# What does the French phrase "comme ci, comme ca" mean to you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 28, 2010, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-french-phrase-comme-ci-comme-ca-mean-to-you/548300 "2010-07-28T12:24:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-french-phrase-comme-ci-comme-ca-mean-to-you/548300/21 "2010-07-28T17:14:03Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > “So-so.” > > Someone once pointed out that the equivalent terms in other languages is usually a reduplicative: > > comme ci, comme ca (French) > asi asi (Spanish) > sa som sa (Danish) > etsky ketsky (greek) > zozo (Dutch) > svo-svo (Icelandic) > sa sa (Swedish) > asim-asim (Portuguese) > zozo (Afrikaans) > ma made (Japanese) > mamahuhu (Chinese) That’s just too freaking cool. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-french-phrase-comme-ci-comme-ca-mean-to-you/548300/22 "2010-07-28T17:15:10Z")
“Whatever.” ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-french-phrase-comme-ci-comme-ca-mean-to-you/548300/23 "2010-07-28T18:32:00Z")
> [@runcible\_spoon](#): > > > [@CrazyCatLady](#): > > > > Oh, you know, strikes and gutters, man. Strikes and gutters. > > > > I think the closest American response to “How’s it going?” would probably be “It’s going.” > > To me, ‘it’s going’ is much more negative. That’s like saying, ‘the only good thing I can say about today is that I’m not dead’. ‘Comme ci, comme ca’ is more like, ‘oh, can’t complain’, or, ‘not too bad, not too bad’. Not fantastic, but not bad, either. I don’t use “it’s going” as particularly negative – I’d use it interchangeably with “Hanging in there.” (Which, come to think of it, isn’t particularly enthusiastic, either.) Anyway, to answer the OP – I’d say the current idiom that’s closest is “whatever.” ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-french-phrase-comme-ci-comme-ca-mean-to-you/548300/24 "2010-07-28T18:38:22Z")
In a non-French context, what it means to me is “I’m being pretentious”—like Miss Piggy referring to herself as “moi.” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-french-phrase-comme-ci-comme-ca-mean-to-you/548300/25 "2010-07-28T18:40:11Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Comment ça va? Comme ci, comme ça. > How is it going? So-so; OK; can’t complain… That’s exactly the way I heard the phrase used as a child. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-french-phrase-comme-ci-comme-ca-mean-to-you/548300/26 "2010-07-28T18:49:39Z")
I’ve always used it in the “so-so” context. ---
**Author:** ![mutantmoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@mutantmoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mutantmoose)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-french-phrase-comme-ci-comme-ca-mean-to-you/548300/27 "2010-07-29T22:40:18Z")
plus ca change, plus c’est la meme ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-french-phrase-comme-ci-comme-ca-mean-to-you/548300/28 "2010-07-29T22:42:31Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Kacha-kacha (Hebrew). Gesundheit (German) ---
**Author:** ![In\_Winnipeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a8b319/32.png) [@In\_Winnipeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Winnipeg)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-french-phrase-comme-ci-comme-ca-mean-to-you/548300/29 "2010-07-30T00:58:46Z")
Literally, “Like this, like that” with the appropriate waver of the hand, meaning “So-so”. Closest English equivalent is along the lines of “It’s been better, it’s been worse.” ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-french-phrase-comme-ci-comme-ca-mean-to-you/548300/30 "2010-07-30T01:17:10Z")
So-so. I don’t think I’d ever use the phrase to mean “whatever”, or at least not the way I hear “whatever” used most (slight disdain and/or disinterest in something). ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-french-phrase-comme-ci-comme-ca-mean-to-you/548300/31 "2010-07-30T01:30:23Z")
“Same shit, different shovel.” ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-french-phrase-comme-ci-comme-ca-mean-to-you/548300/32 "2010-07-30T02:12:39Z")
Why do we all recognize and use the “hand waver” signal? When the hell did the “International Gesticulation Committee” (IGC) decide upon this, exactly? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-french-phrase-comme-ci-comme-ca-mean-to-you/548300/33 "2010-07-30T02:37:45Z")
> [@mutantmoose](#): > > plus ca change, plus c’est la meme _Chose_. It’s "_Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose_. The more it changes, the more it’s the same thing. _Chose_ = thing. > [@Leaffan](#): > > Why do we all recognize and use the “hand waver” signal? > > When the hell did the “International Gesticulation Committee” (IGC) decide upon this, exactly? Is the International Gesticulation Committee anything like the International Color Committee, that shadowy organization that arbitrarily decrees what next year’s hot fashion colours will be? And if it has that kind of power, can it sort out that whole Bulgarian “headshake = yes” situation? ---
