T’as déjà eu une amende pour excès de vitesse ? 🚙💨
Have you ever gotten a speeding ticket?
Coucou ☕️🇫🇷🥐 I'm Amélie Laurent and this is my French newsletter. I supercharge your progress from A2 to B2 through colloquial dialogues.
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Coucou mes petits linguistes! 🧐 Back to our regular billing, a Conversation Starter ☕️ dialogue today. The new French 101 🇫🇷 dialogues will be roughly every week moving forward—so you get the best of both worlds.
Today we’ll get to see two of the greatest French swear words of all time. Two real hall-of-famers, MVPs, two real classics! (Putain et Connard). And what’s a more appropriate situation for a French person to swear than while getting a speeding ticket? It’s almost like someone is painstakingly designing these dialogues so everything fits together seamlessly… 🤷🏻♀️
Ne vous inquiétez pas des erreurs. Même le fromage français le plus délicieux a des trous! — Don't worry about making mistakes. Even the most delicious French cheese has holes!
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Gros Bisous! A x
Dialogue Audio 🎧
Dialogue du Jour
Matéo : Lisa, t’as déjà eu une amende ✪ pour excès de vitesse ?
Lisa : Oh putain ✪, oui ! Je me suis fait prendre par un flic ✪ le mois dernier. J'étais tellement en colère contre moi-même !
Matéo : Ah, tu as été prise la main dans le sac ✪ alors ! Tu roulais ✪ à combien ?
Lisa : Je roulais un peu au-dessus de la limite. Le pire, c'est que je n'avais pas réalisé que je dépassais la vitesse autorisée.
Matéo : Ah, c'est toujours embêtant. Et l'amende, c'était combien ?
Lisa : Assez cher, je suis à sec ✪ maintenant ! Ce policier était vraiment un connard ✪, il n'a montré aucune indulgence.
Matéo : Ah oui, ça c'est vraiment nul. Tu sais, une fois, j'ai aussi été arrêté pour un délit ✪ de vitesse aussi.
Lisa : Vraiment ? Toi, Matéo ? Tu sembles toujours conduire prudemment.
Matéo : Oui, c'était une situation bizarre. Le policier s'est approché de ma voiture et a crié "Haut les mains !" comme si j'étais un criminel.
Lisa : Quoi ? Vraiment ?
Matéo : À ce moment-là, je me sentais vraiment coupable ✪. Maintenant, je fais toujours attention à ma vitesse.
♡ 𝕃𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕓𝕖𝕝𝕠𝕨 👇
✪ Notes
une amende = a fine “une très grosse amende”
putain ✨= whoah what can I say? Another French word that is its own institution. Books could be written on the meaning of this one swear word—perhaps our greatest. Even if you have no time for vulgarity, it’s still important to understand.
Swear words are notoriously hard for language learners to get the strength of. In a sense they never translate. The best short description I’ve heard of ‘putain’ is that it’s “as versatile as ‘f**k’ [in English] but less strong”. On its own, where it regularly occurs, muttered under the shocked aunties breathe, it’s more ’Oh my God!’. Like all French curse words, there are endless derivatives.
Those wanting to brush up on this French pastime can dig deeper here🔗
un flic = a cop (colq.) “Sérieux, le flic va t'entendre.” (Seriously, the cop’s going to hear you)
être pris la main dans le sac ✨🧩 = got caught red-handed
rouler = to drive. It references any vehicle, the driver and all passengers. Hey, they’re all rolling hein! Conduire (the verb you’re probably used to) only works for the driver.
je suis à sec✨= je suis fauché = I’m broke
un connard✨ = imbécile, enfoiré = moron, bastard, asshole, idiot. This one cannot be used in a jokey way among friends, it’s really stronger than asshole, aggressive. If you were to say it to someone’s face ask yourself “Am I trying to start a fight?”
un délit = crime/offence. “Pour ce délit vous risquez l'emprisonnement”.
coupable = guilty (can also be used as a noun = un/une coupable)
*✨ = especially ‘Frenchie’ words/phrases you should try and use more
*🧩 = ‘canned’ expressions or phrases that are best learned as a whole, like puzzle-pieces.
Writing Prompt ✍️
I’ve (thankfully) never gotten a speeding ticket! 😇 Lucky me. Not that I’m some angel though, I do feel the need, the need for speeeddd. But I’m also a devotee of cruise control. Set-it and forget-it on big straight roads where the accelerator pedal can be a temptation! The rental car in Ireland didn’t have it and I was lost. Cruise-control to the people! ✊🏼
Alors, t’as déjà eu une amende pour excès de vitesse ?
All answers are welcome. One word.. or one sentence.
Write me your answer in the comments. I can’t wait to read them! 👇🏼
Translation
M: L have you ever had a speeding ticket?
L: Oh God, yes! I got caught by a cop last month. I was so angry with myself!
M: Oh, so you were caught red-handed! How fast were you going?
L: I was driving a bit over the limit. The worst thing was that I didn't realise I was going over the it.
M: Ah, that's always annoying. How much was the fine?
L: It's pretty expensive, I'm broke now! That policeman was such an asshole, he didn't show any leniency.
M: Oh yes, that really sucks. You know, I was once stopped for a speeding offence too.
L: Really? You, Matéo? You always seem to drive carefully.
M: Yes, it was a weird situation. The policeman came up to my car and shouted "Hands up! "as if I were a criminal.
L: What? Really?
M: At that moment, I felt really guilty. Now I always watch my speed.
Exercise - Fill in the blank 💪
Quickly test your comprehension, accelerate your learning. 🚀
Il est difficile de ___ sur une route encombrée.
It's hard to drive on a crowded road.J'ai reçu ___ pour avoir garé ma voiture au mauvais endroit.
I received a fine for parking my car in the wrong place.Bien que je ne sois pas ___, je me sens toujours nerveux quand je vois un policier.
Even though I'm not guilty, I always feel nervous when I see a police officer.Hier soir, j'ai été arrêté par ___ en rentrant chez moi.
Last night, I was stopped by a cop on my way home.Je ne peux pas aller au cinéma ce soir, ___.
I can't go to the movies tonight, I'm broke.
If you’re struggling the ✪ Notes section is always a good place to look. 😉 The answers are all in the dialogue or notes section.
[NO PEAKING] Answer Key: 1. rouler 2. une amende 3. coupable 4. un flic 5. je suis à sec
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Amélie x
Oui malheureusement. C’était comme le personnage dans vôtre dialogue. Je roulais seulement un tout petit peu au-dessus de la vitesse autorisée. Pas de chance !😢
Oui. Je roulais très très vite tard la nuit sur une autoroute deserte et quand le flic est arrivé Je me pensais même pas qu’il allait m’arrêter, moi! L’amende m’a coutée $500 dollars!