Example: Ça alors ! Je ne m'attendais pas à te voir ici.
Definition
"Ça alors!" is a French exclamation used to express surprise or astonishment. It conveys a strong reaction to an unexpected event or information, similar to saying "Well, I never!" or "Wow!" in English.
Translations
Well, I'll be!
¡Vaya!
Nou zeg!
Caram!
Na sowas!
Etymology
The expression "Ça alors!" combines "ça" meaning "that" or "it" and "alors" meaning "then" or "so." It evolved as a spontaneous exclamation to convey surprise, with no direct equivalent in English, but it captures a sudden reaction perfectly.
Learn to use this expression actively
"Ça alors !" appears in the Vocaplus list "", containing 107 commonly used expressions.
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Well, I'll be!