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.
You’ll start hearing words like genre, a filler word that is used in a similar way to how English speakers use “like,” or oué, a more casual way to say oui that is something like “yeah.” You’ll hear popular words like bagnole or caisse which both mean “car,” or la flemme, which is essentially laziness. The tough part about slang is that it is always changing, whether it’s changing from year to year, or city to city.
So, we decided to sit down with our friend Thomas, a 24-year-old native French speaker from Normandy, and ask him what slang words he really uses in his vocabulary. We found a huge French wiki article with hundreds of French slang terms, and we went through every word until we compiled a list of 231 slang words that Thomas, and other French people, actually use.
In this list you’ll find examples of verlan, a type of slang that switches the first and last syllables in a word. For example relou (re-lou) is one of the most common examples of verlan. It is the word lourd (lou-re-d), which means “heavy,” with its syllables reversed. When someone is relou, they’re annoying or unbearable. Lourd can still mean “unbearable” in it’s normal form, but saying relou instead of lourd changes the meaning to be both “unbearable” and “annoying.”
Before you dive in, just remember that French is a language that is spoken by over 80 million people in 29 countries around the world so no slang list can ever be perfect. Think of the words “hella” and “wicked” in English. They can both replace the word “very,” but they’re not usually used by the same people. The same goes with French. They have the words “archi” and “grave” that can both replace the word “very,” but their uses will change depending on where you are and the people you’re with.
aller-retour (masculine) : a round of slaps on the face
s’arracher : to leave (partir)
à l’arrache : used to describe something that is poorly organized or that was done quickly or at the last minute
assurer : to be competent in your domain
bachoter : to work towards an exam, particularly the baccalauréat or the bac, the exam that French high schoolers take at the end of their senior year
bachotage (masculine) : a form of preparation for an exam where you try to find tricks to learning things rather than studying smartly and properly
baffe (feminine) : a slap (gifle)
bagnole (feminine) : a car (voiture)
bahut (masculine) : middle school or high school (collège or lycée)
balais : a year (an, année)
balaise : adjective used to describe someone who is strong or hefty (costaud)
balance (feminine) : someone in your group who shares your secrets
balancer : to denounce or report someone
baltringue (feminine) : someone who is a coward and who doesn’t hesitate to run away where there are problems
baraque (feminine) : a house (maison)
barjo, barge : crazy (fou)
barrer (se) : to leave (partir)
baston (feminine) : a fight (bagarre)
beauf (masculine) : this word comes from beau-frère, which means brother-in-law, and means something similar to a redneck or a hick and isn’t something you want to say to someone you don’t want to offend
becqueter, becter : to eat (manger)
bidasse (masculine) : a soldier (soldat)
bide (masculine) : stomach (ventre)
bidoche (feminine) : meat (viande)
biffeton (masculine) : paper money (billet de banque)
binouze (feminine) : beer (bière)
blaireau (masculine) : someone who thinks they’re cool, but isn’t
bled (masculine) : the countryside or a place that’s isolated or lost in the middle of nowhere
blé (masculine) : money (argent)
bleu (masculine) : a novice or an amateur (novice)
boîte (feminine) : a company (entreprise)
bol (masculine) : to be lucky used with the word “avoir” (e.g. avoir du bol)
bombe, bombasse (feminine) : a pretty girl
bordel (masculine) : a mess (but be careful with this one because it can also mean a whorehouse)
bosser : to work (travailler)
bouffer : to eat (manger)
avoir les boules : to be jealous or bothered by something
boulot (masculine) : work (travail)
bourrer (être bourré ou se bourrer) : to be drunk (être ivre)
bourre (feminine) (dans « être à la bourre ») : to be late (être en retard)
bousiller : to break or kill (casser, tuer)
braquer : to steal as a part of an armed robbery
buter : to kill (tuer)
cabot (masculine) : dog (chien)
cadavre (masculine) : an empty bottle
cafard (masculine) : melancholy
caisse (feminine) : car (or more rarely, fart)
cailler : to be cold (avoir froid)
calculer : to predict the reaction of someone
calendos (masculine) : another word for the cheese camembert
camelote (feminine) : an adjective to describe something that isn’t quality work
caoua (masculine) : coffee (café) (sometimes written kawa)
canner : to die (mourir)
canon : pretty
capter : to understand (comprendre)
cartonner : this can either mean to be successful or to have an accident
