Hit Me Up With That Montréal Slang #

From the get go, you'll notice that the French spoken in Québec is quite different than the French spoken elsewhere. That's true for the accent, but also for the expressions and words that form the joual dialect. Originally spoken by Montréal's working class, joual is still regularly used in casual conversation. We also have a very unique and colorful way of swearing. I won't get into that here, but I could be persuaded to give you a crash course in person!

If you don't know French, don't worry! The majority of Montréalers are bilingual, oftentimes even trilingual! To that effect, here are a few expressions and words that will be understood in both English and French. Some of these are actually joual!

All-dressed: A direct translation from the French "tout garni", meaning "with everything". Initially used when ordering pizza, it has evolved over time to cover just about anything. You can order your shawarma, hot-dog, burger, and even your bagel all-dressed.

Bonjour-Hi: Unofficial greeting you might hear from staff in shops, restaurants and venues. You reply either bonjour or hi, and that will cue your host on which language you'd like to converse in! People don't use it outside of that context, so you shouldn't be saying "Bonjour-Hi" during your trip. Use your normal, preferred greeting when meeting people! There's a bit more to it, and if you're curious I recommend this great article by Josh Freed.

Cinq à sept (5 à 7): Happy hour/cocktail hour, often including some special promotion for the duration. As the name implies, it's usually from five to seven PM, although some places will have it run for longer while keeping the name. Because what the heck is a quatre-à-huit anyways?

Dep: Our corner stores are called dépanneurs. If you're looking for a place to buy beer, gum, chips or a bottle of water, ask where is the nearest dep. Yes, you can buy bagged milk there!

Franglais/Frenglish: If you're conversing with a billingual Montréaler, you might catch them speaking Franglais, i.e. switching mid-sentence to_ l'autre langue_.

Guichet: Both Francophones and Anglophones alike use this word instead of ATM.

Métro: Our subway system. If you ask directions to the nearest subway, you'll end up at the sandwich restaurant. To confuse things further, there's also a popular chain of grocery stores called "Metro".

SAQ: Pronounced "sack". SAQ is the Société des Alcools du Québec, as our liquor stores are province-run. You can buy beer almost anywhere, but for spirits and fancier wines, you will have to make a trip to "la sack".

Terrasse: Outdoor seating area for restaurants and bars. You might know this elsewhere as a patio. They fill up quick in the summer!

Trio: Fast food slang. Where you'd be ordering a combo in other places, in Québec you'll be ordering a trio; The main, the side and the drink!