Permis Prêt“Tsé”, “pis”, “ben”, “fait que”: small words of Québec French
They go by fast, they are everywhere, and textbooks do not mention them.
Short answer : “Tsé” = you know; “pis” = then or and; “ben” = well; “fait que” = so; “-tu” after a verb asks a question (“C’est-tu loin?”). These are spoken-language words: to understand, not necessarily to write.
Beta. The voices are synthetic voices supplied by your device and vary from one device to another. The content was written with the help of artificial intelligence; a review by a native Québécois speaker is under way. Found a mistake? Write to [email protected] with the item id (F-tse).
The small words
| Word | Meaning | Example (our own) |
|---|---|---|
| tsé | you know | “Tsé, ce n’est pas si loin.” (You know, it’s not that far.) |
| pis | then, and | “Je suis allé au dep, pis j’ai acheté du lait.” (I went to the dep and bought milk.) |
| ben | well | “Ben oui!” (Well, yes!) |
| fait que | so | “Il neigeait, fait que je suis resté chez nous.” (It was snowing, so I stayed home.) |
| -tu | marks a question | “C’est-tu loin?” = “Est-ce que c’est loin?” (Is it far?) |
| chu | I am | “Chu fatigué.” (I’m tired.) |
“Pis” and “ben” can be heard in Hockey talk at the office (“Pis ça va te permettre de parler à tout le monde”, “Ah ben, quand même”).
Popular words to recognise
| Word | Meaning | Example (our own) |
|---|---|---|
| tantôt | a little while ago or in a little while, depending on context | “On s’en reparle tantôt.” (We’ll talk about it later.) |
| icitte | here (popular) | “Viens icitte.” (Come here.) |
| pantoute | not at all | “J’aime ça pantoute.” (I don’t like it at all.) |
| asteure | now (popular) | “Asteure, on fait quoi?” (So now what do we do?) |
These words do not appear in our dialogues yet, which deliberately use little slang while we wait for a native Québécois review. They are given here so you recognise them on the street.
For pronunciation, see understanding the Québec accent. For more expressions, see “ça marche”, “pas pire”.
Dialogues to listen to
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Vocabulary fiche. The content is in beta: a review by a native Québécois speaker is under way.