Originally Posted by
etch5895
"Mazel Tov" (Yiddish) is so much more powerful and classy than merely saying "Congratulations", which comes off as a little formal and overbearing.
Mazel tov, מזל טוב
is in fact, Hebrew.
Originally Posted by
WIRunner
I was just thinking that "I love you" in French is a very "loving" way to say it. . ."
Whether it's "I love you" or "je t'aime" it's all in who is saying it and how.
Originally Posted by
NotDuncan
Voulez vous coucher avec moi?
No French person says this.
Originally Posted by
MSPeconomist
Also, voyage d'affaires translates as business class, not a cruise with your mistress.
"Un voyage d'affaires" is a business trip. Business class is "class affaires."
Originally Posted by
brendog
It depends on the dialect. I'm still a fan of the old fashioned "foutre". As used in a sentence, and very handy for Montreal traffic: Va te faire foutre! (The familiar form of go f**k yourself...).
I don't know about Montreal, but in Paris you are better off with "enculer" to make that point.
Originally Posted by
brendog
Not surprisingly, masturbate (se masturber) is a reflexive verb in French.
Better off using "se branler" if you're being insulting.
Originally Posted by
M60_to_LGA
Not just in high school. I've taken French classes with adults at various Alliances Francaises in the US, and the only guys under the age of, say, 50 who are in the classes are gay.
. . .
French is more for people with, shall we say, aesthetic pretentions
Were you ever at the Alliance on East 60th Street in Manhattan?
One of my classmates in the Intensive series was getting ready to study at INSEAD, another for a company transfer. Do I need to go on?
Originally Posted by
cubbie
My French is only what I learned in high school, but what I recall being taught (way back in the late 70s) is that although technically tu is acceptable when addressing someone younger and when speaking with close friends, in practice, vous is almost always used; tu tends to be reserved for, say, small children and pets. So it's like a 90-10 mix of vous and tu--or at least, it used to be.
They say that "tu" is becoming more popular in France because of the influence of Twitter, texting, etc.