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zéro six, zéro sept

Glossary entry

French term or phrase:

petite copine

English translation:

girlfriend

Added to glossary by Courtney McConnel (X)
Dec 9, 2005 12:28
18 yrs ago
French term

petite copine

Non-PRO French to English Art/Literary Poetry & Literature du livre "Sex Memoir" - une vraie histoire d'amour par correspondance email
I don't know if it means girlfriend or just friend. I think he would have used 'fiancee' if he meant something serious.

"J'ai un frère plus jeune et en ce qui concerne les expériences torrides je suis assez classique, mais je crois que l'une des choses les plus étranges ce fut la fois ou je suis allé chez ma PETITE COPINE quand j'étais jeune et elle n'était pas chez elle car elle avait un cours et je devais attendre 2 heures son retour. Sa mère m'a proposé d'attendre chez eux. Elle était avec
une amie. Elles m'ont proposé de me mettre à l'aise."

Thanks for your help! : )
Proposed translations (English)
4 +9 girlfriend
4 +4 girlfriend
4 -1 a friend...... she wasn't at home
Change log

Dec 9, 2005 13:43: writeaway changed "Level" from "PRO" to "Non-PRO"

Votes to reclassify question as PRO/non-PRO:

Non-PRO (2): df49f (X), Dr Sue Levy (X)

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Discussion

Courtney McConnel (X) (asker) Dec 12, 2005:
Thanks for your great eye, Sue. I made the correction. What a Freudian slip!
Dr Sue Levy (X) Dec 11, 2005:
BTW ESIT stands for l��cole Sup�rieure d�Interpr�tes et de Traducteurs - you got it wrong in your profile
Courtney McConnel (X) (asker) Dec 10, 2005:
No they don't, and I haven't a clue. Perfectly pleased to learn, though. : ) As for people talking and all, I usually don't want to interrupt them to ask what so-and-so means when I can figure out the overall tale, and if it's through the media, I again try to derive from the context. (The TV or book won't talk back to me.) Anecdote: Once I walked into work on the day of a strike (long walk) and asked the financial engineering department, "What does it mean je te donne 750F pour une branlette?" (That made their day!)Other times I've asked friends and then again see that it informs them in ways I don't necessarily mean to! Lastly, as you've noticed, my dictionary rarely offers much help (and forget about granddictionnaire.com or eurodicotom). Does anyone recommend any particular source?
df49f (X) Dec 10, 2005:
@Sue: SOX or ESIT probably don't teach about le neuf trois either! :)
Dr Sue Levy (X) Dec 10, 2005:
Knowledge of popular idiom comes from listening to people talking, TV, radio, popular press, contemporary literature, etc... how about a "s�jour linguistique dans le neuf trois"?
Courtney McConnel (X) (asker) Dec 9, 2005:
School and business are too technical to teach me these things usually. (I haven't done the film work you have--more like venture capital & Sarbanes Oxley.) I do spend time with the French but also the Indians, Anglo-Saxons, Ivoiriens, Scandinavians and on and on. : )
Dr Sue Levy (X) Dec 9, 2005:
You obviously don't spend much time with the French. Even though you have lived in Paris since 1991. "Carton rouge" is what you get when you're sent off the football field for unacceptable behaviour. http://www.soccerhelp.com/Soccer_Tips_Dictionary_Terms_
Courtney McConnel (X) (asker) Dec 9, 2005:
Believe it or not, 'girlfriend' or not-girlfriend does make a difference as the differentiation St�phane makes between his wife and other women is a theme that eventually builds to a sort of sub-climax.
Guess what? I don't know what carton rouge means (but maybe I don't want to know !).
Sue, I take it Alex is Bourth? Tina had also asked, and simply wasn't offered the 'add note' button for awhile! Thanks for your input here and in the other question. : )
Dr Sue Levy (X) Dec 9, 2005:
Ha Alex, you fell in the trap!
Francis MARC Dec 9, 2005:
Carton rouge !!!
Courtney McConnel (X) (asker) Dec 9, 2005:
OK, that's great! This is what follows:
Elles se sont misent de chaque côté et petit à petit elles se sont rapproché jusqu'à être collé contre moi. Ensuite elles ont commencé à me toucher le sexe puis la copine de la mère m'a sorti le pénis et m'a sucé comme jamais cela m'étais arrivé. La mère de ma copine a posé son vagin sur mon visage et je lui ai touché le clito avec mon nez... Elles m'ont déshabillé entièrement puis je les ait dévêtues à mon tour. J'ai pris la copine de la mère pendant qu'elle embrassait le vagin de sa copine. La mère m'a ensuite demandé de la sodomiser...

