Norwegian athlete John Carew just revealed his new tattoo, which features wings and the phrase ‘Ma Vie, Mes Régles’. Apparently Mr. Carew believed that reads “My Life, My Rules”, but with an acute accent (é) instead of a grave accent (è), the actual translation is either ‘My Life, My Period’ or ‘My Life, My Menstruation’.
That’s frankly awesome.
While this is no doubt amusing, and I’ll enjoy sharing it with my football-loving French husband and his family, I have to point out that you’re incorrect about the accent changing the meaning of the word. The word “régles” does not exist in the French language. Whoever did the tattoo made a mistake with the accent over the “e.”
To speak about their periods, French women do say “mes règles.” Règles can also mean rules, but if a French person sees “mes règles” without much context, they’ll assume it means “my period.” If you see “les règles,” it could definitely mean “the rules,” usually meaning the rules of something, for example, “les règles du jeux” – the rules of the game, etc.
Thanks for the clarification, Vanessa!
I don’t speak or read French at all, so was relying on the translation provided by the source. (I still think it’s an awesome menstruation tattoo.)
Sadly, a friend who speaks French pointed out to me that your translation is incorrect, and a visit to Google Translate confirms: Ma Vie, Mes Régles = My Life, My Rules … not My Period