French · Frustration
Quelle galère !
kel ga-LEHR · /kɛl ga.lɛʁ/
What a hassle / What an ordeal
1/5 Grandma-safe
mild, playful; fine on daytime TV
Literally
"What a galley (slave ship)"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
From the oar-galleys of old — a task that's a slog, a journey that goes wrong, admin that eats your afternoon. Clean and everyday. "Galérer" is the verb: "j'ai galéré" = I had a real struggle. No offence in it; just weary honesty about how annoying life can be.
Heard in the wild
Trois heures de bouchon, quelle galère !
Three hours of traffic, what an ordeal!
Where it lands
France (universal)
Quick answers
- What does "Quelle galère !" mean?
- In French, "Quelle galère !" means "What a hassle / What an ordeal". Literally it's "What a galley (slave ship)". From the oar-galleys of old — a task that's a slog, a journey that goes wrong, admin that eats your afternoon. Clean and everyday. "Galérer" is the verb: "j'ai galéré" = I had a real struggle. No offence in it; just weary honesty about how annoying life can be.
- Is "Quelle galère !" 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 "Quelle galère !"?
- Say it "kel ga-LEHR" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: kɛl ga.lɛʁ.
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 "Road rage".
- Greek κόλλησα στην κίνηση I'm stuck in traffic — the eternal Athens lament.
- Italian Ma dove vai?! Where the hell do you think you're going?!
- Polish niedzielny kierowca Sunday driver — the road-rage taxonomy's gentlest species.
- Portuguese Que saco! What a drag! / So annoying! / Ugh!
- Russian Твою мать! Damn it! / Son of a bitch! / For crying out loud!
- Spanish Estar hasta la madre To be fed up / sick and tired — or packed full
- German Mist! Crap! / Rats! — the family-friendly 'damn'
- Japanese 勘弁して Give me a break / spare me / oh, come on
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