![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
One phrase the French have that I love is the idiomatic phrase "ce n'est pas toujours évident." It sort of means "it's not always as easy as one might think," but the French sprinkle it liberally throughout conversation in a way that works in the privacy of my own brain, too. I use it a lot in my internal dialogue, but I don't usually say it out loud, because it doesn't translate to anything.
But there's something so gracious about it. Sure, it can be used ironically or with sarcasm, but mostly it's like an acceptance of limitation: it's okay if you didn't get that, at first, it's not as easy as it might look. Or, there's time to redo it, we all did it wrong, when we were starting out.
It's neutral, on its own. It reserves judgement. It's a nice way of acknowledging something, and then moving on.
C'est pas toujours évident, quoi. It's a phrase that carries its accompanying shrug, right along with it.
But there's something so gracious about it. Sure, it can be used ironically or with sarcasm, but mostly it's like an acceptance of limitation: it's okay if you didn't get that, at first, it's not as easy as it might look. Or, there's time to redo it, we all did it wrong, when we were starting out.
It's neutral, on its own. It reserves judgement. It's a nice way of acknowledging something, and then moving on.
C'est pas toujours évident, quoi. It's a phrase that carries its accompanying shrug, right along with it.
Tags: