Word(s) of the week-08 July 2011
Kif Kif
The new word I learned today was kif-kif. My colleague at work, who is French, decided she was just gonna throw that one in and I possibly might not catch it! Ha! She was wrong. I get such a wide variety of French “familiar” words from her. It’s awesome.
She was comparing something while telling me a story and instead of the usual “c’est presque la meme chose” or “c’est pareil” she slide in kif-kif instead. “Hold the phone”, I said. “Back up and tell what that means”, as I got out my notebook in which I write down all the slang terms in French that I hear.
Every time I ask her, she just laughs and says, “Oh, it’s really familiar”. No kidding! Really ?? Cuz that’s why I want to know it! I need to speak cool French, not school book stuff. Please….
So in her description of kif-kif she pointed out that you use it when you are comparing things that are really similar, nearly the same.
So in my rendition to her, just to be sure I had it down, I said, “So, it’s kind of like our level of French. Yours and mine are pretty much kif-kif”. She just gave me a dumb look and said, “No, not really” and then walked away.
Burst my bubble today, I tell ya.
But ya know what? Someday my level of French will be kif-kif with hers. Like in 5 years, when I can actually understand this language! Dang conjugation and slang.
Posted on July 8, 2011, in French Word or Phrase and tagged French language, slang. Bookmark the permalink. 6 Comments.
Welcome to my crazy life in the south of France. I love to write and photograph the day to day experiences that I encounter here in Provence. I hope this blog will give readers an inside look at some of the insane, funny, and beautiful experiences that I have had along the way in making a life for myself in France. 
The funny thing about KIF KIF is that it is probably an import from North Africa!
*giggle* wouldn’t doubt it! I love using it, though 🙂
expressions with repeated words are fun to use and so are north african ones: dare-dare, fissa (quick!), gla gla(it’s’cold) and c’est pas joli joli (meaning “it s’quite despicable”). And then come the southern or marseillais expressions that only locals make use of. These are my favorite!
Those local expressions are great, I agree. One of the ladies that I work with has many friends in Marseille and she tells me all about the expressions they have:)
As I plod along thru French I think fairly often about which direction I want to go in — learning the cool, everyday, slang French which will make people say “hey he really knows this language well”, or the opposite, focusing on the proper old-school words & grammar that will make people say “what a learned, intelligent foreigner!”. They both have their advantages/disadvantages I guess. One thing’s for sure: if you secretly learn a hip slang word and choose the right moment to bust it out among French friends, it’s sure to make you a rockstar for a minute or two! Which is an awful nice feeling 🙂 Here’s hoping you continue the Word of the Week’s, it’s a cool idea!
Corey-
I loved doing the French word and phrases. I have so may on my list that I still wanted to do but never got around to it since we have had this house issue. The girls in the office have been most helpful in teaching me “the good stuff” as we say. I agree with you on which to learn, cool slang or proper grammar. I think a good mix of both makes you healthy, wealthy and wise. Okay maybe not, but it sounds good in theory!