# Jinx!



## french.preppy

Do the french have an equivalent of the english (maybe only american) game of "jinx". When two people say something at the same time you say "jinx!"


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## B.P.O.

No, as far as i know.


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## Keith Bradford

In British English you say "_snap_" (as in the card game _bataille_) and sometimes link little fingers with the other person.

I look forward to the French : "_On est pareil_!" perhaps?


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## the-quality-man-4

1-A superstitious term meaning to give something bad luck or misfourtune 
"He hadnt got a bad grade all year, but by mentioning that to his friend he jinxed it." 

2-when two people coincidentally say the same phrase together at the same time, the first one to then say "jinx" puts bad luck on the other. "Tina and Heather both say "I'm going to the movies" simultaneously." 
"Heather one-ups Tina by saying declaring "jinx"! "


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## B.P.O.

Wow, we learn something new everyday ! 
But definitely no equivalent in french ..!


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## JeanDeSponde

The only thing that comes to my mind is saying _les grands esprits se rencontrent_ (great men think alike) when two people say the same thing_. _Though this is a joke, not a game...


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## doodlebugger

When I was a kid we use to say _philippines!_ when that happened.
It has to do with almonds that have two nuts.
By extension we applied it to all sorts of things.
I don't know if it was purely a family thing.


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## Already-Seen

At (elementary and middle) school, when that happened, the two people would try to pinch each other. The fastest pincher would then say something like "Tu seras cocu(e) le/la premier/première".  Lit. "You will be the first one to be cheated on (made a cuckold)." Might have been regional...


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## itka

Qui m'a écrit ça récemment ? Janpol ? Maître Capello ? Désolée, mais c'était un de ces grands penseurs !
" _les grands esprits se rencontrent_... *comme les ânes à l'abreuvoir* !"


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## Already-Seen

JeanDeSponde said:


> The only thing that comes to my mind is saying _les grands esprits se rencontrent_ (great men think alike) when two people say the same thing_. _Though this is a joke, not a game...


 "Great minds think alike" is very common too.


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## Aldebar

Now, in Frenchn Jinx would probably be translated as followed. " Chips". Indeed, when two people say the same thing at the same time, the first word that comes to mind is " Chips", which is the same cultural phenomenon than " jinx" in the US or GB


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## philosophia

I concur with Aldebar. My pupils say "chips" all the time when 2 of them say the same thing at the same time. It must be quite recent because I don't remember saying that when I was myself a teenager. 
I think there's a difference with "_les grands esprits se rencontrent_". The latter phrase means that 2 people _think _the same thing at the same time but they could express this very same idea with slightly different words. Whereas you say "chips" when 2 people say the same words.


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## franc 91

et tac! might be a possibilité?


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## philosophia

Back in my day, we used to say "_et t*o*c_ !" when someone had said something that shut up the mouth of the other speaker. 
Never heard "_et tac_" but there's a great variety in colloquialisms.


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## franc 91

I have nothing against 'et toc' non plus


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## philosophia

Cool, but I actually meant that unlike "_chips_", "_et toc_" couldn't be used to translate "jinx". So what about "_et tac_" ?


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## Kecha

Already-Seen said:


> At (elementary and middle) school, when that happened, the two people would try to pinch each other. The fastest pincher would then say something like "Tu seras cocu(e) le/la premier/première".  Lit. "You will be the first one to be cheated on (made a cuckold)." Might have been regional...


Same for me, we would say "cocu avant moi !" and pinch the other before they do.

I guess in France the term is not fixed, and depending on generations, the translation will change.


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## Cog

Hello !

I confirm CHIPS

My litle sister (17 years old) used to say "Chips" when two people said the same thing at the same moment. Then the "rule" was that the other people didn't have the right to talk until he/she is called by his/her name.

I don't know if you have strange rules for jinx too.

Hope it helps,

Cog


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## Happysandrine

To be jinxed means "porter la poisse" in French.


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## philosophia

@ Kecha et Already Seen : ça me revient maintenant, on disait aussi "tu seras cocu avant moi" quand j'étais petite. Ce qui correspond assez à l'idée de "_jinx_". Mais je crois vraiment que ça ne se dit plus.
Mon fils de 9 ans me dit que ses copains disent "chips hamburger frites" (pour dire tu seras obèse avant moi ? ) quand deux personnes disent la même chose en même temps.


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## xtrasystole

doodlebugger said:


> When I was a kid we use to say _philippines!_ when that happened.
> It has to do with almonds that have two nuts.
> ...
> I don't know if it was purely a family thing


Chez moi aussi, on faisait _Philippine_ avec les amandes !


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## gaylep

philosophia said:


> I concur with Aldebar. My pupils say "chips" all the time when 2 of them say the same thing at the same time. It must be quite recent because I don't remember saying that when I was myself a teenager.
> I think there's a difference with "_les grands esprits se rencontrent_". The latter phrase means that 2 people _think _the same thing at the same time but they could express this very same idea with slightly different words. Whereas you say "chips" when 2 people say the same words.



Bonjour philosophia,

As-tu une idée du sens de "chips"? Pourquoi le disent-ils? Et, est-ce prononcé ainsi: "sheep"?

Merci mille fois!
Christina


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## Mijia19

Yeah, the exact translation of "jinx!" is "chips !" It is totally meaningless (probably a bad phonetical translation of "jinx"...), but is used for the same thing. When two people say exactly the same words at the same time, if one says to the other "chips" then he's jinxed and can't say a word until someone else says his name to unjinx him.
It is pronounced "sheeps".


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## Martyn94

Just as a reminder of what Keith Bradford said 5 years ago, in British English it translates "snap".


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## Marieve333

In Quebec, we say "fais un voeu" (make a wish) 

Two people saying the same thing at the same time is considered good luck over here, so you can make a wish when that happens


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## Santana2002

My kids say "_chips_!" when this happens.  It's very common in the school playground.


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## Cpt_S_Jacob

There is another game involved with "jinx" in the United States.

When two people say the same word, they both have to yell "Jinx! You owe me a Coke" as fast as possible.
Whoever says it last _cannot speak and must remain silent _until he buys the other a Coke.


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## amipierro

No doubts, as confirmed by many here, it's "Chips". Claire (she's 10) uses it all the time at school.


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## Kecha

They translated it as "Chips !" (and "Double chips !" at the second occurrence) in Frozen.


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## Shytom

I was also used to say "Chips"  when I was younger. but nothing followed this word (no game).


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

"Du tic au tac en passant par toc"  , when we say "Great minds think alike" ("Les grands esprits se rencontre'), it's usually in a humorous or sarcastic way; the second half of the saying is "..., and fools seldom differ" (see itka's post). But I don't know if in AE we have one saying for this situation; there may be regional ones.


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## hirondelled'hiver

Moi mes enfants disaient "à moi le bonheur!" quand elles disaient la même chose en temps. Une version plus optimiste


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## guillaumedemanzac

"Snap!" or "I said it first!" or (if you said it first)   "and no returns!"  (which is also used for the pinching game). If you pinch or punch a person for any reason, you say "...and no returns!" to prevent them doing the same to you in return! - very 60s so expect youngsters have something else they use!


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