This was really funny when I was talking to my flatmate in the kitchen a while ago.
I was planning to ask her what J'ai la patate! mean as soon as I got back from my ski trip but I kept on forgetting until tonight.
Any guesses?
Direct translation (you wouldn't believe this): I've got the potato!
What it really means: It is an informal and strong way of saying I'm fine!
Don't believe what I've said? Check this BBC link out: http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/french/cool/moods.shtml
There are even phrases like I've got the peach, bananas or even fries which mean the same thing. Interesting how food can be used to represent this.
My flatmate did say that you can use this among friends but not with your teacher.
Come to think of it, we started our ski lessons just outside our resort, near the restaurant. By standing just before the stairway outside the retaurant, it was the most strategic place to watch what was happening to us. In no time, we attracted a whole big group of audience consisting of all the chefs who diligently prepared each meal for us.
It was at this very first lesson that our ski instructor, Charles, taught us this phrase. Inexperience and foreign to skiing, we were really struggling with that tiny slope. Even screaming our heads off while tumbling down. Charles made us say 'J'ai la patate' every time we fell or just to motivate each other. Each time we said that, it was accompanied by laughter from the group of chefs.
What we do after ski lessons - play with snow!
I was planning to ask her what J'ai la patate! mean as soon as I got back from my ski trip but I kept on forgetting until tonight.
Any guesses?
Direct translation (you wouldn't believe this): I've got the potato!
What it really means: It is an informal and strong way of saying I'm fine!
Don't believe what I've said? Check this BBC link out: http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/french/cool/moods.shtml
There are even phrases like I've got the peach, bananas or even fries which mean the same thing. Interesting how food can be used to represent this.
My flatmate did say that you can use this among friends but not with your teacher.
Come to think of it, we started our ski lessons just outside our resort, near the restaurant. By standing just before the stairway outside the retaurant, it was the most strategic place to watch what was happening to us. In no time, we attracted a whole big group of audience consisting of all the chefs who diligently prepared each meal for us.
It was at this very first lesson that our ski instructor, Charles, taught us this phrase. Inexperience and foreign to skiing, we were really struggling with that tiny slope. Even screaming our heads off while tumbling down. Charles made us say 'J'ai la patate' every time we fell or just to motivate each other. Each time we said that, it was accompanied by laughter from the group of chefs.
What we do after ski lessons - play with snow!We were stuck at the resort even on boxing day. Nothing to buy except maybe snow, even if there were really good sales going on there, we wouldn't be able to afford as all of us invested our life savings into this trip. Was it worth it? Definately!
My friends and I were telling each other, even if j'ai la patate really meant 'I am stupid' or 'I just cannot ski', we wouldn't know and can only take our ski instructor's words for it. Never will I expect it to be related to food in any way! No wonder the chefs were laughing. Not surprising, we did have potatoes for lunch that day and a lot more potatoes for the following meals.
Imagine if someone came up and asked you what would you like to cook for dinner and you have to answer knowing that one only phrase of French.
J'ai la patate! (now we know why potatoes are in shortage)
1 comment:
hahahahaha very entertaining post Noreen!
Ja'i la patate!
=peilian=
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