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“Too soon” is often said when someone makes an offensive joke about a sad or tragic event very quickly after it happened when there hasn’t been time for any grief or it’s still very serious.

ex.

“Drunk driving? Well, I guess you could say she died doing what she loved...”

“Too soon, man.”

Is there an equivalent in French for this?

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  • 1
    Because you have a sense of humor, you laugh.
    – Victor
    Commented May 30, 2019 at 1:52
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    @Reese testing someone's sense of humor this way in a moment of grief can be very hurtful
    – qoba
    Commented May 30, 2019 at 14:53
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    Also note that the "Too soon" can be used even if you find it funny, to accentuate the "crassy" side of the joke.
    – Turtle
    Commented Jul 27, 2022 at 14:57

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There is no equivalent phrase to use in that situation. You would react with a general statement like:

Un peu de décence !

C'est pas drôle.

Ce n'est pas le moment.

C'est totalement déplacé.

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  • Aside from "ce n'est pas le moment", these express outage but don't reflect the sense of "too soon" which is a bit like "I'd find this joke funny if it weren't for the recent circumstances".
    – qoba
    Commented May 30, 2019 at 14:52
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It could be something like

Trop tôt pour en rire

In English the expression "Too soon" is already understood to mean "Too soon to joke about it", but in French you'd need to phrase it explicitly.

Example usage: http://m.leparisien.fr/espace-premium/culture-loisirs/trop-tot-pour-en-rire-21-11-2015-5298019.php

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  • +1. Also: "Trop tôt pour cette blague", maybe?
    – guillaume31
    Commented Jul 28, 2022 at 9:51
  • I'll add "Trop tôt", shorten could also be understood in some conditions: users are shortening sentences (we are becoming "lazy", that's a fact), users have some English knowledge (watching TV shows in English, etc.), or it's in response to another reproach, like a remark on the previous joke, so it's implicitly saying "la blague est arrivée trop tôt": Like saying the joke, followed by a remark/void, and in response of that remark/void, constating it's too soon.
    – Larme
    Commented Aug 1, 2022 at 20:58
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We push a void in the conversation to make the guy who say that realize what he said ...

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If the speaker is used to the concept, I generally simply translate as "Trop tôt.", even though I will most often keep the term in English and say "Too soon".

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