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French · Exclamations

Mince !

MANSS · /mɛ̃s/

Shoot! / Darn!

1/5 Grandma-safe

mild, playful; fine on daytime TV

Literally

"Thin/slim"

Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.

How to use it

Grandma-safe, office-safe, another polite dodge for "merde." "Mince alors !" is the slightly old-fashioned full version — real but a touch quaint. Reach for plain "mince" as a safe, universally acceptable "oops."

Heard in the wild

Mince, j'ai raté mon arrêt.

Shoot, I missed my stop.

Where it lands

France (universal)

Quick answers

What does "Mince !" mean?
In French, "Mince !" means "Shoot! / Darn!". Literally it's "Thin/slim". Grandma-safe, office-safe, another polite dodge for "merde." "Mince alors !" is the slightly old-fashioned full version — real but a touch quaint. Reach for plain "mince" as a safe, universally acceptable "oops."
Is "Mince !" offensive?
It's on the mild end — 1/5 (Grandma-safe) on the Punch-o-Meter. mild, playful; fine on daytime TV.
How do you pronounce "Mince !"?
Say it "MANSS" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: mɛ̃s.

Related in French

Putain ! poo-TAN Damn! / F***! / The all-purpose intensifier — punctuation, really Merde ! MEHRD Shit! / Damn! — and, bizarrely, 'good luck' Bordel ! bor-DEL What a mess! / Chaos! — also 'what the hell' as an intensifier Putain de merde ! poo-TAN duh MEHRD For f***'s sake! / Goddammit! Zut ! ZOOT Darn! / Shoot! Crotte ! KROT Poop! / Darn! — the polite-company dodge for 'merde'

The same idea, elsewhere

Via concepts like "Damn".

how to say "Damn" →

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