# n'en déplaise à



## RDJEBENIANI

Bonjour,
Je n'arrive pas à traduire l'expression "n'en déplaise à" en anglais. Peut être que le tempérament anglais fait qu'on utilise pas cette expression aussi souvent qu'en Français?

*Note des modérateurs : *nous avons fusionné plusieurs discussions pour créer ce fil.


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## Schopenhauer

whether...likes it or not
but a native english could help you more than me


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## Cassis

With all due respect to...


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## Jean-Michel Carrère

n'en déplaise à Paul : whether Paul likes it or not


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## Mezzofanti

Ne vous en déplaise = If you don't mind my saying so
Popular usage sanctions the ungrammatical "me" instead of _my._

Many thanks to Ninikrakra for the reminder of the correct use of _malgré que._


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## KasiaS

"n'en déplaise à tout le monde, pour l'instant je me suis pas tromper...."

I'm pretty sure he meant "people may not like it but so far I haven't been wrong"

but I don't understand why the first part of the sentence is constructed that way... is it proper French?


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## tilt

Yes, it's proper French, apart from few mistakes in the end of the sentence: _N'en déplaise à tout le monde, pour l'instant je *ne* me suis pas tromp*é*..._
And you got the meaning right.

_N'en déplaise à..._ is an old set phrase, I'd say there's nothing to explain about its composition, or at least not without referring to ancient French.


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## ALDHA

I hope Schopenhauer is correct on the meaning; he or she is correct on the English wording. Instead of “whether [somebody or some group] likes it or not,” I have seen “however little . . . likes it,” but that implies that the person or group would like something a little. Schopenhauer’s wording makes more sense regarding something I encountered and did not understand, “N'en déplaise aux socialistes englués dans leur zizanie interne, Nicolas Sarkozy est . . .” I have also seen the expression translated as “If . . . doesn’t mind.” That’s more polite, implying one cares about what the other person or group thinks. Again, Schopenhauer’s more emphatic wording better fits the quote I’ve provided. [Note: Americans put periods and commas inside closing quote marks; the British, more logically, put them outside.]

Perhaps the expression has multiple meanings, expressing different levels of concern about what somebody else thinks. In the Schopenhauer version, the expression would have the same meaning as bon gré mal gré. This American is tempted to insert an ou in the middle; both French expressions are idiomatic, with n’en vous déplaise highly idiomatic.


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## Robert_Hope

Hi all!

WHat about..

"C'est un titre 100% français, n'en déplaise aux Luxembourgeois"

The aritcle is about the Eurovision song contest.

 .... whether the people of Luxembourg like it or not (???)

Merci d'avance


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## Kelly B

I have the impression that Cassis' _with all due respect to... _would fit better here: the attitude isn't quite so harsh. To me it's close to_ with apologies to _but less deferential. (but I could be wrong - I hope the natives will weigh in again.)


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## Teafrog

Kelly B said:


> I have the impression that Cassis' _*with all due respect to...* _would fit better here: the attitude isn't quite so harsh. To me it's close to_ with apologies to _but less deferential. (but I could be wrong - I hope the natives will weigh in again.)


 Yes, I'd go along with that. Which native are you referring to? (you are also a native… )


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## bh7

I'd like to propose a handy equivalent English (Latin-derived) word for this expression:

It is a 100 percent French song (*pace* Luxembourgers/*pace* fans in Luxembourg).

"_pace X_" (prep.) :   with due deference to X, with all due respect to X, despite X's opinion


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## Robert_Hope

Are you sure that "with all due respect" would fit in this context?

*"Le 20 mars 1965 pourtant, la jeune France Gall gagne l’Eurovision pour le Luxembourg avec la chanson écrite par Serge Gainsbourg : Poupée De Cire, Poupée De Son. Un titre 100 % français, n’en déplaise aux Luxembourgeois ! "

*I felt it was more hinted at the fact that the Luxembourgers wouldn't have minded it being in French (previously it states that it is rare for anyone to sing in another language other than English at Eurovision)


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## DearPrudence

The singer, France Gall, is *French*.
The song writer, Serge Gainsbourg, is *French* too.

So, even if we can say Luxembourg won the Eurovision, well, it was a 100% French product, whether they liked it or not.


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## cattya8

I am having difficulty with the sense of this phrase, esp the particular phrase.

N'en deplaise a Marc Renne, la disproportion de la replique israelienne, l'ensemble des opinions publiques.

For Marc Renne, the disproportion of the Israeli voice, the mass public opinion is unsatisfactory.

Is this any where near right?


