Okay I know it translates as “it’s normal”, but do you put any other interpretation on it? Just starting my “French for Dummies” and it says that it really means “it’s no big deal”. Agree, disagree, rubbish? Just curious.
That's pretty much how I understand it. It's a kind of 'that's how it is' , it's no big deal, nothing to to stress about statement. Often accompanied by a shrug of the shoulders.
I think that more common for 'it's not a big deal' would be ce n'est pas un souci .
More colloquial: n'importe
For me the translation would be "no worries". It is a contraction of ce n'est pas important , that's not important... although can be misconstrued for nonsense as you would say n'importe quoi for that.
Alternative usage could include t'inquiète pas - don't worry (about it)
also these expressions
ce n'est pas grave --- or c'est pas grave ---- it's not a big deal
ce n'est pas la fin du monde or c'est pas la fin du monde ---- it's not the end of the world, no big deal
c'est tout à fait normal -- very understandable, not a big deal.
t'inquiète as a short form of ne t'inquiète pas -- don't worry
Depends the context... if some chicks reply "c'est normal" when you display your private parts, then it's quite a big deal...
It's all about the context!!
But yeah, mostly it could means "it's not a big deal", or it could be "your welcome", if it's a reply to a thank you.
Like:
You:Thank you---Merci
X: C'est normal... (implying it's ok, you welcome, it's normal to help whatever).
Hmm a good example would be
Dois-je payer Billag?
Mais Ouais (Oui), c'est normal!
Disclaimer: My French it still a bit on the crappy side, but it is so similar to Spanish in these sort of expressions that they automatically register in my brain
Wow, thanks for all the variations folks. Lots of new phrases for me to learn which all can mean the same thing.
I have that, but even better is this:
very useful when reading this:
Tom
I have the sequel “Merde Encore” but didn’t know about that one. I also have “Speakeasy Phrasemaker French”, “Teach Yourself French” and the BBC’s language course book and cassettes for “A vous La France”. All published back in the mid-80’s so I’ve been dabbling for a long, LONG time without getting very far in improvement. Haven’t looked at any for years and years though. Picked up a couple of newer books/CD sets a little while ago: “Collins Active French” and “Elizabeth Smith’s French Start Kit”.