common french phrases

Some french phrases I'm complying from various sources as a reference for myself and other students .

en fait- in fact; used in pretty much every sentence who knows why

ça marche- that works

c'est bon- it’s good

ouais- yeah

bahhhh oui- well yes

bien sûr- of course

c'est comme ça- it’s like that; said after any inconvenience

je prends- i take/am taking; instead of saying “je voudrais” at cafés or restaurants

euh/et oui/alors/donc: basically the french version of “um”

quand même- really; might be used more than en fait if that’s possible 

c'est pas grave- it’s not serious

c'est pas grave quand même- the french say this about everything 

chai pas- i don’t know; the shortened version of “je ne sais pas” 

bonne chance/bon courage- good luck

la vache/vachement- this is an interesting one cause it has a lot of different meanings. “la vache” by itself can just be an exclamation whereas in reference to someone can be an insult. “vachement” is a way to show excitement

vraiment?/c'est vrai?- really?

putain- i assume you know what this means. add to the end of any sentence

t'as raison- you’re right

(quelle) dommage- that sucks; said vaguely sarcastically

qu'est-ce que ça veut dire?- what do you mean/what’s that mean?

relâche-moi- release me; if you yell this at a guy they will never speak to you again

coucou- hello, but in a cute way

bisous- kisses; said when saying goodbye or hello or whenever

pourquoi pas?- why not? mostly just yelled drunkenly by americans 

on y va- let’s go 

vas-y/allez- come on 

tout à fait- absolutely

Bordel - literally means brothel. However, these days bordel is more commonly used to describe a large mess. An example would be: Range ta chambre. C’est le bordel. Clean your room. It’s a mess.

 BCBG- Another popular acronym, which is the French slang for preppy, is BCBG (bien chic bon genre).

Beginners: Common Everyday French

Sentence Fillers/responses/questions: 

En fait… - well/actually

Bah…  - well

J’en sais rien (moi) - no idea

Chai pas (je ne sais pas) - I dunno

Tant pis - never mind/too bad

Tant mieux pour (qqn) - good for (sb) 

N’importe quoi ! - nonsense/rubbish

c’est comme tu veux/vous voulez - it’s up to you/whatever you like

Laisse tomber - drop it (dangerous topic of conversation)

(il n’y a) pas de quoi - no worries/no problem (after you or someone does a favour for someone else)

Enfin - finally/at last

Bref - in short/anyway

Tu t’en sors - are you doing ok?

Tu fais quoi ? - what are you up to?

Ah bon ? - really?

ça va ? ça va. - this is a whole conversation: how are you? Good.

(il) y a - there are

Very important verbs:

être - to be

avoir - to have

savoir - to know

faire - to do/make

pouvoir - can/to be able to

mettre - to put

dire - to say

vouloir - to want

prendre - to take

donner - to give

aller - to go

parler - to speak

venir - to come

voir - to see

demander - to ask

trouver - to find

montrer - to show

13 days until the mocks !

So my mocks begin on the 3rd of February and I'm really feeling the pressure to up my study. I've been really complacent about studying this year. I keep up to date with class tests and revision plans that teachers have given me but haven't realized that the exams are looming. I go to supervised study on Saturdays from 9am til 1pm but I find towards the end I am constantly looking up at the clock waiting for it to end.
So I'm going to use this blog to track my study.

English - I have made notes of each poet,my single text Wuthering Heights and my comparative texts Juno, Othello and Foster . I need to crack down on them as English paper 2 is my first mock exam.

Irish - I have been keeping up to date with my revision plan and Irish is my only ordinary subject so I won't be counting it for the real Leaving Cert. Overall I'm honestly not too pushed about Irish, I just want to do well mainly for my teacher and parents and also myself as I know I can do well in it.

Maths - Urgh maths is the bane of my life. I failed in my 5th Year Christmas report card and got 50% in my summer tests due to my grinds.I was quite happy with that but still want more than 60% in my Leaving. My teacher told my parents at a meeting that she was worried about me at the start of 5th year ! Awks ! But now she's happy with my progress and thinks I'm good enough to pass the Leaving Cert.

French - My oral is so bad although my teacher says that its not as bad as I think.He says its a question of confidence for me which is something that I can change. Apart from that I'm a solid B1/A2 student. I need to go over my tenses and learn some topics for the mocks. I will be focusing on the homeless which is topical and also the health service and the environment.I'm also trying to learn phrases that can be just inserted into any random piece

History - I love the class and find it so interesting but I can't work up the energy to study it and remember it. My teacher is the best and says my essays have improved greatly since 5th . I'm going to have to be strategic for the mocks and only learn a few essays and pray for the best.

Economics - So far I have been keeping up to date with the revision plan and I really like economics. It is definitely something I am considering for 3rd level but the short questions are something I need at lot of practice at before the mocks.

Biology - I got around 70% in my summer test and in my last big revision test on about 12 chapters, I got 75% which I was delighted with.My experiments are where I fell down so I need to focus on them for the mocks