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French Expression
| Meaning | inexpensive, cheap | |
| Literally | good deal | |
| Register | normal | |
| Pronunciation |  |
[bo(n) mar shay] |
| IPA | [bɔ̃ maʀ ʃe] | |
Usage notes: Everyone’s always looking for a good deal, and when you find it, you can say it’s bon marché. The French expression can be positive, like "inexpensive" or "reasonable," or it can be negative, like "cheap" or "tacky."
Though bon marché is used like an adjective, it is invariable: there is no gender or number agreement with the noun.
Par exemple…
| J’ai trouvé une croisière bon marché. | I found an inexpensive cruise. | |
| Il n’achète que des vêtements bon marché. | He only buys cheap clothing. |
Bon marché does, however, have comparative and superlative forms. In the case of the superlative, the definite article agrees with the noun, but meilleur does not.
| Cette croisière est encore meilleur marché. | This cruise is an even better deal. | |
| Voici la chemise la meilleur marché. | Here’s the cheapest shirt. |
Somewhat synonymous
- à bas prix – low-priced
- une affaire – good deal, bargain
- un bon rapport qualité-prix – good value
- une bonne affaire – good deal, bargain
- une mauvaise affaire – bad deal
- la pacotille – cheap piece of junk
- pas cher – inexpensive
- un prix avantageux – bargain price
- tel quel (informal) – mediocre, cheap, poor quality
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