ah oui hein?

A slightly more polite way to say "Anyway..." or "Moving on..." in response to something you don’t find particularly engaging (mildly interesting) or not worth further discussion (inconsequential information), with a reduced probability of hurting or ignoring someone entirely.

In French Canadian (Quebec), "ah oui hein?" is an informal / colloquial follow-up interjection, often said in a nonchalant manner to convey a mix of polite acknowledgment and mild indifference.

When used genuinely (i.e. not sarcastically), the speaker is effectively being polite, demonstrating a willingness to keep the conversation going despite a lack of immediate curiosity.

Synonyms are listed next in decreasing orders of interest & politeness: "Interesting", "Is that so?", "Oh really!", "I see", "Okay", "Got it", "Uh-huh", "Right", "Oh, okay then", "Huh.", "Alright", "Alrighty then", "If you say so.", (with sarcasm) "Shut the front door!".

Person A: "Quelqu'un à ma job m'a dit que mon boss a repeinturé son bureau en bleu! Someone at work told me my boss repainted his office entirely in blue!". Person B: "Ah oui hein?".

by jeanlouisdev June 30, 2024

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