Sunday 15 January 2017

What do you call a Thrift shop in French?

So what is a thrift shop called in French?  Or maybe more specifically Québecois French?  It would seem there are many terms and names and there is no direct equivalent in English.

A magasin d'occasion is a continental French term for store (magasin) selling used items but it could be a for-profit store.  The term is not used in the title of stores in Québec. Of course, the stores alluding to selling higher-end items call themselves a boutique.

A comptoir is another name, perhaps the most common, for thrift store and most are called comptoir familial (family store), comptoir d'entraide (store of mutual assistance) or comptoir communautaire (community store). Unless you are desperately poor and needy,, do not go to one that is a comptoir alimentaire as this is a food bank.  One also sees the adjective partage (e.g.comptoir du partage) which means a sharing shop.  Grenier (attic) is also used though vide grenier, the French term for garage (or attic) sale doesn't seem to be used as much. Bazar is also a term used for a used-goods store.

Magasin d'aubaine is a bargain store literally, but this is probably more like a "dollar" store.

A friperie is an used clothes store which could be non as well as for profit.  Vestiaire seems to be used too but apparently in a charitable sense especially by churches.  Vestimentaire is an adjective use for clothing.  Chiffon (cloth) and chiffoneries (cloth stores) are also terms and names used.

There are also resourceries or ressourceres which appear to municipal operations that recycle discarded items which are resold.

Sans but lucratif is not for profit.

As for names familiar in the rest of Canada, Armée du Salut is the Salvation Army.  Goodwill Industries is called Renaissance and Habitat for Humanity is Habitat pour l'humanité.

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