Ça alors

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Informal French Expression

Meaning	how about that, my goodness
Literally	that then
Register	informal
Pronunciation		[sah ah luhr]
IPA		[sa a lɔʀ]

 Don’t contract the two words into [sa lɔʀ] – both a’s must be pronounced separately with a tiny pause between them.

Usage notes: Ça alors is an exclamative French phrase that can indicate any of a variety of medium-strong reactions: pleasure, incredulity, indignation, etc. It doesn’t really mean anything in and of itself, but rather draws attention to what comes next, or reacts to what was just said.

Par exemple…

– Nous allons faire le tour du monde. – Ça alors, c’est formidable !		– We’re going to take a trip around the world. – How about that! / Hey, that’s great!
– La femme de Christian l’a viré. – Ça alors, je lui avait dit d’arrêter ses aventures !		– Christian’s wife kicked him out. – Well, really, I told him to stop fooling around!
Ça alors ! Je n’ai jamais vu une voiture si compliquée.		My goodness! I’ve never seen such a complicated car.

 Somewhat synonymous

• ah bon
• dis donc
• la vache
• ma foi (old fashioned)
• oh là là
• tiens

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