How to translate "so to speak"?

Question

I would like to know how to translate “so to speak” in French. So far, the only thing I can come up with is disons que.

There are on line tools to answer this type of questions. Reverso, Wiktionary, Linguee. French Language and usage isn't a dictionary. — None, Dec 23 '12 at 06:28

score 9 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 23 '12 at 13:51

9

"So to speak" means "pour ainsi dire".

answered Dec 23 '12 at 13:51

air-dex

score 3 · Answer 2 · edited Dec 23 '12 at 12:48

3

The correct translation is

Façon de parler

Which would be the literal translation for “way to speak”.

Example:

Je suis bien meilleur joueur de tennis que lui, je vais le détruire ! Enfin, façon de parler.

edited Dec 23 '12 at 12:48

Evpok

answered Dec 23 '12 at 12:05

SteeveDroz

+1. Ajoutons la variante légèrement moins courante manière de dire. – Romain Valeri Dec 24 '12 at 10:00
1

Depending on the level of language you have to use Pour ainsi dire is a bit more formal, and Facon de parler more familiar. I would avoid using the later in an official context. – TonioElGringo Jan 02 '13 at 12:15

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Dec 01 '13 at 19:24

2

«c'est à dire» would be the correct way if you think about how to convey the same idea (instead of word to word translation) from English to French.

answered Dec 01 '13 at 19:24

Abhimanyu Arora

Yeah, that makes sense too. I don't know why I never thought of that before. – samayo Dec 01 '13 at 19:40

3 Answers3