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I just started learning French and I commented on a French female ex-coworkers profile picture. I am male. I constructed the sentences with help of Google Translate, but another non-native French speaker said that what I wrote would be considered as an obvious double entendre by a native French speaker. There are some small green plants in the background of her picture that unbeknownst to others are my favorite so I commented:

Me: "Quelle magnifique buissoneuse enter image description hereenter image description here"

Her: "Hélas je n'avais que deux petits buissons d'amateurs derrière moi! "

Me: "Mais je sais que tu sais tout de même en faire très bon usage ! "

Non-native French speaker said that in this context "Mais je sais que tu sais tout de même en faire très bon usage ! " could be interpreted as: "That she knows how to use her private parts very well". Is that true?

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    That's a very weird dialog... Qualifying a woman a buissonneuse is something that possibly never happened before you did it...
    – jlliagre
    May 14, 2021 at 22:39
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    Just to be clear : double entendre does not mean anything in French (any more, at least). It's called sous-entendu or double sens in French.
    – XouDo
    May 15, 2021 at 13:35
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    I have the hardest time to understand even the first degree of this dialog, let alone think about a possible second degree..
    – Laurent S.
    May 16, 2021 at 12:46

2 Answers 2

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In french, « buisson » is sometimes used to talk about pubic hairs. Moreover, « faire très bon usage » of the two green plants sounds strange to me, unless you really use the plants (such as edible plants or cannabis). Hence, one may tend to understand your last sentence as “But I know you make good use of your sex.”.

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There is a clear double entendre there.

Did the French native speaker say "that what (you) wrote would be considered as an obvious double entendre by a native French speaker", or did he say that you went over the line? That's not the same.

As a native French speaker, I believe the first quoted statement is true: there was a double entendre. However that doesn't necessarily mean that you went over the line, especially if the recipient is aware that you're not a native speaker, and therefore that it may have been a candid comment.

I wouldn't lose sleep over it, but now that you know better, I would be wary of making that same statement again.

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    Jonathan thank you for your answer! I can't upvote it because of my reputation. My friend only said about the double entendre. He said that in this context "Mais je sais que tu sais tout de même en faire très bon usage ! " could be interpreted as: "That she knows how to use her private parts very well". Is that true?
    – JePense
    May 14, 2021 at 19:12

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