# idée reçue



## Fifi_grenadine

Moderator note: several threads on "idée reçue" have been merged into this one. 

Hi,
I have a question about the translation of "idée reçue".
Could it be "ready-made idea", or rather "preconceived idea" ?
What is the more current in English ?
Thanks
Fifi


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## octopopus

maybe "prejudice" ? 
ça signifie préjugé...et c'est un mot assez fréquent!


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## Fifi_grenadine

The problem is that it is not about someone, but about something :
"Contrairement à beaucoup d'idées reçues, les pâtes ne font pas grossir"
So I'm not sure about prejudice...
Fifi


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## octopopus

à ce moment je pense que "preconceived ideas" fera l'affaire!
en tt cas, ca sonne bien!


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## Fifi_grenadine

Merci !
Fifi


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## david314

octopopus said:


> à ce moment je pense que "preconceived ideas" fera l'affaire!
> en tt cas, ca sonne bien!


  I believe that you may also opt for: * preconceived notions. *


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## jjjbec

We do use 'received ideas' as well though


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## iceskater1286

contrary to popular belief... ? not a direct translation but i think it also could fit here


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## david314

iceskater1286 said:


> *contrary to popular belief*... ? not a direct translation but i think it also could fit here


 Bien joué!


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## Fifi_grenadine

Thanks to all of you for these suggestions!
It really helps me.
Fifi


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## strangebob2006

Fifi_grenadine said:


> "Contrairement à beaucoup d'idées reçues, les pâtes ne font pas grossir"


 
Using this sentence as a basis, i would translate is as "Contrary to popular belief" but the others of course work too

=)


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## witold bayer-quest

"conventional wisdom" is also a common expression in English, and the one I usually use when I need to translate "idée reçue"


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## Mandy M

Does idée reçue mean recieved wisdom?
many thanks
mandy


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## melu85

no it's more like a biased idea, something commonly  shared but not necessarily true


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## Mandy M

Thanks that makes sense in the context.
mandy


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## floise

Mandy M,

I think you are correct in your guess.

Idée reçue = generally accepted idea

Received wisdom = knowledge or information that people generally believe is true, although in fact it is often false.

floise


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## johnny trampas

Mandy, don't forget 'i' before 'e' except after 'c'........recEIved wisdom!! 
I would have liked the context of the expression !!


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## Mandy M

Thanks
mandy


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## Mandy M

Thanks for the spelling correction. I was being careless.
Context 
*Idée reçue*: "Les banques ne prêtent qu'aux riches."
Solution Durable: Inventer une banque qui permet à trois emprunters sur quatre de se sortir d'une situation d'extrême pauvreté,...


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## Outsider

Preconceived notion? Misconception?


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## johnny trampas

..a given fact??


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## tinsel

Est-ce que la phrase 'idée reçue' se traduit comme: idée toute faite.

Si cela a raison : je vous propose : unconsidered/ preconceived belief.

Bonne continuation !


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## renardor

I've heard of "fallacy"... but I don't know if it fits.


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## Fredouze

Don't you use the word "cliché" in english?


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## Outsider

Another vote here for "preconceived notion". Also, "preconception".


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## Wopsy

renardor said:


> I've heard of "fallacy"... but I don't know if it fits.



Renardor, you would use 'fallacy' like this: It's a fallacy to think that pasta makes you fat'.


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## Outsider

Fredouze said:


> Don't you use the word "cliché" in english?


Does "cliché" mean the same as "idée reçue" in French?


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## renardor

> Does "cliché" mean the same as "idée reçue" in French?


no, it doesn't. cliché can be a sentence or metaphor that has been so used that it has lost the effect it used to have at the beginning. Or, it can mean "stereotype".


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## Outsider

Thank you. As far as I know it's the same in English.


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## tinsel

Coucou, 

Cliché n'est pas la même chose en anglais qu'une 'idée reçue' c'est-à-dire 'a preconceived notion.' En anglais on utilise le mot 'cliché' pour exprimer ce qu'il est un stéréotype. 'A preconceived notion' est quelque chose sans vrai raison, mais pas toujours un stéréotype. 

Bonne continuation.


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## sanne78

Dear all,

how do you say in English: "*idée reçue*"?

My dictionary says: "_a generally accepted idea_" and I was thinking of " _a preconceived idea_"...

Does anyone have better suggestions?
Thanks in advance.


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## Squiggle

*Preconception* is a bit snappier although it is usually in the plural, *preconceptions*.


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## edwingill

We use in English "idée reçue"


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## sanne78

edwingill said:


> We use in English "idée reçue"


 
but it isn't very common, is it?


So if I would have to translate

"_C'est une idée reçue que l'allemand est une langue difficile_."

