My French teacher taught me this and I wrote it down somewhere and I don't have it. 'Je suis' in French can mean something other than 'I am' as well, but I can't remember what it is.
'Je suis ce que je suis, mais je ne suis pas ce que je suis'
You might think this would mean 'I am what I am, but I am not what I am.' But the last 'je suis' means something else.
Does anyone know? Google doesn't seem to be helping me!
2007-11-02 12:04:51 · 9 answers · asked by eggz 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
No, I only heard of the first part of the riddle. And it's definately to do with something else 'Je suis' can mean.
2007-11-02 12:13:29 · update #1
i believe the right riddle was this one:
Je suis ce que je suis,
mais je ne suis pas ce que je suis,
car si j'étais ce que je suis,
je ne serais pas ce que je suis.
Qui suis-je?
the answer is here:
SPOILER DO NOT READ IF YOU WANT TO TRY ON YOUR OWN:
answer:MOI
the word "suis" is used like in être(be) and in Suivre(follow)
2007-11-02 12:10:20 · answer #1 · answered by matissina07 5 · 5⤊ 0⤋
Your teacher is a sadist. Suis means both 'am' and 'follow' and only by knowing French can you guess which is which
Je suis ce que je suis,
mais je ne suis pas ce que je suis,
car si j'étais ce que je suis,
je ne serais pas ce que je suis.
I am what I am
But I am not what I follow
because if I was what I follow
I would not be what I am
And Matissina gave the answer to the riddle
2007-11-02 12:25:39 · answer #2 · answered by Cabal 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Je suis can also mean "I follow" as well as "I am".
It's the first person present tense of suivre= to follow.
The whole riddle is
Je suis ce que je suis,
mais je ne suis pas ce que je suis.
Si j'étais ce que je suis,
je ne serais pas ce que je suis.
2007-11-02 15:04:55 · answer #3 · answered by steiner1745 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Je suis (I am)
Je suis (from the verb to follow).
The complete egnima is:
Je suis ce que je suis,
mais je ne suis pas ce que je suis,
car si j'étais ce que je suis,
je ne serais pas ce que je suis.
Qui suis-je?
And the answer is: Moi (me)
2007-11-02 14:30:18 · answer #4 · answered by Beauty_Queen 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
'Je suis ce que je suis, - I am what i am
mais je ne suis pas ce que je suis' - but i am not what i follow
Hope it helps out
2007-11-02 12:14:00 · answer #5 · answered by Dil 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
'Je suis ce que je suis, mais je ne suis pas ce que je suis'
I am what I follow, but I am not what I follow
2007-11-02 12:23:29 · answer #6 · answered by snafu 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
I am what I am, but I do not understand what I am.
'Suivre' can mean many things - to follow, to monitor, to keep abreast of the times (suivre son temps), to understand (je ne vous suis pas), to accompany (suivre quelqu'un dans ses voyages), to watch, to pay attention, to go along, to go on one's own way (suivre son chemin), to do something one's own way (je vais suivre mon idee), to act upon, to obey, to conform to, to pay attention, etc.
Do not know the riddle.
MAIS La vie suit son cours - Life goes on.
2007-11-02 12:39:43 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
As mentionned above it means 'what i follow'
2007-11-02 12:26:23 · answer #8 · answered by sbro 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
go to bablefish .com
2007-11-02 12:08:11 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