20 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Local France
French phrase of the Day: Un jour sans fin
Why do I need to know Un jour sans fin?
Because it has a more colloquial meaning than its literal translation.
What does it mean?
Un jour sans fin
- pronounced as uhn-joor-soh-fahn - literally translates as an 'endless day' or 'day without end'.
However its wider meaning refers to the American film
Groundhog Day
, in which Bill Murray's grumpy weatherman is forced to live the same day over and over again.
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The American tradition of asking a groundhog to predict the weather has no meaning in France (although France does have its own
annual weather-predicting tradition
that is related to crêpes), so when the film came out in France it was titled
Un jour sans fin
, going for a more literal description of what it's all about.
It's common for British or American films to have totally different titles in France if a literal translation doesn't work.
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But in France the film title has gained a wider meaning - just as it has in English - to mean something that we're forced to endure over and over again in a seemingly endless cycle.
It's commonly used in news headlines to give a general sense of 'Oh no, this is back again'.
Use it like this
Réforms de retraits: Un jour sans fin ?
Groundhog day for pension reform debates?
La cinquième vague de Covid-19, « on sent que ça met un coup au moral », poursuit le président de la République « Là, il y a un côté jour sans fin… » soupire-t-il encore
- The fifth wave of Covid-19, 'we feel that it's taking its toll on morale', continues the President. 'There's a feeling of groundhog day...' he sighs.
Une projection spéciale « Un jour sans fin » est organisée samedi
- There's a special screening of Groundhog Day on Saturday
