While I literally know nothing about French, I want a tattoo that reads "juste une petite peu de la musique".
If I get it spelled exactly like that, is it completely correct?
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Thanks for the help - one last question - is it really important to get rid of the "la"? I ask this because it's a quote from something and I wanted it exactly how they said it– KevinCommented Jun 12, 2014 at 13:14
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What's the original language of that quote? If it's French, then just make sure you have it right, if not, please add it to your question, that's the best way to get the best translation!– Alexis PigeonCommented Jun 12, 2014 at 13:52
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On a side note, this is a great example of the supposedly profound and mystical meaning of tattoos…– user4152Commented Jun 12, 2014 at 13:57
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youtube.com/watch?v=cggNqDAtJYU at 3:35, a woman asks "do you need anything else?" to which the reply is "juste un petit peu de la musique"– KevinCommented Jun 12, 2014 at 18:45
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3 Answers
There's just one mistake it's not
Juste une petite peu de la musique
but
Juste un petit peu de musique
You can't always trust what they say in music videos, movies & animes.
I'll take a very famous example, the anime "Dexter's laboratory" there's an episode when Dexter says :
Omelette du fromage
But it's
Omette au fromage
Sometimes they're making mistakes on purpose but I can't really tell you why...
And concerning your second question, you can keep the "la" if you want to, but it's kinda weird.
The correct spell is juste un petit peu de musique but a better way is Juste un peu de musique cause petit and peu in the same sentence is redundant
answered Jun 12, 2014 at 13:09
Native speaker here: "La" sounds a bit uncommun in this type of sentence before a generic noun like "musique" and with "juste".
I've got difficulties thinking of a context where someone could answer "juste un peu de la musique" to a question. Because it lacks a verb the sentence has to be the implied answer to someone, a half of a dialogue.
It's like saying "only some of the music". Try thinking of a context where this sentence could be the answer to a question in English...
A google book search on "un peu de la musique" brings only eight results.
"Juste un peu de la" brings no significative result.
An example of use of "un peu de la musique" from the Bibliotheque du conservatoire national de musique et de déclamation.
"On y parle un peu de tout, des inventeurs de la musique, de celle des Hébreux, de Boèce, de Guido, un peu des notes, un peu des intervalles, un peu des muances, un peu de la musique feinte et un peu des modes et des tons."
In short: "juste un peu de la musique" does not sound right to my ear but you could use
"juste un peu de musique "
(without "la") or
"un peu de la musique"
(without "juste").
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1I would not recommend "un peu de la musique" as it sounds really odd out of any context. Remember this is for a tattoo... I'd recommend "juste un peu de musique" or "juste un petit peu de musique". Even if, as stated by François, petit and peu are the same, it is something people still say and has a specific connotation. I'd say "petit peu" sounds more like a fun and entertaining way of saying it... but it's personal taste at this point. Commented Jun 13, 2014 at 12:21
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That's the point, a tatoo or a piece of art should elicit question. "Un peu de la musique" sounds odd enough, like any sentence without a verb. That fragment is as good or as bad as "juste un peu de musique" grammaticaly speaking but far more poetic. Which is fine for a tatoo.– P. O.Commented Jun 13, 2014 at 12:27
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1I guess whether something is poetic or not comes down to the person reading it. To me "un peu de la musique" just sounds plain stupid. Commented Jun 13, 2014 at 13:39