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French word of the day: Archi

The Local France
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French word of the day: Archi
Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond"

Neither an abbreviation for architect, nor a French variant of the boy's name Archie, this little word can, when used right, fuel your sentences with extra power.

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Why do I need to know archi?

Because it's the right recipe to spice up even the dullest of adjectives.

What does it mean?

Archi is an example of French slang that is commonly used during oral conversations to emphasise the meaning of the following adjective. It's not for a formal situation and is perhaps more common among the younger generations, but still pops up frequently in conversation.

It does not easily translate into English, but it refers to that something is 'so' something, 'extremely' something, or 'too' something.

C'est archi-bon ! - It's so good!

If you're familiar with trop, which means 'too much', it is pretty much the same concept. Just like trop, archi can go in front of any adjective to illustrate that the thing you're talking about is 'super' something. 

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Ce clip est trop nul. - That clip sucks so much.

Ce clip est archi-nul. - That clip sucks so much.

 

Some people write archi without the dash, so archi bon instead of archi-bon.

Use it like this

You don't just label something as archi if it doesn't merit the label. If you claim something is archi something else, you really mean it. 

C'était archi-cool ta soirée ! - Your party was mega cool!

Le PSG a travaillé dur cette saison, leur jeux était archi-maitrisé lors du dernier match. - PSG (the football team, aka Paris-Saint-Germain) have been working hard this season, they played with incredible control during the last game.

Je n'en peux plus du travail, c'est archi-fou en ce moment. - I can't deal with work anymore, it's utterly mad at the moment.

Synonyms

Trop - too much

Extrèmement - extremely

Vachement - really

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Anonymous 2020/08/23 13:07
Great work, love the word of the day!
Anonymous 2020/08/20 15:54
I absolutely love the French word a day!!! It has really enhanced my ability to understand French conversations, especially when listening to French movies. Love the history of the word and the sample sentences. Merci!!

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