French phrase of the day: Parler comme une vache espagnole
If you’re not yet fluent in French, use this to explain away any of your linguistic idiosyncrasies and - perhaps - elicit a little sympathy...
Why do I need to know parler comme une vache espagnole?
If you’re learning and improving your French, but not yet fluent, this phrase could come in handy.
What does it mean?
Literally translated as 'talk like a Spanish cow' it means that you speak a language badly, perhaps with a dodgy accent or lots of grammatical errors.
It’s one of a few colloquial phrases in the language that involve cows - here’s another good one for when it’s raining.
You could use it, to extract a little sympathy from a hard-nosed fonctionnaire if you're struggling to find the mot juste, by explaining that your French isn’t that sophisticated. It may - though there are no guarantees - persuade them to speak a little more clearly, or be just a little more helpful.
Alternatively, if you hear it used about you when you’re trying your best, the speaker isn’t being very kind.
It can be used for any language, and you may hear a French person say that they speak English 'comme une vache espagnole', to explain away some of their linguistic idiosyncrasies.
Use it like this
Je m'excuse, je parle français comme une vache espagnole – I apologise, my French is terrible
Get sniffy if you hear someone say
C’est difficile de l’écouter parler en français. Elle le parle comme une vache espagnole – It’s hard to listen to her speak French, her language skills are awful
See Also
Why do I need to know parler comme une vache espagnole?
If you’re learning and improving your French, but not yet fluent, this phrase could come in handy.
What does it mean?
Literally translated as 'talk like a Spanish cow' it means that you speak a language badly, perhaps with a dodgy accent or lots of grammatical errors.
It’s one of a few colloquial phrases in the language that involve cows - here’s another good one for when it’s raining.
You could use it, to extract a little sympathy from a hard-nosed fonctionnaire if you're struggling to find the mot juste, by explaining that your French isn’t that sophisticated. It may - though there are no guarantees - persuade them to speak a little more clearly, or be just a little more helpful.
Alternatively, if you hear it used about you when you’re trying your best, the speaker isn’t being very kind.
It can be used for any language, and you may hear a French person say that they speak English 'comme une vache espagnole', to explain away some of their linguistic idiosyncrasies.
Use it like this
Je m'excuse, je parle français comme une vache espagnole – I apologise, my French is terrible
Get sniffy if you hear someone say
C’est difficile de l’écouter parler en français. Elle le parle comme une vache espagnole – It’s hard to listen to her speak French, her language skills are awful
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