c'est pas terrible

[Nurzik]

Hi,

does "c'est pas terrible" mean it is not terrible or it is terrible?

thanks,
Nurzik

 

[ganieda]

hello,

in french, "c'est pas terrible" can have 2 meanings depending on the context; it can mean it is not terrible or it can also mean it is not great (young people often say when something is great "c'est terrible" so it has become an "expression" to say "bof, c'est pas terrrible" for "well, it is not great")
hope this helps !

 

[irka_hcmc]

c'est pas terrible means generally " so so " lol, comme ci comme ça. This translation works for the food, the sport so on so forth....

It's not that great works although

Cheers !!!

 

[david.watty]

I agree with ganieda but although irka is a native speaker im not sure they're quite right P) : "c'est pas terrible" sounds like it should mean the same thing as "c'est pas mal" - "it's not bad". Whereas "c'est pas terrible" seems (to me) to mean "its pretty bad" or "its not great". Confirmation from another native speaker?

 

[Dr. Baha'i]

I agree with "it isn't great."

 

[david.watty]

I agree with "it isn't great."

as in:

(i) "cest pas mal" means "its not bad"
(ii) "cest pas terrible" means "it isnt great"

so (ii) is used to describe something which is actually quite bad whereas (i) is when something is just mediocre ?

 

[miranda8]

Is the expression "c'est pas terrible" used sarcastically in a funny way? Situation: If a friend got an apartment close to La Tour Eiffel and she was obviously very excited about it, I could say "alors, c'est pas terrible où tu te trouves... ;-)"

 

[Kajeetah]

Hi and welcome to the forum.
It does work in a sarcastic, funny way.
Just to be sure, you want to make a statement, not to ask her a question?
If it is a statement, you could say "Dis donc, c'est pas terrible comme endroit/quartier..." or "... là où tu es (maintenant)"

 

[miranda8]

Parfait, merci beaucoup! And yes, I want to make a statement