# vite fait (Tu l'aimes ?)



## mathieu&C

ça veut dire quoi  cette expression?

real quicK?

I heard it so much in Paris.
Any help is greatly appreciated.

Moderator's note: two threads have been merged to create this one.


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## Broff

yes, or quickly done


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## wildan1

Hard to give a universal translation. _Quickly done_ would just be a literal translation for the meaning--very rarely used in conversation, actually.

Give us a context or the actual sentence, mathieu, and we can offer some specific equivalents.


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## Charlie Parker

A little late, but here's an interesting example: « Quoi qu'il en soit, la patate reste bien chaude longtemps. Et c'est une excellente raison pour que, lorsqu'on en prend une à la main, on soit surpris et que, pour éviter de se brûler, on la passe vite fait à son voisin (on ne va quand même pas la jeter par terre !), à charge pour lui d'en faire ce qu'il en veut, l'essentiel étant qu'on ne soit plus soi-même gêné par cette chose brûlante. » There are quite a few examples in the Collins Robert dictionary. Context is everything.


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## Flynnzane

vite fait, bien fait !

on dit par chez nous !


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## Charlie Parker

Merci Flynnzane. J'aurais dû rajouter que le Collins Robert avait plusieurs exemples de cette expression.


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## franc 91

Yes that's the kind of thing our lot say when something needs to be done - it won't take long or it'll be done in a tick/jiffy etc


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## zita beretta

May I add a new meaning of "vite fait" ?
You can hear it used by young people, especially "branchés" rap music, as an answer to show one's disinterest, or to say _what you're talking about is boring_
Ex :
- T'as écouté le nouveau skeud de Machin? Kèstenpens?
- Ouais vit' fait.


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## Dale Texas

Scenario is real life:  I was training a guy from France at our call center by having him listen into one of our previously recorded calls from Quebec regarding a change of address for a magazine subscription.  Upon hearing what the call was about, the French Canadian lady told the caller that she'd be happy to help him and that this all would be "vite faite" which I understood literally to be quickly and easily done, "in a jiffy."   However the guy from France grimaced in mock shock upon hearing that and later told me he couldn't believe she had used that expression, because in France that would only be used dismissively, and not in a circumstance as presented in the call.

While he was and is more than willing to accept, to him,   novel Quebecois usages, still his surprise wsa genuine.  Now I'm curious as to whether other people would have had his same reaction.


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## wildan1

As you can read in this thread, _vite fait_ is a common expression on both sides of the Atlantic.

_In a jiffy _or _quick 'n easy_ are similar expressions that come to mind.


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## Yllanos

"_vite fait_" (generally followed by "_bien fait_") is commonly used in France, and yes, as far as I know, it has no negative connotation, just familiar. we often use it at work: "_are you done_?" - "_yes, vite fait bien fait_"
never heard "vite fait*e*" in this very context


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## Dale Texas

Yes, I had read the thread, and putting the expression in the feminine was an error on my part.


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## Frenchrescue

Hello,

That's right, _most of the time_, "vite fait" is a neutral expression.
Still, il can become a negative one when used in an expression like "c'est _du travail vite fait_" : it means the person who has done the job did it too quickly, without paying too much attention, almost as if he/she didn't care.
A similar expression (even more derogatory) is "travail bâclé" (slapdash work).
From the derogatory "c'est du travail vite fait" to the neutral/objective "c'est du travail vite fait", the only difference is the intonation of the speaker (and the context !).

Maybe that's what the French guy understood in the conversation you're mentioning (but he was wrong when he said that it's always used dismissively).

Hope it will help you,

French rescue


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## Dale Texas

Frenchrescue, that must have been what he'd heard, now I do recall him saying it meant not being careful, not caring.


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## Nicomon

Hello,

I - granted, I'm a Quebecker -  certainly don't see any negative meaning in the said context. 

I'm sure she said _« ce sera vite fait »_ to mean «_ ce sera fait (au plus) vite / on ne vous fera pas attendre _» = _it won't take long.

_I make the same  neutral vs negative « _nuance _» as Frenchrescue about «_ travail vite fait _».


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## Astamalana

Nothing to be shocked about, really. 

Even if expressions like "on peut faire ça facilement/sans problème/très vite"  or  "on peut faire ça en moins de temps qu'il ne faut pour le dire" would have been much more positive and.. energize ways of expressing the fact that the job could be done quickly.


