Bilingual Woman Can’t Believe What She Hears Family Say About Her in Foreign Language: “I Froze”

A Vancouver woman’s encounter with a family of French-speaking tourists has sparked fury across the internet.

The 28-year-old woman and original poster (OP), Reddit user Pixel__Detox, recounted the incident on r/pettyrevenge, explaining that while the main language in British Columbia is English, French is her mother tongue.

She had just returned from a sunset run when she entered the elevator with a family speaking French.

“It was a couple and their three kids, all boys around 8-10 years old,” she noted. “I am bad with ages, but they were the age of being able to speak and think enough to understand what is ‘right’ and ‘wrong’.”

As the elevator made its way up the building, she soon realized that the family’s conversation had shifted—to her appearance.

According to her post, the father asked, “Alors, elle est belle ou pas belle?” (“So, is she pretty, or not pretty?”). Quickly, one of the three children responded bluntly, “Pas belle” (“Not pretty”).

“I stopped breathing for a sec, realizing now fully, that it was truly me they were blatantly judging right in front of me,” the OP recalled.

Despite her initial shock, she used her linguistic skill to deliver a subtle yet pointed response. As she exited the elevator, she turned to the family and said in perfect French, “Bonne soirée” (“Have a good evening”).

“The look on their faces? Ab-so-lu-te-ly priceless,” she added. “I left quickly, but in hindsight, I wish I’d made direct eye contact until the doors closed.

“I’ve dealt with rude comments before, but this moment was *chef’s kiss*. I’ve always dreamed of a situation like this where I could use another language to surprise someone who thought I couldn’t understand them.

“I’m just saying, but keep your language skills to yourself, you never know when it can become handy! Learning multiple languages is 100% worth it just for bamboozling people like that!

“The mom stood there silently the whole time, almost like she wasn’t really present. I couldn’t help but wonder if she faces this kind of behavior from him too.”

Redditors React

Reddit users flocked to the comments to applaud the OP’s response, with one writing, “The fact that you called them out while being polite was the best part of this. They went low. You went high.”

Another quipped, “I wish you’d said, ‘And y’all are not exactly what I’d call handsome.'”

“Glad you were able to poke them but it’s too bad the parents couldn’t have suffered more for enabling this awful behavior,” one Redditor remarked.

Rudeness on the Rise

According to an article from LinkedIn on the growing rudeness in society, incidents like this are becoming more common.

“Public spaces often become battlegrounds for passive-aggressive behavior,” wrote author Amanda Denson, noting the importance of staying calm and keeping your cool even when provoked.

Similarly, Wikihow advises confronting insults with confidence and composure, noting that calm and measured responses can be more effective than retaliatory remarks.

Newsweek has contacted Pixel__Detox comment via Reddit.

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