TrĂšs vs Trop vs Super vs Vraiment in French
Let's set the scene : You're talking to your friend, she shows you her new art piece and you say "C'est trĂšs beau !" to say "It's so pretty !". And for a few seconds she looks a bit disappointed.
(This might sound a bit exaggerated but if a friend of mine, a native French speaker*, says "c'est trĂšs beau !" to me, I might assume that :
they're saying that ironically because it's such a strange way to say "it's so pretty !".
they think that I'm under the age of 8 and I'm bothering them - "c'est trĂšs beau, now go play with the other children")
(If your friend knows you're not French, she'll understand what you mean, don't worry)
So then, what should you say ?
First, let's take a look at "trĂšs"
1. TrĂšs // Very :
If you are writing a thesis/sending an email to French clients/talking to your boss etcâŠusing "trĂšs" to say "very" is the way to go.
BUT we don't actually use it that much orally in the day to day life in exclamative sentences such as "It's very + adj ! "
Note 1 : Surprisingly if you want to say "It's not very + adj ! " you can still use "trĂšs".
Exemple n° 1 et 2 : "C'est pas trÚs bon !" // "It's not very tasty !" "C'est pas trÚs pratique ! " // "It's not very practical !"
In text messages or orally, whenever you want to say "It's very + adj !" I would suggest you forget about "trÚs" and use the other expressions I'll mention in this post. Note 2 : You cannot use the word "trÚs" with every adjective ! - La maison est trÚs belle. La maison est trÚs magnifique. - La soupe est trÚs bonne. La soupe est trÚs délicieuse. [This website lists adjectives you can use to avoid saying "trÚs". The adjectives on the left can be used with "trÚs", the ones on the right cannot.]
2. Trop // Too :
"Trop" can be translated as "too" or "too much"
Exemple n°3 : "Mon café est trop sucré". // "My coffee is too sweet"
BUT NOW. If we go back to our great example : Your friend shows you her art piece. A possible answer is :
"C'est trop beau !" (lit. translation :" it's too pretty").
"C'est + trop + adj ! " is a very common way to say "it's very + adj ! ". Note 1 : It's quite informal ! Be careful whom you use it with !, (I was scolded as a child for using it)
Note 2 : This only works with the adjectives mentionned below ! If you use any other adjectives like "hot" for example : "l'eau est trop chaude" will mean that the water is too hot. (I guess you could also think of "trop" in this context as "so") Note 3 : "Trop" can also be used in the following structure : "Subject + [ĂȘtre] + TROP + Adj" - Beau/belle : C'est trop beau ! // It's so pretty ! (C'est trooooop beau ! // It's soooo pretty ! ) Elles sont trop belles ! // They are so pretty ! - Cool : C'est trop cool ! // It's so cool ! Mon chat est trop cool ! // My cat is so cool ! - Chiant : (!!!bad word alert!!!) C'est trop chiant ! // It's so fucking annoying ! Mon frĂšre est trop chiant. // My brother is such a pain in the ass. - Moche : C'est trop moche ! // It's so/very ugly ! Ce tableau est trop moche. // This painting is so/very ugly. - Bien : C'est trop bien ! // it's so great ! Ce film est trop bien ! // This movie is really great ! - Sympa : C'est trop sympa de ta part ! Merci ! // It's so nice of you! Thank you! Mes amies sont trop sympas ! // My friends are so nice !
Note 4 : Saying "c'est cool ", "c'est beau ", "c'est bien", "c'est sympa" sounds quite passive-aggressive in French. ("c'est chiant", on the other hand works perfectly on its own, don't worry) Note 5 : Those are the most common adjectives that you can use with "trop" . I cannot think of any other adjectives but there might be some more ! The use of "Trop" is really common but informal. What should you say if you don't want to say "trop" and don't want to use "trĂšs" either ? -> You can use "super" or "vraiment"
3. Super : You might have seen it translated as "Great". When used in the exclamative sentence "Super !" or before a noun , it does indeed mean "great". But if it is used before an adjective, it becomes synonymous with "really" or "very"!
Exemple n°4 : "Il fait super chaud dehors !" // It's really hot outside !
4. Vraiment : "Super" is a bit more formal than "trop" yet if you're talking to the big boss, "vraiment" would be better.
C'est trop beau ! < C'est super beau ! < C'est vraiment beau !
Note 1 : "Vraiment" literally means "truly". Yet, I feel like in some situations we use this one in French the way English speakers use "really".
Exemple n°5 : "C'est vraiment énervant, j'arrive pas à utiliser ce logiciel" // "It's really/truly annoying, I can't figure out how to use this computer program."
Note 2 : While "trop" and "super" are informal, you can use "vraiment" in both formal and informal settings.
Exemple n°6 : "T'es vraiment chiant !" // "You're really/truly a pain in the ass !" (You could also say "t'es trop chiant !" ou "t'es super chiant !")
5. A few more examples and 3 mores words to say "very"
Exemples n°7 et 8 : "Il fait super froid dehors aujourd'hui ! " // "It's really cold outside today !" "38 euros ? Putain, c'est super cher ! " // " 38 euros ? Fuck, that's really exprensive !" Some people also use "méga" "archi" or "giga" to say "very " , (those 3 are informal as well)
Exemples n°9 , 10 et 11
"Il fait méga chaud dehors ! " // "It's really really hot outside !" "J'ai archi faim !" // "I'm really really hungry" "J'ai giga soif !" // "I'm really really really thirsty" You can try this little test I made about this post here ! * from mainland France
