Learning French: five ways to make a decision in France

Ask two or more French people to reach a decision and chances are they will resort to one of the following five methods, perhaps without a word being spoken. 

Some of them will be familiar but it is still worth knowing the vocabulary involved and local variations so you do not feel left out.

Chifumi or Chifoumi 

When I ask students in class to decide who goes first in an exercise they do it with the French version of ‘rock-paper-scissors’. The invisible items whipped out of the air with one hand are ‘pierre, papier/feuille, ciseaux’ although no words need be spoken before the winner declares victory. The curious name sounds like a combination of ‘chiffre’ (for the gestures) and ‘foumi’ (for the sounds) but apparently it comes from ancient China.

Read also: Learning French: when and why do we say avoir la poisse?

Chou-fleur (Cauliflower) 

This is the way to choose who is whose team for a game or sport. The participants form a circle and one player acting as the ‘lanceur’ or leader shouts ‘chou-fleur!’ and makes a gesture or performs an action. The other players must respond by making the same gesture or action as quickly as possible. 

Those who perform the gesture ‘correctly’, or in sufficient synchronisation with the leader, are selected for his or her team. The ‘losers’ go to the other team.

“Un, deux, trois, soleil” 

“One, two, three sunshine” is a more appealing name than ‘Grandmother footsteps’ for this traditional game forever popular in school playgrounds. 

The leader, called ‘le soleil’ (the sun), stands with their back to the other players chanting ‘Un, deux, trois, soleil’ while the others walk discreetly towards him without being seen to move. If, when he turns around, he sees someone, that person is dismissed. Whoever is first to reach the leader wins or makes whatever decision necessary.

“Je te tiens, tu me tiens, par la barbichette!” (I’ve got you, you’ve got me, by the chin!) 

This is a classic game used to make a decision between two friends. They stand facing each other holding the other person’s chin and sing, ‘Je te tiens, tu me tiens, par la barbichette, le premier de nous deux qui rira, aura une tapette!’ (‘I’ve got you, you’ve got me, by the chin, the first one who laughs, gets a slap!’). 

The aim is to keep a straight face while trying to make the other laugh by pulling a face or making a funny sound. The first one to laugh loses and the winner has the right to make the decision.

Read also: Learning French: the origins and meaning of avoir du bol

Pile ou face (Heads or tails) 

Using a coin to make a decision has its origins in classical times and it has come to our days as one of the simplest and most popular ways to settle a dispute. It is still widely used in sports competitions, on television quiz programmes, and in everyday situations when a quick choice has to be made. 

‘Face’ is heads, and ‘pile’ in this context is tails – usually the side with the number.

Read also: Learning French: the origins and meaning of se faire mener en bateau