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niak

English translation: hunger, drive (to win, to succeed)

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase:niak, niaque
English translation:hunger, drive (to win, to succeed)
Entered by: Philip Taylor

16:51 Jan 26, 2024
French to English translations [PRO]
Sports / Fitness / Recreation
French term or phrase: niak
From an interview with a badminton player:

J'ai appris la valeur de la détermination, ou comme on dit dans le jargon sportif, la « niak ».
Philip Taylor
Local time: 06:48
hunger, drive
Explanation:
It is about the determination to win, yes, but for me it's also got connotations of predation, and I reckon it needs a stronger word than "will" or "determination".
So "hunger", "drive", even "lust to win".
The first I ever heard of this word was an utterance about a cat qui risquait de "se faire gnaquer par un renard". That's a verb of course, but the semantic relation is clear.
According to the Larousse it comes from a Gascon verb meaning to bite, which fits with my friend's line about the fox.
Selected response from:

Robert Farren
Ireland
Grading comment
Yes, I think 'hunger' is good for my purposes here. Many thanks for all the comments and suggestions, much appreciated.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +3hunger, drive
Robert Farren
4determination, ambition, will to win
Sarah Bessioud
3 +1guts, spunk, pluck
Bourth
4the 'niaque'
Andrzej Ziomek
3moxie
SafeTex


Discussion entries: 3





  

Answers


8 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
determination, ambition, will to win


Explanation:
Most probably a typo for "niaque" (var. gnac)


    https://dictionnaire.lerobert.com/definition/niaque
Sarah Bessioud
Germany
Local time: 07:48
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 40
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thanks! I should have tried spelling it that way - lots more references for "niaque". Much appreciated.


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  philgoddard: This doesn't really work, because you're saying 'Determination or, as they call it in sporting jargon, determination".
7 mins
neutral  Emmanuella: Une expression imagée
11 mins
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23 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +3
hunger, drive


Explanation:
It is about the determination to win, yes, but for me it's also got connotations of predation, and I reckon it needs a stronger word than "will" or "determination".
So "hunger", "drive", even "lust to win".
The first I ever heard of this word was an utterance about a cat qui risquait de "se faire gnaquer par un renard". That's a verb of course, but the semantic relation is clear.
According to the Larousse it comes from a Gascon verb meaning to bite, which fits with my friend's line about the fox.


    Reference: http://www.larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais/niaque/1090999...
Robert Farren
Ireland
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Yes, I think 'hunger' is good for my purposes here. Many thanks for all the comments and suggestions, much appreciated.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  philgoddard: 'Hunger' works well. It's not really jargon - you could just say 'what sports players often refer to as hunger'.
38 mins
agree  Laurel Clausen
2 days 11 hrs
agree  Yvonne Gallagher
3 days 23 hrs
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5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
moxie


Explanation:
If you want a slang word in English to match the slang word in French.

Some might object that moxie is US and Canadian English only but then again, the idea is to replace an unusual word with another unusual word. Moxie is so unusual that it could be put between inverted commas and it's defined by "determination" that precedes it.
See reference


    https://www.dictionary.com/browse/moxie
SafeTex
France
Local time: 07:48
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8
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6 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
guts, spunk, pluck


Explanation:
They might not be exactly the same, but they might be close enough, and they are more familiar/slang than anything else I can think of.

"Andy Farrell: Ireland showed guts and immense character against South Africa
https://www.breakingnews.ie/sport/andy-farrell-ireland-showe...

"Diamond: My lads showed real guts"
https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/domestic-club-rugby-unio...

"Gayatri/Treesa show spunk here as they clash against the Olympic champs and stay close on the board. Come on, girls!"
https://thebridge.in/BADMINTON/all-england-day-2-sindhu-laks...

And then there's 'pluck', which I can easily see in the language of 1914-18 and 1939 (or 41)-45 … and even further back:
His face is earnest and careful as he glances a last time over his array, but full of pluck and hope—the sort of look I hope to see in my general when I go out to fight. [ …] He played well at all games where pluck wasn't much wanted, and managed generally to keep up appearances where it was […]
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1480/1480-h/1480-h.htm
[Yup, it's Tom Brown's Schooldays]




Bourth
France
Local time: 07:48
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 12

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Philippa Smith
14 hrs
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56 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
the 'niaque'


Explanation:
the original word in inverted commas

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2024-01-26 18:27:39 GMT)
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https://www.bernard-loiseau.com/en/group-history.html

EXCELLENCE is the translation of the "niaque" claimed by Bernard Loiseau. Our teams are driven by this requirement which implies work, commitment, perfectionism and know-how.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 17 hrs (2024-01-27 10:28:20 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

https://newsinfrance.com/fernando-alonso-is-a-beast/

[...] when you are in good shape and you are 40 years old, you can always be in front. . What is most remarkable is his mentality: you have to have the niaque, 20 years later. [...]

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 17 hrs (2024-01-27 10:33:08 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

https://www.tellerreport.com/news/2022-03-18-naïs-pirollet--...

[...] The daughter of a doctor and a jeweler, she could have embarked on an engineering course if the Bocuse Institute [...] At the Institute, this reserved woman learns to "have the niaque". [...]

Andrzej Ziomek
Poland
Local time: 07:48
Native speaker of: Native in PolishPolish
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