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## Bastoune

Whether Marc Renne likes it or not....

Regardless of Marc Renne's opinion....


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## cattya8

so it could be regardless? i saw in another forum that it could mean 'with all due respect'? does the rest of the sentence convey the right meaning do you think?


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## Bastoune

Well, I suppose you could say maybe, "with all due respect to Marc Renne.." -- this would certainly be more polite while nevertheless saying you disagree with him or his opinion is wrong.

"N'en deplaise à" is a very formal way to disregard an opinion.


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## tvlad

N'en déplaise aux amateurs, aucune autre vraie nouveauté n'a été pour l'instant annoncée. 

N'en déplaise aux amateurs = displeasing the fans?
The negation doesn't make very much sense here.

merci d'avance.


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## Lacuzon

Bonjour,

N'en déplaise aux amateurs = Qu'il n'en déplaise aux amateurs = Qu'il plaise aux amateurs

It could have been : Malgré les attentes des amateurs ...


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## Pickle Posy

Help - I'm translating an article from _Le Monde _about the Bibliothèque National teaming up with Wikipedia to produce digital versions of books. There is one sentence that I just can't get at all:

Les << Wikimédiens>>, *n'en déplaise aux médisants*, ne sont ni des rigolos, ni des amateurs.  

Wikimedians, displeasing to the malicious??, are neither jokers nor amateurs.

[A wikimedian is someone who uses or contributes to wikimedia.]

I'd be grateful for any help: I more or less understand each word, but can't get the meaning at all - what is the subject of "déplaire" ? what does the "en" represent? what does the "n' " mean?


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## sound shift

"With all due respect to their detractors, (the) Wikimedians are neither ...."


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## McLeanUSA

This line is from Francis Cabrel's deeply moving song, "Les Chavaliers Cathares":
"N'en déplaise à ceux qui décident
Du passé et du présent"
What is the correct English translation? How can anybody "decide between the past and the present"?


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## Kir88

I can't make out the meaning of this verb in the following sentence,since "déplaire" means "to displease":

Faire pousser au "forceps" à grand renfort de molécules chimiques nos légumes ne sera jamais la solution, n'en déplaise aux ténors de l'industrie des produits phytosanitaires.


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## Randisi.

It's a set phrase for "with all due respect to.."


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## Kir88

can you tell me what the conjugation is?  It looks like 3rd person singular subjunctive, but I can't figure out why it is subjunctive.  thanks.


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## Kir88

never mind - you just told me it's a set phrase, which i have confirmed online.  thank you!


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## Longlord

Je disais, *n'en déplaise à mon mari*, qu'il n'y a pas d'endroit meilleur qu'un autre pour exercer notre vigilance.

What exactly does the wife mean by the highlighted phrase?

with all due respect to my husband
or
however little my husband likes it

Can this phrase convey both meanings depending on context?

Merci d'avance.


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## snarkhunter

Yes, both may be considered, but the latter is closer to the direct meaning, and therefore equivalent to:

_Although I understand my husband may dislike it, ..._

The "with all due respect to..." part may also be considered kind of _implicit_, too.


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## vsop44

Whether he likes it or not ...


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## Mauricet

vsop44 said:


> Whether he likes it or not ...


Ça, c'est plutôt "que ça lui plaise ou non", qui est nettement plus indifférent que "n'en déplaise à ..." qui manifeste un regret de devoir éventuellement déplaire, ou un souhait de ne pas déplaire.


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## Colorado_Suburbs

From the French usage I've seen, this phrase is neutral in tone. Often there is absolutely no regret that something might displease the other party and one might take silent Schadefreude or pleasure in the discomfort of the other party.  The English phrase, "with all due respect" is similarly neutral, but it can have a sarcastic, even a snide tone, depending on the context.


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## Mauricet

Colorado_Suburbs said:


> From the French usage I've seen, this phrase is neutral in tone. Often there is absolutely no regret that something might displease the other party and one might take silent Schadefreude or pleasure in the discomfort of the other party.  The English phrase, "with all due respect" is similarly neutral, but it can have a sarcastic, even a snide tone, depending on the context.


Très juste. Ainsi, "with all due respect" semble un bon équivalent avec son ambiguïté possible. Il arrive cependant que _n'en déplaise à_ soit dit sans malice aucune...


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## Colorado_Suburbs

Yes, to be more precise, both the French "n'en déplaise" and the English with "all due respect" are sometimes neutral but more often they are ambiguous.  These two phrases can be sarcastic or solicitous and it's the tone of voice or the context that explains the real intent.


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## Itisi

Yes, I think they are a perfect match.


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