tu es une balance
The English phrase "you're a rat" is translated into French as tu es une balance.
This is a way to call someone a traitor who tells secrets or informs on others to an authority.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The phrase tu es une balance is informal and is used as a slang insult.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase uses the singular tu (informal you), which is appropriate for an insult directed at a peer or someone you know.
Did you know?
- In French slang, a person who tells secrets is not called a rat but a balance, while a 'rat' (un rat) is typically someone who is stingy or cheap.
- Because balance is a feminine noun, you must use the feminine article une even if you are calling a man a rat.
- The Latin root *bilanx, meaning 'two scales', is the ancestor of the French balance, linking the word to the idea of two sides or a duality.
Examples in context
- Ne lui parle pas, tu es une balance.Don't talk to him, you're a rat.
- Tout le monde dit que tu es une balance.Everyone says that you're a rat.
Example conversation
Two friends are arguing in a school hallway after a secret was leaked.
- ChloéTu as tout répété au prof ?You told the teacher everything?
- NathanJe n'ai rien dit du tout.I didn't say anything at all.
- ChloéMensonge, tu es une balance, Nathan.Liar, you're a rat, Nathan.
- NathanCe n'est pas ma faute si Chloé le sait.It's not my fault that Chloé knows.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries balance, tu, une, CC BY-SA 4.0.