I could say: "_It's a preconception that _..." ?? ( It sounds stange..)


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## Squiggle

In this context I would put somthing like "German is commonly thought to be a difficult language".

Preconception would be used more like this: There are many preconceptions about the German language, such as it being a difficult one. One of the main preconceptions about German is that it is a difficult language.


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## Fabrice26

How about using _cliché _(or even _hackneyed idea_) in this context ?


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## sanne78

Squiggle said:


> In this context I would put somthing like "German is commonly thought to be a difficult language".


 
This is a very nice translation, but I was hoping to find a word/expression that means the same as "idée reçue".

In fact "idée reçue" has the notion of "something that most people think is true" and as well the notion of "it is (often) not true what they think".

If you use:
*a preconceived idea/preconception:* it can mean the idea of one person/group; it doesn't imply that a lot of peope have this idea.

If you use:
*a common misconception:* it implies that it isn't true, but sometimes an "idée reçue" is true.



(Fabrice 26, I think that "cliché" wouldn't work as a translation..)


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## RyAnIINY

I was browsing through the forums looking for some good ideas about "idée reçue" myself, because there's nothing that perfectly expresses the idea in my native English. The closest I've come after much racking of my brain is a *"widely held notion."* It's clumsier in English, but that's about as close as I've gotten--usually the phrase implies that the notion is somehow incomplete or incorrect (like idée reçue) but it also leaves the door open to it being correct (also like idée reçue). I recognize this thread's a bit old, but perhaps this will help revive some discussion on this rather difficult to translate term.


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## TonyStarks

*A preconceived notion* would work quite well in this instance. Par example :

It's a preconceived notion that the German language is a difficult one.


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## BacchusTO

"C'est une idée reçue que l'allemand est une langue difficile" does not sound strange at all.

By writing, you could translate "wided held notion" by:
- une notion communément admise
- une idée solidement ancrée
But these two expressions do not involve explicitly the idea that it is finally not true.

For exemple:
Il est communément admis que l'allemand est une langue difficile. Mais c'est faux.


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## Salvatos

RyAnIINY said:


> I was browsing through the forums looking for some good ideas about "idée reçue" myself, because there's nothing that perfectly expresses the idea in my native English. The closest I've come after much racking of my brain is a *"widely held notion."* It's clumsier in English, but that's about as close as I've gotten--usually the phrase implies that the notion is somehow incomplete or incorrect (like idée reçue) but it also leaves the door open to it being correct (also like idée reçue). I recognize this thread's a bit old, but perhaps this will help revive some discussion on this rather difficult to translate term.


In some contexts, "it is largely accepted that..." might work.


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## SunnyS

Salvatos said:


> In some contexts, "it is largely accepted that..."



_It is generally believed..._

"widely held notion" doesn't sound at all clumsy to me, it's just fine. The question is: does it require a hyphen?

"widely-held notion" ?


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## Wodwo

SunnyS said:


> _It is generally believed..._
> 
> "widely held notion" doesn't sound at all clumsy to me, it's just fine. The question is: does it require a hyphen?
> 
> "widely-held notion" ?



We do also say "received idea". It's a perfectly standard English expression.


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## franc 91

and received wisdom


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## funnyhat

Another: "*Conventional wisdom* holds that German is a difficult language to learn."


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## laura:)

I think a way to translate *idée reçue *into English that sounds more natural would be *popular belief. *


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## Wodwo

In many cases 'popular belief' would probably be OK, but I don't think it's quite the same as an 'idée reçue', which is, specifically, an idea you've got from someone else and not really thought about for yourself. I think there's a difference of emphasis - 'idée reçue' is critical of a failure to think about something. Whereas a 'popular belief', though it does imply that the belief is wrong, isn't actually criticizing people who hold it for failing to think about it.

A bit hair-splitting, but hey.


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## kfeeney

RyAnIINY said:


> I was browsing through the forums looking for some good ideas about "idée reçue" myself, because there's nothing that perfectly expresses the idea in my native English. The closest I've come after much racking of my brain is a *"widely held notion."* It's clumsier in English, but that's about as close as I've gotten--usually the phrase implies that the notion is somehow incomplete or incorrect (like idée reçue) but it also leaves the door open to it being correct (also like idée reçue). I recognize this thread's a bit old, but perhaps this will help revive some discussion on this rather difficult to translate term.


That's a great one, actually. Would "contrary to popular belief" also fit as a translation?


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## arundhati

I responded on your other thread and I'm just seeing that thread now, I'd still go for "prejudice" 
"idées reçues" almost always implies some thing wrong, or at least not accurate, it's more negative than a simple "popular belief" to me.


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

In addition to the above suggestions, "common  (maybe 'standard'?) thinking"?


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