The Great German Superlative- Sau
Deep inside France, on the street you might hear someone speaking colloquially and then the word vache and some of it’s other forms might pop-up in the conversation and throw you off the context.
Vache is actually the French word for cow.
Colloquially it can have a few meanings. And none of them really mean cow. The saying that is based in the title Ooh la la. La Vache! is actually a common French saying used in surprise as quoted from a French speaker like saying- Holy cow!
Trois Françaises mortes de rire (Photo credit: gildas_f) 3 French people dying of laughter
My favourite use of the word vache is another form used:
Vachement
This is the superlative, used as in English bloody, really or damned as I found once in a French book. So when people in France would ask me- Comment ça va? (How are You going?). You can reply- Vachement bien! which is Damned good. From experience this often brings a smile to a French speakers face, to learn that you are definitely happy.
With this word vachement now the sky is the limit: You can say someone is vachement fou/folle- damned crazy, vachement bête-stupide- damned stupid, or vachement content- really happy; to name a few.
Cows in the alpes (Photo credit: Mathieu Péborde)
Other colloquial uses for the word vache are tough ( severe) : Il est un peu vache avec ses enfants- He’s a bit tough on his children,
vache folle– mad cow disease, and amour vache– a love hate relationship.
I don’t often get many comments for the things I write down, but I put it out to you that if you can find any other colloquial meaning for the vache please post a comment.
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