Who speaks French?

Tim B

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I often download and watch foreign films with English subtitles from the internet. I was recently watching two French films when in each film I heard an old saying I haven't heard since my childhood when my mother and grandmother used to occasionally speak to each other in French. I was wondering what its exact syntax and meaning were. I have only heard it said verbally and have never seen it in writing. It sounds like. "say nay parta kwaw" if you spell it phonetically. I was trying to figure out exactly what they were saying. Could it be, "C'est ne part de quoi" or "ce n'est part de quoi?" Then subtitles in one film said, "It's nothing" and in the other they said, "That's bullsh--." Is anyone familiar with this saying and can you tell me the exact syntax in French?
 

Tim B

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I don't think its "Je ne sais pas" which I have heard multiple times in the films and sounds like "zhn say pah." This sounds more like "say nay parta qwaw."
 

iapyx

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Tim B said:
I often download and watch foreign films with English subtitles from the internet. I was recently watching two French films when in each film I heard an old saying I haven't heard since my childhood when my mother and grandmother used to occasionally speak to each other in French. I was wondering what its exact syntax and meaning were. I have only heard it said verbally and have never seen it in writing. It sounds like. "say nay parta kwaw" if you spell it phonetically. I was trying to figure out exactly what they were saying. Could it be, "C'est ne part de quoi" or "ce n'est part de quoi?" Then subtitles in one film said, "It's nothing" and in the other they said, "That's bullsh--." Is anyone familiar with this saying and can you tell me the exact syntax in French?

I'm Dutch and I make this of it:
"Pas de quoi" which means as much as "it's nothing. (like in "thank you" "oh don't thank me, it's really nothing"
Leaves us with the first part "Ce n'est ...."

So then we have "Ce n'est pas de quoi"
That might be the opposite of "it's nothing" being "it's not nothing".

Could be slang.

Edit: I think it does mean "no thanks" or "it's nothing" indeed. The full sentence is "Ce n'est pas de quoi" which is neat French for "pas de quoi" (slang or spoken French)

In French the combination of these two words "ne + pas" forms a negation like in "je ne sais pas" but in spoken french this is often pronounced as "je sais pas"

Conclusion: "Ce n'est pas de quoi" means indeed "It's nothing"
 
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Cataract

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You guys are close, but not quite

"C'est n'importe quoi" is a popular expression in Quebec and some parts of France.

"C'est" means "that is" and "n'importe quoi" is "anything", which sentenced as "that is anything" loses its original meaning, since it is not really and english expression.

Depending on the context, it could translate "whatever" (with the teenage attitude) or, for the film you saw, "That's Bullsh--" would be the best fitting translation, except the french expression uses more polite words to say the same thing with the same level of insult.
 

Tim B

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Ahhh, a French Canadian to the rescue. Merci beaucoup. I heard my mother say it many times when talking with old cajun people in South Louisiana. The only French she spoke was Cajun French which she learned from her parents and other old Cajun people. Since the Cajun culture of South Louisiana was isolated from the Canadians from which they came for over 300 years before the advent of mass media then this saying is probably very old.
 

N10

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Cataract is right...and translation for saying "you're welcome" in french is "il n'y a pas de quoi" :)
 

PhotonWrangler

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I struggled badly with a semester of French in junior high school. After it was over I could only say a few colors and I think the french word for "clock."

I think the first and most important three words to learn when learning another language are food, hotel and bathroom. They're the three words that you're going to need most when visiting another country. And not necessarily in that order.
 

taratata

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I'm french and confirm Cataract has given the best definition.

It can take some meanings depending of the context, but "That's Bullsh--" is the most accurate, beside it's not slang expression as Cataract said. Sort of "I don't believe it/you".

Thanks to the "Quebecois"
 
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