**Author:** ![Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8c91f0/32.png) [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bam_Boo_Gut)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-french-phrase-comme-ci-comme-ca-mean-to-you/548300/34 "2010-07-30T02:45:20Z")
[quote=“Sunspace, post:33, topic:548300”] > [@mutantmoose](#): > > And if it has that kind of power, can it sort out that whole Bulgarian “headshake = yes” situation? OP - It means so so to me. Is the Bulgarian headshake the same as the Greek one? What about the Greek ‘no’ movement. I always thought the nodding and shaking for yes and no would have come from babies suckling - nod, and unlatching - shake. Why is it opposite for the Greeks? ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-french-phrase-comme-ci-comme-ca-mean-to-you/548300/35 "2010-07-30T02:48:07Z")
Life goes on, brah! Lala, how the life goes on! ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-french-phrase-comme-ci-comme-ca-mean-to-you/548300/36 "2010-07-30T02:49:33Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > > [@mutantmoose](#): > > > > plus ca change, plus c’est la meme > > _Chose_. It’s "_Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose_. The more it changes, the more it’s the same thing. _Chose_ = thing. Alternatively, _plus ça change, plus ça reste pareil_. But I also wouldn’t really use that to mean _comme-ci, comme-ça_. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-french-phrase-comme-ci-comme-ca-mean-to-you/548300/37 "2010-07-30T02:52:03Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > “So-so.” > > Someone once pointed out that the equivalent terms in other languages is usually a reduplicative: > > comme ci, comme ca (French) > asi asi (Spanish) > sa som sa (Danish) > etsky ketsky (greek) > zozo (Dutch) > svo-svo (Icelandic) > sa sa (Swedish) > asim-asim (Portuguese) > zozo (Afrikaans) > ma made (Japanese) > mamahuhu (Chinese) In Bulgarian, it’s gore-dolu (up-down). ---
**Author:** ![mutantmoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@mutantmoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mutantmoose)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-french-phrase-comme-ci-comme-ca-mean-to-you/548300/38 "2010-07-30T17:13:11Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > > [@mutantmoose](#): > > > > plus ca change, plus c’est la meme > > _Chose_. It’s "_Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose_. The more it changes, the more it’s the same thing. _Chose_ = thing. C’est Dupont et Dupond ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-french-phrase-comme-ci-comme-ca-mean-to-you/548300/39 "2010-07-30T17:51:13Z")
> [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](#): > > Is the Bulgarian headshake the same as the Greek one? What about the Greek ‘no’ movement. I always thought the nodding and shaking for yes and no would have come from babies suckling - nod, and unlatching - shake. Why is it opposite for the Greeks? I haven’t been to Greece, and I wasn’t aware they do this as well. (I’ve seen it in Albania, though.) Bulgarians definitely do nod up-down for no and shake side-to-side for year, though. They also do a little head bobble (Indians do something similar) for, essentially, “okay, I find this acceptable”. They know they’re doing it the opposite way of everyone else, and will switch it up for foreigners on occasion. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-french-phrase-comme-ci-comme-ca-mean-to-you/548300/40 "2010-07-30T20:22:40Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > means the same thing as “medso-medso” (sp?) in Italian. 😃 > > It’s middling… nothing wrong with it, but basically just ok. That’s _mezzo mezzo_. (Not to be confused with “Mezz Mezzrow”.) The Italian phrase equivalent to the French one in question is _così così_, which is the same as French _comme ci_, only a little contracted. In Italian _così_ means ‘so’ and also ‘like this’. In older forms of English, “so” simply had the meaning of ‘in this way’, ‘like this’. E.g., “Why do you weep so?” If you phrase it as “like this, like that,” the meaning is more transparent than saying “so-so.” Implying a mixture of some good things and some bad things, with neither predominating. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-french-phrase-comme-ci-comme-ca-mean-to-you/548300.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-french-phrase-comme-ci-comme-ca-mean-to-you/548300.md?page=3)