{"id":8797,"date":"2022-09-08T00:59:02","date_gmt":"2022-09-08T00:59:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=8797"},"modified":"2022-09-08T00:59:02","modified_gmt":"2022-09-08T00:59:02","slug":"comme-ci-comme-ca-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/comme-ci-comme-ca-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Comme Ci Comme Ca \u2013 Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Did you ask someone for their opinion on your work, and they told you, <strong><em>\u2018comme ci, comme \u00e7a?\u2019<\/em><\/strong> This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression.<\/p>\n<h2>Meaning<\/h2>\n<p>The expression <em>\u2018comme ci, comme \u00e7a\u2019<\/em> <u>translates from French<\/u> to <em>\u2018so-so\u2019 <\/em>or<em> \u2018like this, like that.\u2019 <\/em>If you use <em>\u2018comme ci, comme \u00e7a,\u2019<\/em> it <u>means you don\u2019t have an opinion<\/u>, or <u>it doesn\u2019t strike you<\/u>. \u2018<em>Comme ci, comme \u00e7a\u2019<\/em> <u>means neither bad nor good<\/u>. It refers to <u>taking a neutral position on something.<\/u><\/p>\n<p>If you use <em>\u2018comme ci, comme \u00e7a,\u2019<\/em> it means <u>you don\u2019t have a point of view on the subject matter worth noting<\/u>. You can think of <em>\u2018comme ci, comme \u00e7a\u2019<\/em> as between <em>\u2018boring\u2019 <\/em>or<em> \u2018lame\u2019 <\/em>and<em> \u2018amazing\u2019<\/em> or <em>outstanding.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Example Usage<\/h2>\n<p>\"I don't know what to think of it. It's comme ci, comme \u00e7a' to me, and I don't have an opinion. Maybe it's time to go back to the drawing board with that idea.\"<\/p>\n<p>\"I asked the boss what he thought of my idea, and he said 'comme ci, comme \u00e7a.' I was heartbroken as I spent the last year working on it.\"<\/p>\n<p>\"I think the painting is comme ci, comme \u00e7a. It doesn't really speak to me, and I think I should rather keep looking around for something else.\"<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe vacation was comme ci, comme \u00e7a. We didn't get to see anything spectacular, and it was expensive. We won't be going back there anytime soon.\"<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe meal was comme ci, comme \u00e7a. As a French restaurant, I would have expected better from the chef, not just an average meal.\"<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe book was comme ci, comme \u00e7a. I don't really get anything from it. It wasn't boring, but it wasn't very interesting either.\"<\/p>\n<p>\"While employment data was good, it's lower than estimates. So, the Federal Reserve will see that as comme ci, comme \u00e7a, and use it as ammo for lifting rates.\"<\/p>\n<p>\"I don't know how I feel about him. I'm comme ci, comme \u00e7a. I think I need to look for someone else.\"<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-8799\" src=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Comme-Ci-Comme-Ca-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"264\" height=\"198\" srcset=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Comme-Ci-Comme-Ca-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Comme-Ci-Comme-Ca.jpg 463w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 264px) 100vw, 264px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-8800\" src=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Comme-Ci-Comme-Ca2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Comme-Ci-Comme-Ca2.jpg 195w, https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Comme-Ci-Comme-Ca2-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Comme-Ci-Comme-Ca2-120x120.jpg 120w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Origin<\/h2>\n<p>The expression \u2018comme ci, comme \u00e7a\u2019 originates from French. The phrase first appeared in English conversations and texts in 1945 in its original French format. Language experts are unsure of the first use of the term in writing or who coined the expression.<\/p>\n<p>However, some experts believe the phrase entered use in English towards the end of WWII. French and English soldiers would bring French culture back to England, including words and phrases. Some experts believe it crossed the pond to the United States after being popularized in England.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"French Professor Explains | STOP Saying &quot;Comme Ci, Comme \u00c7a&quot;\" width=\"512\" height=\"288\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9opaX9KxHvU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen title=\"French Professor Explains | STOP Saying \"Comme Ci, Comme \u00c7a\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Phrases Similar to Comme Ci Comme Ca<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>So-so.<\/li>\n<li>Like this, like that.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Phrases Opposite to Comme Ci Comme Ca<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Conviction.<\/li>\n<li>I like it.<\/li>\n<li>I don\u2019t like it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What is the Correct Saying?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Comme ci, comme \u00e7a.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Ways People May Say Comme Ci Comme Ca Incorrectly<\/h2>\n<p>The phrase \u2018comme ci, comme \u00e7a\u2019 sometimes has the spelling \u2018comme ci, comme ca.\u2019 However, this use of the expression without the cedilla mark is incorrect. \u2018Fa\u00e7ade\u2019 is an example of a word incorporating the use of a cedilla, which was dropped after the phrase became popularized in English. Perhaps, with time, the same will apply to \u2018comme ci, comme \u00e7a.\u2019<\/p>\n<h2>Acceptable Ways to Phrase Comme Ci Comme Ca<\/h2>\n<p>In social and professional conversations, you can use the phrase \u2018comme ci, comme \u00e7a\u2019 to replace \u2018so-so\u2019 or \u2018like this, like that.\u2019 For instance, you could ask your boss their thoughts about a new product, and they may reply with \u2018comme ci, comme \u00e7a\u2019 to show you they don\u2019t have an opinion.<\/p>\n<p>Or you could use \u2018comme ci, comme \u00e7a\u2019 at home when your partner asks you what you thought of the movie you just watched. Typically, people will spell \u2018comme ci, comme \u00e7a using a comma to separate the two phrases. In most cases, using a foreign language in English requires italics. However, this expression doesn\u2019t need it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-2\">Did you ask someone for their opinion on your work, and they told you, \u2018comme ci, comme \u00e7a?\u2019 This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression. Meaning The expression \u2018comme ci, comme \u00e7a\u2019 translates from French to \u2018so-so\u2019 or \u2018like this, like that.\u2019 If you use \u2018comme ci, comme \u00e7a,\u2019 it means you [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8797"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8797"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8797\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8801,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8797\/revisions\/8801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}