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French word of the Day: Mytho

The Local (news@thelocal.com)
The Local ([email protected])
French word of the Day: Mytho
Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond"

There is a fine line between the art of storytelling and outright lying.

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Why do I need to know the word Mytho

Because everyone knows a bull-sh***er. 

What does it mean? 

Mytho is a noun, verb, and adjective used to convey the sense that someone is a liar. 

It is a slang expression that stems from the word mythomanie (mythomania) - a psychological disorder in which the sufferer has an abnormal or pathological tendency to exaggerate or tell lies. One study suggested that the prevalence of mythomania among the general population could be as high as 13 percent. 

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Coincidentally, the concept of mythomania was popularised by French psychiatrist Emile Dupré in the early 20th century. 

Mytho is pronounced 'me-toe'

Use it like this

Ils sont des mythos - They are liars

Quel mytho! - What a liar!

Je suis pas un influencer mytho, les gars, tout ce que tu vois sur Snap, sur Insta, c’est moi - I am not a bullshit influencer guys, everything you see on Snapchat and on Insta is me.

Arrêtez de mytho - Stop lying [when used as a verb, mytho is an abbreviation of the verb mythoner and does not follow any particular conjugation] 

Synonyms 

Mythomane - Mythomaniac 

Menteur - Liar 

 

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