais (or patnè) is one such word. It refers to a friend in the singular form or “the gang” (les patnais) in the plural. Patnais joins many other familiar words for a friendly acquaintance, in...
Tiguidou is an old-timey expression of satisfaction and contentment. If things are going perfectly in life, everything is tiguidou. Its origins are unclear, though it may derive from the English tickety-boo. The word is so popular (and appealing) that it’s even used as the brand namefor a Québec cheddar cheese.
Speaking of cheese, quétaine is the Québecois word for “cheesy” (as an adjective) or “cheese” (as noun) used to describe or refer to something kitschy, old-fashioned, or just generally unappealing. Its origin is uncertain, though one amusing folk etymology holds that it derives from a family from the town of Saint-Hyacinthenamed Keating (or Keaton)...
Sep 19, 2023 · Also spelled ‘touque’ or ‘toque’, this word from Old French originally meant a hat. In Canada, both in English and French, it means a beanie, or a warm wool head covering for winter. That is called a ‘bonnet’ in France. ‘Toque’ is still used but it refers specifically to a chef’s hat, ‘une toque blanche’.
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May 1, 2023 · As such, Quebec has developed its own dialect of French that not only differs in grammar and vocabulary from Standard (Parisian French), but also from other varieties of French within Canada. Best of all, Quebecois French also has its own fascinating—and highly useful—French slang words and expressions. I’ve already used one: c’est le fun!
