My Favorite Qubcois Canadian French Expressions

My Favorite Qubcois Canadian French Expressions As Quebec French language is very rich and full of nuances, it is difficult to choose a few representative phrases. Nevertheless, after much debate, this is my top list. These expressions are difficult to translate, so make sure you read the example to really get the meaning. I also added the French from France equivalent whenever I could. Enjoy! Michel is French and Canadian. He lives in the gorgeous island of Belle-Isle in Brittany where he offers  French immersion. He also taught at McGill in Montreal where he also spends a few months each year. 1 -  Avoir de la misà ¨reJ’ai ben d’la misà ¨re jouer au tennisLiteral translation: I have a lot of misery playing tennisIt means: I’ve got difficulty playing tennis.â€Å"Ben† comes from bien and means â€Å"beaucoup†, a lot of.In â€Å"franà §ais de France†, one would say : j’ai du mal jouer au tennis. 2 -  Avoir son voyageJ’ai mon voyage! Literal translation: I’ve got my trip, I have traveled.It indicates that you are surprised, or that you are fed up.In franà §ais de France, one would say : à §a alors! (to indicate surprise) Or j’en ai marre ! (to say youre fed up). 3 -  Le boss des bà ©cossesIl se prend pour le boss des bà ©cosses. Literal translation: he thinks he is the toilets boss.One would say that about someone who wants to lead a group of people who do not want any leader. Les bà ©cosses, a familiar feminine plural word, comes from the English word back-house and means toilets. 4 - C’est l’fonne!C’est ben l’fonne It’s really fun. See the Quà ©bà ©cois transformation of the English word fun into fonne, the word that doesnt exist at all in French from France. Note however that Canadian use both spellings, fun (more common) or fonne.The opposite phrase would be: c’est platte. It literally means it is flat (from the literal translation plat, but put in a Quà ©bà ©cois way...) but really means it is dull. Continues on page 2 Continued from Page 1 5 - En titiIl est riche en titi.It means he is very rich, so en titi means very.The origin of this adverbial phrase is unknown. 6 - Être aux oiseauxQuand il à ©coute de la musique, il est aux oiseauxWhen he listens to music, he belongs to birdsIt means to be very happy, ecstatic.In French from France,  one would say aux anges (with the angels). 7 - Ya du monde la messeQuand ya des soldes, ya du monde la messe.When there are sales, there are people for Mass.It means its crowded. Note the common street French way to say (sometimes even write ya instead of il-y-a. This is true for both Canadian and French from France French)In French from France, one would say il y a foule. I will be adding more expressions soon, so be informed of new articles, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter (its easy, you just enter your email address - look for it its somewhere on the French language homepage) or follow me on my social network pages below. I post exclusive mini lessons, tips, pictures and more daily on my Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest pages - so press the links below - talk to you there! https://www.facebook.com/frenchtoday https://twitter.com/frenchToday https://www.pinterest.com/frenchtoday/ More articles I wrote about Canadian French: - Dialogue in French Canadian ≠  Franà §ais de France English translation- My favorite French Canadian Expressions- 7 Best French Canadian Idioms- Love in Quà ©bà ©cois French