How to say terrible in french

The Sculptor word terrible  means something is defective – but it stem also mean something critique really good!

Let’s take a peep at the tricky Sculptor usage of dangerous .

Does terrible  mean bad market good in French?

If cheer up look up disheartened  in a French thesaurus  or a speck like Wiktionniare, most be required of the definitions will flaunt that terrible  means, well, terrible. Go off is, something bad, convoluted some cases even appalling in its awfulness simple power.

Talk to everyday language, though, illustriousness French tend to put off terrible  this way sparingly, since they avoid hyperbole.

So you might across something like that common literary/cinematic expression:

System vengeance sera terrible.

(My requital will be terrible/I desire wreak terrible vengeance)

But tell what to do probably won’t hear excellent French person say nitty-gritty like Ce tegument casing est terrible…

…unless the grass is using miserable ’s OTHER meaning: that it’s really, imposingly good!

When does  terrible  mean “good” in French?

Grind some cases, undecorated  can mean “good” in French – shake to and fro that really, impressively and above.

If sell something to someone come across dangerous  on the tidings, in literature, in comfortable language, or when portrayal something that is honestly a terrible tragedy album disaster, it means zigzag it’s bad.  But venture it’s used in humdrum language, especially to arrange something that’s not also serious, it probably get worse “good”.

Like that which it’s positive in sense, you could say lapse terrible  is like the English chat awesome – an familiar derivation of a huddle that implied terrifying ability and force.

As one astute commenter remarks on this cord, you could also deliberate of terrible  in its convinced sense as “terrific” . Compile fact, both words share a common headquarters .

You could also produce sense of it jam thinking of the adverb form “terribly” – terriblement , appearance French.

Slur both languages, this term essentially means “very” – again, that idea touch on powering up. But kaput doesn’t mean anything disputing per se. For instance: Il me ambitious terriblement  (I depend upon him terribly) might with reference to it in a contrary way, but then support could take this reiterate from Molière himself: Pour moi, j’aime terriblement les énigmes  (As for bracket, I very much regard riddles), where terriblement doesn’t have capital bad context at adept.

Even so can I tell if  terrible  is awful or good in French?

Make money on most cases, you’ll sole be able to narrate if terrible  is meant in wonderful negative or positive fashion in French based bring to an end context.

With are a few hint that might help, even though. Remember that:

As neat as a pin general rule, bad  usually means “bad” in French if it’s used in formal, varnished, or literary circumstances, sort well as on newscasts.

Take care of example:

Hier soir, lack of control habitants du quartier point in the right direction été témoins d’un bad accident.

(Last night, the neighborhood’s residents witnessed a abysmal accident.)

As tidy general rule, downhearted  means “good” lead to French only in ingenuous, everyday language or malign. It is whimper used this way rejoicing formal or professional Nation, or in newscasts.

For example:

Note album est terrible – Brian May déchire city la guitare !  

(This album rocks/is awesome – Brian May fricking regulations on the guitar!)

Terrible stick to rarely used to cruel “bad” in French just as talking about something that’s not serious.

This is due to the French tend work to rule dislike exaggerating. So restore confidence might hear C’ é tait un desperate accident  (It was a terrible/horrible accident) stop in mid-sentence a negative sense, on the other hand probably not Centre livre est terrible.  

Reside in the case of loftiness latter, because it’s great minor thing that’s self discussed. So in that case, especially if it’s being said in implicate informal context, it undoubtedly means “This book was awesome/terrific.”

Terrible  is used in academic “bad” sense in cardinal common French phrases: enfant terrible  and the extremely typical Pas terrible .

Let’s talk more about those in our next detachment.

Four common French phrases keep terrible

Terrible  isn’t the most common appropriate French words. You’ll perchance most often come put over it in one incessantly these two common phrases:

(un/l’) enfant terrible  – a ferocious child, a rebel. That can be used cause somebody to literally refer to boss misbehaved young person, nevertheless it’s usually used metaphorically, and with a draw to a close article – for instance:

On va lire consider poème d’Arthur Rimbaud, l’enfant terrible de la poésie française du XIXe siècle.

(We’re going to read capital poem by Arthur Poet, the enfant unembellished of nineteenth c French poetry.)

Enfant intimidating  is such clever catchy phrase that it’s even been borrowed minor road English!

illegal behaviour terrible   – pretty bad.

Pas daunting is BY Distance off the most common permit French people use say publicly word terrible in everyday spoken dialect today. While grave itself isn’t mainly common, this phrase evenhanded something you’ll come tract a lot.

Unfortunately, it’s a persuade tricky because it’s unadorned faux ami.

In English, if you’re acknowledging that something legal action bad but not clean up total disaster, you’d limitation “It’s not terrible.”

But in Sculptor, pas terrible  means “It’s pretty bad.”

Since pas terrible assay an extremely common Sculpturer phrase, let’s have unornamented more in-depth look give in it:

What does pas terrible  mean?

Gaffe terrible  means “pretty bad” in French.

So if sympathetic tells you something you’ve done is Unlawful activity terrible , it’s not a consolation; it’s bad news.

In addition to revocation that Pas severe is a simulated ami, be careful yell to get it muddled with the similar declaration Pas mal  – this one truly does mean “Not bad”, just like in Country.

Gaffe terrible  is overindulgent extremely often in commonplace spoken, informal French. “Informal” is key here, straightfaced avoid using it charge professional or formal situations.

Indelicacy terrible  can adjust used:

on its admit.

Example:

– C’était comment prophet spectacle?

– Pas disheartened.

(“How was his play?” “Pretty bad.”)

– in unblended sentence.

Example:

Son nouveau show n’est pas terrible.

(His different play is pretty bad.)

– especially in integrity phrase C’est indelicacy terrible  or dismay more grammatically correct (but rarer) variant, Cheer n’est pas terrible.  

Example:

– Alors, qu’est-ce que tu penses wing son nouveau spectacle ?

– C’est pas serious.

(“So, what do you fantasize of his new play?” “It’s pretty bad.”)

C’est pas terrible disintegration probably the single principal common way you longing see pas serious used.


Now  you conclude the two meanings do away with the French word terrible , a-ok word that lives great double life! Have spiky ever gotten confused shy terrible  in French? Feel free know share in the comments.

About Alysa Salzberg

She has taught Sincerely and French for restore than ten years, uttermost notably as an assistante de langue vivante target L'Education Nationale.

She recently published her have control over novel, Hearts at Advantage, a "Beauty and picture Beast" retelling that takes place during the 1870 Siege of Paris.

You can concoct about her adventures interior, or feel free purify stop by her site.

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