Maintenant, à toi d'entrer dans les détails d'une de tes expériences.
Bourth (X) Dec 9, 2005:
What about the rest of the story? You've got us - well, me anyway - all titillated now ... ;-)
David Goward Dec 9, 2005:
IMHO, "ma petite copine" = "ma petite amie" = "my girlfriend". He'd have said "chez une copine" for any old girlfriend. BTW, I agree completely with Sue's comment below re. "fianc�e".
BrigitteHilgner Dec 9, 2005:
"Fiancee" is still used - the first step to a traditional (old-fashioned?) wedding. It does not leave much room for all the various modern relationships ... (Mind your words when talking to your godmother!) ;-)
Courtney McConnel (X) (asker) Dec 9, 2005:
Cool! I think I will say "I went to a girlfriend's house" in English (instead of my gf) to correlate the level of (not-so) seriousness. I had a suspicion petite copine wasn't quite as serious as petite amie, but I didn't realize fiancee was outdated (though my godmother uses it, and she prides herself on being extremely old-fashioned!). I'm so pleased. Thanks a lot!
brnadette Dec 9, 2005:
I would say that "copine" is identical to "petite amie" and "petite copine" probably a mixing of the two.
Courtney McConnel (X) (asker) Dec 9, 2005:
Thanks, by the way. Is 'petite copine' identical to 'petite amie'? Because I would definitely call petite amie girlfriend.
Courtney McConnel (X) (asker) Dec 9, 2005:
This was written in 2001 when "Stephane" was 30. He must have been in his late teens at the time, I'm guessing. : )
BrigitteHilgner Dec 9, 2005:
When was this written? I think "fianc�e is definitely a step further than "petite copine". How old is the narrator at the time?

Proposed translations

+9
6 mins
Selected

girlfriend

voir dictionnaires
Peer comment(s):
agree Nathalie Bendavid
16 mins
agree Peter Shortall
16 mins
agree BrigitteHilgner : Given the context, definitely.
39 mins
agree writeaway : and certainly with your advice
1 hr
agree Dr Sue Levy (X)
1 hr
agree David Goward
1 hr
agree Linda Young (X)
3 hrs
agree Gina W
4 hrs
agree Michele Fauble
7 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Merci à toutes et tous!"
+4
9 mins

girlfriend

"fiancée" is quite outdated. In this context, i think that what is meant is girlfriend.

HTH

Bernadette Regnier
Peer comment(s):
agree writeaway : fiancée is not outdated but it's not the same thing
1 hr
agree Dr Sue Levy (X) : lots of young people use "fiancée" in France - it's a bit tongue-in-cheek (marriage is not inevitable!)
1 hr
agree David Goward : with girlfriend, and with Sue re. "fiancée"
1 hr
agree Gina W
4 hrs
Something went wrong...
-1
2 hrs

a friend...... she wasn't at home

Isn't it just a young friend who is a girl - no sexual implications at all. What is going to happen in the text during the waiting time/
Peer comment(s):
neutral Dr Sue Levy (X) : if he'd said "UNE petite copine" - MA petite copine suggests girlfriend - but this is not necessarily a sexual relationship either - a special friend, steady date
1 hr
neutral Gina W : yes, Sue is correct
1 hr
disagree df49f (X) : agree with Sue - une petite copine = girlfriend - justement not just a friend who would then be une copine
1 hr
In light of the sequel, it would seem that the type of copine is not so much of an issue!! However, girlfriend would seem to be quite appropriate in the text.
Something went wrong...
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