Can someone explain the meaning and common usages of this phrase? I hear it often and am not entirely sure I always understand it. Does it mean something like English's “whatever” or “bullshit”? Is it said flippantly? Angrily? I would love to see some examples of situations or usages of the phrase so I can get a better grasp on it.
asked Jun 8, 2012 at 18:57
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3Just for the record, it is very often abbreviated in slang or casual contexts (C'est n'imp' ! / Il a fait n'imp'.).– Romain ValeriMar 22, 2013 at 11:34
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@RomainVALERI I haven't heard n'imp that much but more common casual/slang derivatives are nawak and portnawak.– jlliagreJun 10, 2017 at 20:34
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@jiliagre I guess we can agree slang terms often have a strong local component (depending heavily on areas/countries) and probably also age. Sometimes even siblings with a few years gap don't use the same slang. In Lorraine during a decade or two you couldn't walk 3 meters without hearing n'imp' and many variants around it, where nawak was just unheard (different thing today, it has gained usage here also). And I would be surprised that the contrary isn't true somewhere else...– Romain ValeriJun 13, 2017 at 15:01
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4 Answers
Bullshit
N'importe quoi can mean Bullshit.
— Les poules peuvent voler.
— N'importe quoi !
Could be translated in (without sounding as rude as in English in my opinion)
— Chicken can fly.
— Bullshit!
But you can also use it for all wrong
— Tu as fait n'importe quoi!
Meaning
— You did it all wrong!
(Literally “You did whatever randonmly occurred to you”)
Whatever / I don't mind
If you want to use it as whatever or I don't mind, you shall use peu importe or n'importe
— Que veux-tu manger ?
— Peu importe.— Tu veux t'asseoir devant ou derrière ?
— N'importe.
Meaning
— What do you want to eat?
— Whatever.— Do you want to sit at the rear or at the front?
— I don't mind.
What a nonsense
As suggested by RomainVALERI in the comments, n'importe quoi can also be used for pointing out how nonsensical / shameful something is.
— Ils ont réussi à faire de la pub dans les écoles ! C'est n'importe quoi...
which could be translated as
— They managed to put advertising material in schools! What a nonsense...
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1Great answer. However "Whatever/I don't mind" is not using
N'importe quoi:) You missed the meaning "anything": I will add it. May 12, 2017 at 1:49 -
1I am French and you can't use "N'importe" alone, maybe you wanted to say "peu importe"– bormatSep 1, 2019 at 6:39
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Do you think there is "Je ne suis pas en contact avec n'importe qui qui est coupable. Is le promon relatif "qui, que, or dont" used after "n'importe qui"? No one mentions this case. Yes or no, why??? Oct 11, 2022 at 2:33
"N'importe" basically expresses a "non-choice". Il ferait n'importe quoi pour elle : He'd do any/everything for her. Donne lui n'importe quoi et il est heureux : Anything you give him makes him happy.
Note that "n'importe" can be used with other words, with the same "non-choice" meaning :
N'importe où
Il irait n'importe où avec elle. He'd go anywhere with her.
N'importe comment
Elle s'habille n'importe comment. She can't dress.
N'importe quand
Venez n'importe quand, on est toujours là. Come by whenever you feel like, we are always home.
N'importe qui
À qui veux-tu parler? — N'importe qui. Who do you want to talk to? To anyone. On ne va pas engager n'importe qui. We can't hire just anyone.
Idiomatic expression : Ce n'est pas n'importe qui. She/He is an important person.
N'importe lequel/laquelle/lesquels/lesquelles
Quelle voiture veux-tu? — N'importe laquelle. Which car do you want? — Any car will do.
N'importe quel/quelle/quels/quelles
Ça ne se vend pas dans n'importe quel magasin. They dont sell that just in any shop.
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1@StéphaneGimenez L'expression "n'importe quoi" sert à exprimer de façon très familière une réaction pour dire qu'on ne croit pas ce qu'on nous dit (que c'est des « bêtises »). La réponse acceptée le dit très bien d'ailleurs, je n'ai rien à y redire.– NoneJun 10, 2017 at 6:38
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1@Laure: Mais quel point de vue limité ! Comme indiqué dans cette réponse et les autres, n'importe quoi a beaucoup d'autres usages. Jun 10, 2017 at 6:49
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@StéphaneGimenez À moins que j'ai mal lu, ce qui est toujours possible, je ne vois pas où cette réponse donne le sens de l'expression "n'importe quoi".– NoneJun 10, 2017 at 6:54
The "basic" translation is whatever.
For the more idiomatic use I guess almost literal translations like:
- Nobody is thinking about what it is like
- (almost) anything possible
- Whatever (you can imagine)
can give a hint. Moreover the expression is ueds in a negative way, meaning that someone is making almost all he/she can to achieve his/her worst :)
Some other translation could be
- All the worst you can think of
even if it is a bit too strong, since "N'importe quoi" can be used also in an ironic/joking context.
The actual meaning is meant for someone who doesn't know what he or she is talking about. 'N'importe quoi' literally means 'Anything' or 'Whatever.' You would normally use it to indicate to a person that they sound ignorant or like an idiot.
Example: When someone gives a ridiculous explanation for something, you would answer: N'importe quoi.
Another example would be if you had no preference for something, then you would answer, N'importe quoi, as in 'whatever' or 'anything.'
I hope this helps.
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Welcome to the site. Although this answer is fine, please keep two things in mind: (1) Very old questions with accepted answers are probably better left as they are. (2) Even if an answer is correct, if it mostly covers the same ground as another answer, it might be better to add any extra material as a comment to an existing one. Thanks!– Luke Sawczak ♦Feb 25, 2017 at 22:43
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If we have no preference, we use "n'importe lequel / laquelle" or "peu importe". You can't use "n'importe quoi" here, it will sound like if you was saying the other person is wrong. Actually you can but only if you give a condition after with "tant que" or "du moment que" for example "Donne moi n'importe quoi tant que c'est bon" => "Give me anything while it is good"– bormatSep 1, 2019 at 6:50