# petit chou



## kebudd

est-ce que c'est "petit chou" pour un homme et "petite choue" pour une femme? Ou est-ce que c'est toujours masculin??

merci d'avance!!


----------



## Agnès E.

On parle d'_un_ chou à la crème... donc d'_un_ petit chou, même pour une femme ou une petite fille.


----------



## kebudd

merci beaucoup!!


----------



## dancingpearly

I was wondering if this is really a term of endearment used in France.


----------



## rsweet

You should wait for a native speaker for this, but I think one of the meanings is "teacher's pet."


----------



## belleaspen86

It is.  Marie-Antoinette called her children "chou-fleur".  I think it is a really old term of endearment, but again, I am not a native.


----------



## zez

"Mon petit chou-chou" looks a little bit strange... "mon petit chou" is better for me ("mon p'ti chou").


----------



## district

My french teacher in high school was from Quebec and she would call us "chou-chou", which is where I first learned it.

My brother-in-law is from France and he uses it too.


----------



## shanty666

hello all,

does anybody please help me translate this:
MON PETIT CHOUX

thanks!


----------



## Clive

my little cabbage ?

it means my sweetheart


----------



## shanty666

graet! you really helped me

is it a romantic phrase or a general notice of care?


----------



## pyan

Hello shanty666
"Chou" is the singular and "choux" is the plural, so it's "mon petit chou". (They sound the same, it is just the spelling.)

Do have a look at the WR dictionary. It has several translations which give you a good idea how it can be used.


----------



## shanty666

and again : thanks!!!


----------



## Agnès E.

Actually, it's not cabbage, it's chou à la crème (much sweeter, I must say...  ).


----------



## Kelshooter

Can this be used for either male or female?  
Is there a difference between using 1 chou or 2 (chou chou)?

I remember this phrase from my high school French classes and have used it for my husband.  Before putting it in print, I want to get it right


----------



## Amyyy

I confirm we can say mon petit chouchou!


----------



## Kelshooter

Amyyy you are awsome!!


----------



## Amyyy

thank you 
and you can say it for a boy or a girl


----------



## Seyne

hey there,

just to put the final touch to the explanation :

"mon petit chou" is totally affective, can be used for both girl or boy, it is anyhow more commonly encountered while talking about kids, but can be said in couples, even though i think it's seldom used in those cases (not like i asked every couple eh ^^ ) and my nod to Agnes, i think it comes from chou à la crème, a little sweet viennoiserie

whereas "chouchou" may bear a negative meaning, it's generally used by other people to qualify a a relation between a person A, and a person B, who prefers person A among a group of other people as in "c'est le chouchou de la prof" meaning "he/she is the one the teacher prefers" and that one is generally said by jealous people, so i'd rather not use chouchou if it's affective talk only


----------



## Amyyy

seyne i dont really agree with your last paragraph. chouchou can be used in the same way as chou.


----------



## Seyne

well i guess it somehow shows how a words meaning can change regarding the age/sex of a person ^^

and i absolutely declare that i am not holding the truth :>

and as i said "chouchou" is used to talk about someone a person prefers over someone else, hence it can have an affective meaning, just i guess school is still to close for me to have an objective judgement on words i encountered there ^^


----------



## klodaway

Hello-

I totally agree with Seyne's statement : I have most commonly heard chouchou used in the sense of "le chouchou de la prof".

BUT, a famous TV show on French television these last few years was called "Chouchou et Loulou". It was the daily short-stories of a couple, where she was "chouchou" and he was "loulou".

klod-


----------



## Richard E. Stanley

He/she is the teacher's pet est l'equivalent de c'est le chou-chou de la prof.


----------



## itka

I completely agree with Seyne and other people who said "chouchou" is not a sweet name. It's mean as you suggested "teacher's pet", somebody prefered by the teacher, the director, the head... and often a person that others don't like.


----------



## Amyyy

Klodaway is the best to summarize the situation!! thank you 
and i completely agree with yous chouchou is used in school context for example and also as a nickname


----------



## ngeorgiev

comment dit-on "pti chou" en anglais, s'il vous plait.

merci d'avance


----------



## oleks

C'est pas à propos des enfants par hasard?
Dans ce cas-là c'est un truc comme "honey"


----------



## Keith Bradford

If it's about children, you have a hundred possibilities.  As well as _honey_ (rather American) there are:

pet
pigeon
sunshine
sweety-pie...


----------



## ngeorgiev

no no it is not about children.

honey fits well. merci


----------



## Arioch

Keith Bradford said:


> If it's about children, you have a hundred possibilities. As well as _honey_ (rather American) there are:
> 
> pet
> pigeon
> sunshine
> sweety-pie...


Pet and pigeon to speak about children? Really? 

I find it hard to believe that two terms relating so closely to animals can be used to talk to children... I can't help laughing imagining calling my nephew "le chiot" or "le pigeon" positively.


ngeorgiev said:


> no no it is not about children.
> 
> honey fits well. merci


If I'm not too curious... What are you talking about when you use "pti chou", if it's not children?


----------



## ngeorgiev

Arioch said:


> If I'm not too curious... What are you talking about when you use "pti chou", if it's not children?



well I dont know. I've seen adult using it to address another adult, so I assume  that "honey" should be the case


----------



## Arioch

[...]

Okay for pigeon, I can understand, even if I don't see the "cute" value of a pigeon (but, as you said, and as I forgot, a flee is not really cuter than a pigeon ). But pet... There is a proprietary side to this term. Perhaps I forget another similar French word but... no, honestly, the domination this word conveys seems rather strong...


ngeorgiev said:


> well I dont know. I've seen adult using it to address another adult, so I assume that "honey" should be the case


Okay... Yes, you're right. I just got the impression you were talking about inanimate objects... Apparently, my mind wasn't very sharp this afternoon...


----------

