Is Your Relationship Fusional or Independant?

This is the question we recently were asked at a couple's dinner party and I was stumped. What the heck does that even mean?! Every couple had a response though, and when my sister-in-law saw that I had no clue what they were talking about, she announced that Monsieur Right and I were "fusionnel."

My subsequent Google searches showed that these are pretty common ways to describe couples in French. You can even take a test on AuFeminin to find out which couple category your relationship falls under. I find this concept somewhat hilarious (don't most couples fall under both categories?), but wanted to share with you all just in case this question ever pops up at one of your dinner parties.


Fusional : (fusionnel) This relationship is often described as symbiotic. You depend on each other. You're always seen together - never one without the other. These relationships are very harmonious.

Official Definition - from the L'internaute


"Sentiment et lien d'affection très fort, qui lie deux personnes entre elles et qui ne pourraient pas vivre l'une sansl'autre sans en souffrir terriblement."

Translation "A very strong affectionate feeling and connection, that binds two people together. The couldn't live without one another without suffering terribly."

Don't you just love how melodramatic that definition is? :)






Independant : (indépendant) These couples work really hard at keeping up their independence. They each have their own lives. They are also referred to as "different." Maybe they have differing political views or different ways of living life that might not necessarily correspond.

This couple may even often be in conflict (something that is not badly viewed in France). Great fights lead to great "cuddles," right? This label applies to couples that fall under the "opposites attract" stereotype.



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Now no one expects you to fall perfectly into one category or the other. It's just that couples tend to lean one way more than the other. 


Thoughts? Is there a third or even fourth category that you think the Frenchies need to add? Do you think it's all a bunch of bull crap?

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