Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Eric: I'm Eric.
Yasmine: And I'm Yasmine!
Eric: Phrases Often Used By Young People, Part 1. In this lesson, you'll learn the first set of Phrases Often Used By Young People.
Eric: Young people use these all the time in daily conversation.
SLANG EXPRESSIONS
Eric: The expressions you will be learning in this lesson are:
Yasmine: que dalle
Yasmine: ouf
Yasmine: histoire de
Yasmine: pile-poil
Eric: Yasmine, what's our first expression?
Yasmine: que dalle
Eric: literally meaning "only slab." But when it's used as a slang expression it means "nothing at all."
Yasmine: [SLOW] que dalle [NORMAL] que dalle
Eric: Listeners, please repeat.
Yasmine: que dalle
[pause - 5 sec.]
Eric: Use this slang expression when you want to say "nothing at all". It is informal and used mostly with friends.
Eric : Now let's hear an example sentence.
Yasmine: [NORMAL] Il n'y a que dalle à la tv ce soir. [SLOW] Il n'y a que dalle à la tv ce soir.
Eric: "There is absolutely nothing on TV tonight."
Yasmine: [NORMAL] Il n'y a que dalle à la tv ce soir.
Eric: Okay, what's the next expression?
Yasmine: ouf
Eric: When it's used as a slang expression it means "nuts."
Yasmine: [SLOW] ouf [NORMAL] ouf
Eric: Listeners, please repeat.
Yasmine: ouf
[pause - 5 sec.]
Eric: Use this slang expression when you find something surprising or shocking.
Yasmine: Ouf is verlan for fou which means "crazy".
Eric : Now let's hear an example sentence.
Yasmine: [NORMAL] C'est complètement ouf! [SLOW] C'est complètement ouf!
Eric: "That's completely nuts!"
Yasmine: [NORMAL] C'est complètement ouf!
Eric: Okay, what's our next expression?
Yasmine: histoire de
Eric: literally meaning "history of." But when it's used as a slang expression it means "in order to, so that."
Yasmine: [SLOW] histoire de [NORMAL] histoire de
Eric: Listeners, please repeat.
Yasmine: histoire de
[pause - 5 sec.]
Eric: Use this slang expression when you want to add information or a reason when you explain something.
Eric : Now let's hear an example sentence.
Yasmine: [NORMAL] On mange maintenant, histoire de pouvoir partir le plus tôt possible. [SLOW] On mange maintenant, histoire de pouvoir partir le plus tôt possible.
Eric: "We're gonna eat now, in order to be able to leave ASAP."
Yasmine: [NORMAL] On mange maintenant, histoire de pouvoir partir le plus tôt possible.
Eric: Okay, what's the last expression?
Yasmine: pile-poil
Eric: literally meaning "perfect timing." But when it's used as a slang expression it means "exactly."
Yasmine: [SLOW] pile-poil [NORMAL] pile-poil
Eric: Listeners, please repeat.
Yasmine: pile-poil
[pause - 5 sec.]
Eric: Use this slang expression when you talk about something being exactly or just right.
Eric : Now let's hear an example sentence.
Yasmine: [NORMAL] Nous sommes toujours pile-poil à l'heure. [SLOW] Nous sommes toujours pile-poil à l'heure.
Eric: "We are always exactly on time."
Yasmine: [NORMAL] Nous sommes toujours pile-poil à l'heure.
QUIZ
Eric: Okay listeners, are you ready to be quizzed on the expressions you just learned? I will describe four situations, and you will choose the right expression to use in your reply. Are you ready?
Eric: You want to describe that someone is really crazy.
Yasmine: ouf
Eric: "nuts"
Eric: Your fridge doesn’t contain anything, not even one thing, and you want to emphasize that.
Yasmine: que dalle
Eric: "nothing at all"
Eric: You want to show that it is 3pm, not one minute early, not one minute late, but 3pm sharp.
Yasmine: pile-poil
Eric: "exactly"
Eric: You explain something to your friend, but he doesn’t get it, so you need to explain why that is so.
Yasmine: histoire de
Eric: "in order to, so that"

Outro
Eric: There you have it; you have mastered four French Slang Expressions! Thanks everyone, and see you next time!
Yasmine: Au revoir!

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