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10 Common Foreign Phrases Used in English

The document lists ten common foreign phrases that have been integrated into the English language, providing their meanings and origins. Examples include 'Hasta la Vista' from Spanish, 'Mazel Tov' from Yiddish, and 'joie de vivre' from French. Each phrase reflects cultural nuances and is often used in everyday conversation.

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2 views3 pages

10 Common Foreign Phrases Used in English

The document lists ten common foreign phrases that have been integrated into the English language, providing their meanings and origins. Examples include 'Hasta la Vista' from Spanish, 'Mazel Tov' from Yiddish, and 'joie de vivre' from French. Each phrase reflects cultural nuances and is often used in everyday conversation.

Uploaded by

shatakshi.misra
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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10 Common Foreign Phrases Used in English

Sometimes a common foreign phrase works so much better


than an English equivalent would that it just becomes part of
our language in its original form. Here’s a list of such
phrases you should be familiar with.

When Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character spoke the words,


“Hasta la Vista, baby,” in Terminator 2: Judgment Day, who would
have thought he’d help cement a Spanish expression that already
received a fair amount of use into everyday vernacular?

Sometimes, that’s all it takes to make a foreign word or phrase


part of everyday English. I hope the ten common foreign phrases
in this list are ones you’ve at least seen before. Here are the
meanings for each of them, beginning with the movie line.

1. Hasta la Vista

Spanish — It’s an informal way of saying “see you later,” but in


terms of a literal translation, the closest we can get is, “until we
see each other (again)”.

2. Mazel Tov

Yiddish — Literally, it means “good luck”, but it’s used to


congratulate someone rather than to wish them a good outcome
that hasn’t yet happened. Consider it more of a declaration that
good luck has already fallen on someone and you’re
congratulating them for it.

3. joie de vivre

French — Not only the enjoyment of life but an enthusiastic,


exuberant joy of living. It’s the kind of thing all of us would like to
have every day of our lives, but seemingly few of us manage to
pull off, which is why those who seem to do it well are given such
a fancy descriptor.

4. Mi casa, su casa

Spanish — This is an expression of hospitality: literally, it means,


“My home is your home.”

5. Persona non grata


Latin — Here’s a title you want to make sure you never earn: it
means an unwelcome, unacceptable or undesirable person. And
you though our Latin-speaking ancestors had better manners,
didn’t you?

6. Que sera, sera

Spanish/Italian/French — Doris Day popularized this song in the


Alfred Hitchcock film, The Man Who Knew Too Much, turning into
a hit that would associated with her for the rest of her career. In
the song, lyrics explain that it means, “whatever will be will be.”
Literally, It means, “what will be will be,” a suggestion that we
must deal with what fate throws our way and we can’t know what
the future holds. The phrase translates similarly in multiple
languages, so multiple ethnicities claim the phrase as having
originated with them. Regardless of where it began, it’s been
around for a while: Wikipedia mentions one of the phrase’s
earliest documentations coming from an English aristocrat who
chose the phrase as his family’s heraldic motto in the 16th
century.

7. c’est la vie!

French — If you translate it literally, it means, “it is the life”. If you


translate it based on how it is used, it becomes “that’s life” or
“such is life”.

8. je ne sais quoi

French — You’re having a difficult time describing or naming a


certain quality or aspect of something. So you drag in this rather
presumptuous French expression which means, “I don’t know
what”. Certain people who one admires but can’t quite place a
finger on what it is about them that’s so admirable are said to
have a je ne sais quoi. And by the time you spell it correctly, you
could probably have come up with a few ideas of what that quality
is, anyway.

9. quid pro quo

Latin — I used this phrase recently in a Facebook status of all


places, pointing out to those in my friends list that if they send me
an invitation to “like” their page, they should either already have
liked mine or expect to be asked to do so. Quid pro quo, as you
might have guessed, means a favor or request that’s granted with
the understanding that something in return is expected.

10. ad absurdum

Latin — This phrase, which is rarely seen but fun to work into a
conversation once in a while when it’s least expected just to
watch people’s reactions, means “to the point of absurdity”. Keep
in mind: the presidential campaign is starting up, so I imagine it’s
a safe bet that we’ll have occasion to use it early and often
against both sides.

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