# EN: -ish (adjective suffix)



## Primal

Is there a French equivlent to to the English suffix "-ish"?  It's used when a noun is sort of a a specific adgective, but not really.
eg.  Bluish-purple = a Purple that is a little bit blue

It is also used in an informal way such as "clearish"; although it is not a real word, it gets used when the speaker cannot think of a proper word, and it still gets the idea across.
Or
"Better... ish"  such as when someone asks how you are after being sick.  You say "Better" and then think better of it, because you really aren't and add -ish to the end.
Understand?  Thanks a lot.
Primal


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## crazyrock

hi,

pour les couleurs ça serait "-âtre" je pense...
_bleuâtre, jaunâtre,..._


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## Punky Zoé

I know that suffix, but I don't think there is an equivalent in French. Maybe I'm wrong?


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## Sarah_C

Oui, j’allais dire *–âtre* pour les couleurs aussi. Mais j’ai entendu que c’était un suffixe avec un sens assez négatif – _grisâtre_, par exemple, voulant dire “greyish”, “murky grey”...est-ce correct?


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## crazyrock

oui c'est ça grisâtre c'est un vilain gris (si tant est que gris ça soit beau...)


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## pheelineerie

I personally just add -esque  but i'm not promising you won't get strange looks...


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## Primal

Mais pour clair, ou meilleur, est-ce qu'il y a un qui marche pour ces unes?


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## crazyrock

pheelineerie said:


> I personally just add -esque  but i'm not promising you won't get strange looks...


gnééé?? _"grisesque"??_ non ça marche pas ça...


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## crazyrock

Primal said:


> Mais pour clair, ou meilleur, est-ce qu'il y a un qui marche?


je crois pas, ça me vient pas là...

on va contourner le problème :
_ça va mieux ?_
(et en fait ça va un peu mieux mais c'est pas génial non plus)
_=>moyennement_


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## pheelineerie

Or maybe just adding "enfin"

"Oui, elle est belle... enfin..." (bof)
Or for the more confusing, franglais, calqueish, utterly my own "Oui, elle est belle... esque"


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## Argyll

Primal said:


> "Better... ish"  such as when someone asks how you are after being sick.  You say "Better" and then think better of it, because you really aren't and add -ish to the end.


I think in that particular case, French people might say:
- Ça va mieux ?
- On fait aller...

In other cases, I think "plus ou moins" before the adjective.

And for colours, I definitely agree with "-âtre".


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## Argyll

pheelineerie said:


> "Oui, elle est belle... esque"


Many French people might hear this as "est-ce que" and wonder why the question was left unfinished.


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## Primal

Argyll said:


> And for colours, I definitely agree with "-âtre".


 


crazyrock said:


> on va contourner le problème :
> _ça va mieux ?_
> (et en fait ça va un peu mieux mais c'est pas génial non plus)
> _=>moyennement_


 
So it works for colors, and for "better" you say "_moyennement_"(?) but what about "_clair" _(clear) that's the one I'm really looking for.


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## Argyll

Primal said:


> what about "_clair" _(clear) that's the one I'm really looking for.


As I suggested before: "plus ou moins" : e.g. "la question est plus ou moins claire".


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## Primal

Oh, OK. I didn't see that. Sorry and thanks a lot, everyone. 
Primal


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## Manta

sinon, juste avant le mot on peut mettre "à peu près", "grosso modo", "en gros" ou toutes autres expressions approchantes...

we can also put just before the word you want to detail : "approximativement", "à peu près", "grosso modo", "en gros" or any other similar expression...

example : - il est à peu près 10 heures ==> it's ten-ish
              - un jean à peu près bleu ==> blue-ish jean

etc


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