Quitte à is a French prepositional phrase with meanings including “even if it means” and “even if you”. A French definition is au risque de (at the risk of).
Quitte à
Even if it means
Quitte à
Origin
Quitte à dates from the 18th century. Quitte comes from quĭētus (at rest, calm) in Latin. The preposition à translates to both “to” and “at” and has many usages.
Example sentences
Je vais lui dire la vérité, quitte à perdre mon boulot.
I’m going to tell him the truth even if it mean loosing my job.
Quitte à vous ennuyer, j’ai besoin de vous demander un service.
I need to ask you a favor even if it means bothering you.
This final example uses the structure quitte à…autant, which translates to “If we are…we might as well…”.
Quitte à visiter Paris, autant aller au Louvre.
If we’re visiting Paris, we might as well go to the Louvre.
Related lessons
- Quitter – to leave
- Demander – to ask for
- Avoir besoin de – to need
- Lui – Him (or her)
- Paris (pronunciation)
References
French expressions | Lessons by David Issokson