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## Nicomon

I agree with Astamalana.  I also prefer the "livelier" expressions. I don't think I personally would have said « _vite fait _» in this specific context.  
I'd be more likely to say something like : _aucun problème, on vous fait ça au plus vite/ on s'en occupe tout de suite.

_I mostly say _vite fait _to mean _quickly done _as in "_short and easy/not time consuming_".  It's never negative in my mouth.
If I meant it in a negative way, I would rather say _travail_ _bâclé / fait « *à la va-vite *».






[Familier] De façon bâclée. Construire une cabane à la va-vite.

Click to expand...

 _


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## Ergodiem

Hi there,

I personally think that "vite fait", in a certain context nowadays, may involve a negative connotation:

Exemple: "ça va bien?"  Réponse: "Vite fait", implying the person isn't in a good mood.
Or: "Tu as aimé?" Réponse: "Vite fait", no I dindn't like it much.

Here, when the Canadian Lady said she was going to help "vite fait", the french guy may have thought: "I'm not so willing to help, but I have to, so let's make it quick.


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## Nicomon

Ergodiem said:


> Exemple: "ça va bien?" Réponse: "Vite fait", implying the person isn't in a good mood.
> Or: "Tu as aimé?" Réponse: "Vite fait", no I dindn't like it much.


 Do other agree? Is that common in France? If so, who uses _vite fait_ that way? Youngsters? Everyone? This sounds totally unusual to me. 

In such circumstances, I would say « _Pas vraiment, non / Pas trop _».


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## Ergodiem

Well, at least me and my girlfriend use it that way commonly


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## Astamalana

> Do other agree? Is that common in France? If so, who uses _vite fait_ that way? Youngsters? Everyone? This sounds totally unusual to me.
> 
> In such circumstances, I would say « _Pas vraiment, non / Pas trop _».


I fully agree too (I'm from Paris). 

I say "vite fait" a lot when someone asks me how I'm doing, or how it's going if I'm not too confident.

But as said above "vite fait" really depends on the intonation. But overall you shouldn't use it -in France - if you want to talk about something that can be done quickly (see my post).

vite fait still has this implicite meaning of rushed work, without all the attention needed put into it.


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## Ergodiem

Oh, I was born and raised in Paris too, maybe it's mainly used by Parisians?


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## JeanDeSponde

Ergodiem said:


> Exemple: "ça va bien?"  Réponse: "Vite fait", implying the person isn't in a good mood.
> Or: "Tu as aimé?" Réponse: "Vite fait", no I dindn't like it much.
> 
> 
> 
> Oh, I was born and raised in Paris too, maybe it's mainly used by Parisians?
Click to expand...

Never heard it, though I've been living in Paris for quite a long time...
Actually I've never heard "vite fait" alone.
Except maybe in such occasions as





> - On va déjeuner ?
> - Oui, mais vite fait alors.


In Dale's example it's only part of the answer: "the French Canadian lady told the caller that [...] this all would be "vite fait".
This would be fairly common and neutral: _ça sera vite fait_.


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## Pedro y La Torre

I can well believe that the woman in question said vite fait*e, *as Quebeckers have a tendency to feminize all sorts of nouns which are usually masculine in standard French. Hence, I daily hear stuff like "toutes les jours", "toutes les mois", "j'ai déjà fait*e* ça" etc. Why that is, I cannot say.


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## Nicomon

Pedro y La Torre said:


> I can well believe that the woman in question said vite fait*e, *as Quebeckers have a tendancy to feminize all sorts of nouns which are usually masculine in standard French.


  Fait is not a noun, in « vite fait ». In that specific case, Quebeckers don't feminize... they pronounce the « t »... hence the _faite_ sound of the verb.  I'm not saying it's right, but... c'est un fait.


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## Pedro y La Torre

Right you are Nicomon, my point was phrased poorly. I do wonder however where this tendency to feminize words one would normally only ever hear in the masculine comes from, but perhaps that's a point to be explored in another thread.


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## Uncle Bob

I may be wrong but I think "Vite fait, bien fait" can be used sarcastically, meaning something was done quickly and therefore not done properly.


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## franc 91

vite fait, mal fait - is what I'm used to hearing (a rushed job)


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## Uncle Bob

franc 91 said:


> vite fait, mal fait - is what I'm used to hearing (a rushed job)


True, but I did write "sarcastically".


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