Level B1 (Intermediate)
Ever met someone who just loves to boast or flaunt their possessions? The informal French verb frimer perfectly captures that act of “showing off”! This lesson will help you master this fun verb used to describe someone who likes to impress others. You’ll learn its:
Meaning
Pronunciation with IPA
Example sentences using in conversation
Present tense conjugation
Meaning
The French verb frimer is an informal term meaning “to show off” or “to flaunt.” It describes the act of deliberately displaying one’s possessions, talents, or achievements in an ostentatious way to gain admiration or attention. The related noun frimeur (masculine) or frimeuse (feminine) refers to a person who shows off.
Pronunciation
Example sentences
This first sentence uses the verb arrêter de + infinitive, which means to stop doing. Here, arrête de is in the imperative mood, which is used for giving commands.
Arrête de frimer, Jean-Claude. Tout le monde sait que tu es beau !
Stop showing off, Jean-Claude. Everybody knows you’re handsome!
This second sentence uses the preposition dans, which means “in” – specifically “inside of”. En also means “in”. This lesson explores en vs dans in detail.
Marie-Laure frime dans sa nouvelle voiture de sport devant tous ses copains.
Marie-Laure is showing off in her new sports car in front of all her friends.
For this final sentence, the negation ne…jamais means “never”.
C’est un vrai frimeur, ce mec. Il n’arrête jamais d’exhiber sa fortune.
This guy is a real show-off. He doesn’t stop flaunting his wealth.
M’as-tu-vu
A fun synonym for frimeur/frimeuse (show-off, noun) is m’as tu vu, which literally translates to “Did you see me?”. C’est un vrai m’as-tu-vu, ce mec (This guy’s a real show-off).
Present tense conjugation
Frimer is a regular ER verb. This means that its conjugation follows the same pattern as parler (to speak) in the present tense.
Je frime I show off
Tu frimes You show off (singular, informal)
Il, elle frime He, she shows off
Nous frimons We show off
Vous frimez You show off (plural, formal)
Ils, elles friment They show off
Word origin
Frimer comes from the feminine noun frime (showing off), which in turn comes from Old French frume (appearance, look).
Related lesson
References
- fr.wiktionary.org (frimer)
