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How to Say ‘I'm turning off the meter’ in French

Je coupe le compteur

zhuh KOOP luh kohn-TUR

[zhuh KOOP luh kohn-TUR]

💬 Usage Tip: Couper "to cut" also means to switch something off: couper le moteur "turn off the engine".

Phrase Breakdown

Je coupe

zhuh KOOP

I cut / I switch off

'Je' is said like a short 'zhuh', and 'coupe' rhymes with 'soup'. In fast speech it often sounds like 'zhkoop'.

Example

Je coupe le pain.

I'm cutting the bread.

Words in this phrase

[zhuh]

Pronoun used by the speaker to identify themselves.

Example

Je suis content.

I am happy.

coupe

[KOOP]

switch off / cut

Present of 'couper': to cut, or to turn off a device.

Example

Je coupe le moteur.

I'm switching off the engine.

le compteur

luh kohn-TUR

the meter

Here it means the taxi meter. The 'p' is silent, so say 'kon-teur', with a nasal 'on'.

Example

Le compteur tourne.

The meter is running.

Words in this phrase

[luh]

the

Used as a function word to indicate a noun and to mark the noun as definite.

Example

Le chat noir.

The black cat.

compteur

[kohn-TUR]

meter

Masculine noun: the taxi's fare-counting device.

Example

Le compteur indique quinze euros.

The meter shows fifteen euros.

Guides for French learners

Ordering in French: Cafés, Bakeries and Restaurants (with Menu Vocabulary)How to order in French at a café, a bakery and a restaurant: the phrases, the questions staff ask, and the menu and food vocabulary to understand the answers.Hello in French: Greetings, Good Evening and How to Answer "How Are You?"How to say hello in French, when to switch to good evening, how to ask how are you and what to answer, with tu vs vous and native audio.

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