Speaking of French

If you’ve studied French from a textbook you most likely won’t learn the words chelou, reup, ripou, or reuch. This is because they’re all in the form of a certain slang called verlan that reverses the syllables of words. Chelou is the reversed version of louche, and means weird or creepy. Reup comes from père meaning father, and ripou means corrupt, coming from the word pourri which means rotten.

Ça va, which is pronounced like “sah vah,” is a common phrase heard in day-to-day French speech. Ça va literally translates to “it goes,” but it is used in a variety of situations. The most common way you’ll hear ça va is when it is used to ask someone how they’re doing as a shortened version of comment ça va ?

When you hear the word “mademoiselle,” the words “French,” “Paris,” and maybe even “Coco Chanel,” a very famous mademoiselle, might pop into your head. But if you ask a French person about “mademoiselle” they’ll most likely think, “interdit” (prohibited) and “sexiste” (sexist). This is because the word mademoiselle was created to refer to women who were unmarried, while madame was used to talk about women who were married.

Slang is one of the most important things to learn when you’re learning a new language, especially if you want to sound like a local. While textbooks and high school French lessons are great, it’s usually not until you find yourself in a restaurant or bar, or hanging out with young people in an actual French-speaking country that you start to learn how French people actually speak to one another.

In English, the prefix “re” can mean to do something again. You might redo your homework if you got a bad grade on the first try. Or maybe you redecorate your guest bedroom, and turn it into a home office. Or you might reorganize your desk after a few months of misplacing some important documents.

As most French language learners discover while visiting France, learning the language in lessons and speaking like a local can be two very different things. That’s why it’s important to not only focus on learning French pronunciation, but also getting familiar with the kinds of French slang you might hear as part of everyday speech.