Fâcher, Vache, Mad, Cow

One of my favorite French phrases is je vais me fâcher, which means "I am getting angry."

I love it because it just rollllls off the tongue and also because I find the combination of words so amusing.

"Vais" means "will," as in "I will get angry." So the phrase feels like a warning- "I will get angry, so stop it."

Because of the double references to self ('je' and 'me'), I also feel like it can be a sort of Hulk-like transformation alarm- "I feel myself getting angry, beware."

I also love it because I love the word fâcher, which technically means "to be angry," but sounds like the French word for "cow" to me, since that word is "vache." (The 'r' at the end of fâcher is silent.)

I was just thinking of this phrase because- surprise!- I'm getting increasingly angry today. Focusing on the French rather than the sentiment has helped alleviate the actual emotion somewhat.

I find myself thinking in French and Korean more than English lately, which has got to be a sign that my brain is shutting off. Yikes.