casse-couilles, casse-pieds (masculine) : someone annoying (casse-pieds is nicer than casse-couilles because couilles means “testicules”)
se casser : to leave (partir)
casser la croûte : to eat (manger)
chicots (plural feminine) : teeth (dents)
chelou : questionable, weird (verlan of “louche” which means shady or fishy)
cheum : ugly (verlan of moche, which also means ugly)
chialer : to cry (pleurer)
chiant : annoying (embêtant)
chier : to poop
chieur (masculine) : someone annoying
chiottes (plural feminine) : the bathroom
chtarbé : crazy (fou)
clacos (or claquos) : another word for the cheese camembert
clamecer, clamser, clapser : to die (mourir)
claque (feminine) : a slap (gifle)
claqué : tired (fatigué)
clébard (clebs) masculine : dog (chien)
clope (feminine) : cigarette
coltiner (se) : to carry (porter)
con (masculine) : an idiot
connerie (feminine) : foolishness (bêtise)
costard (masculine) : a suit (costume)
crade, crado, cracra, cradingue : dirty (sale)
crâner : to brag (se vanter)
crever : to die (mourir)
dalle (avoir la) : to be hungry (avoir faim)
daube (feminine) : something without value or of poor quality
dèche (c’est la) : a really problematic situation
déchiré : drunk or high
déconner : to joke around
défoncé, def : drunk or high
dégager : to leave (partir)
dégommer : to kill (tuer)
dégueulasse : dirty (sale)
dégueuler : to throw up (vomir)
désaper : to undress (déshabiller)
dingue, dingo : crazy (fou)
dodo (faire) : to sleep (dormir)
douce (en) : in secret (en cachette)
draguer : to seduce/flirt (séduire)
écraser (s’) : to shut up (se taire)
emmerder : to annoy/bother (considered rude)
enfoiré/enculé : someone who is dishonest or not a good person (be a little more careful with enculé because it comes from the verb enculer which means to sodomize)
esquiver (s’) : to leave discreetly
fauché (masculine) : a poor person (pauvre)
la fermer : to shut up (se taire)
fiasco (masculine) : a failure (échec)
fissa (faire) : to do something quickly
flemme (feminine) : laziness (see a better explanation here)
flic (masculine) : police officer (policier)
flingue (masculine) : gun (arme à feu)
flinguer : hurt or kill someone with a gun
flipper : to worry (angoisser)
flop (masculine) : a failure (échec)
foirer : to fail (échouer)
fourguer, refourguer : to get rid of something at a low price or by giving it away
foutre : a ruder replacement for “faire”
foutu (quelque chose) : broken
frangin : brother (frère)
frangine : sister (sœur)
fric (masculine) : money (argent)
frimer : to brag (se vanter)
fringues (plural feminine) : clothes (vêtements)
se fringuer : to get dressed (s’habiller)
froc (masculine) : pants (pantalon)
fromton (masculine) : cheese (fromage)
fumer : to kill (tuer)
futal, fut (masculine) : pants (pantalon)
galère (feminine) : a difficult or complicated situation
gamberger : to reflect (réfléchir)
gars (pronounced “ga”) : a man (homme)
gauler : to catch someone
gelé, givré : crazy (fou)
genre: a filler word similar to like
gerber : throw up (vomir)
glander : to not do anything, to laze about
godasse (feminine) : shoe (chaussure)
se goinfrer : to eat a lot and messily
gonzesse (feminine) : a girl (fille)
gosse : a child (enfant)
grave : mentally disturbed
grave : a lot/very (e.g. j’ai grave faim)
grailler : to eat (manger)
grillé : caught (attrapé) (also gaulé)
grouiller (se) : to hurry (se dépêcher)
gueule (feminine) : mouth or head
gueuler : to shout
intox (feminine) : fake news
jacter : to talk (parler)
keuf (masculine) : police officer (policier) (verlan for “flic”)
keum (masculine) : man (verlan for “mec”)
kiffer : to appreciate or like
laisse tomber : to stop or abandon
larguer : to abandon or leave (often used when talking about a break-up)
louper : to fail (échouer)
loupiotte (feminine) : lamp (lampe)
lourd (masculine) : someone who is unable to be subtle or who gets on your nerves
lover (masculine) : an emotional man
manger (se) : to take or receive (il s’est mangé une baffe = he took a hit)
marrant : funny/fun (amusant)
mater : to look at or draw up someone
matos (masculine) : equipment (matériel)
mec (masculine) : a man
médoc (masculine) : medicine (médicament)
merde (feminine) : shit
merder : to fail (échouer)
moche : ugly (laid)
mortel : excellent
nabot (masculine) : a small or skinny man
nana (feminine) : a woman (femme)
naze (masculine) : lame/useless (nul)
nickel : perfect
oué : yeah
ouf : crazy (verlan for “fou”)
papelard (masculine) : paper (papier)
Paname : Paris
patate (feminine) : a punch or to be healthy/fit
paumer : to lose (perdre)
pêche (avoir la) : to be in good health
peler (se) : to be cold (avoir froid)
pelle (rouler une) : a French kiss (kissing with tongue)
pénard : in peace
pépin (masculine) : a problem or worry
pige (feminine) : year (année) (this is often used to talk about age)
piger : to understand (comprendre)
pinard (masculine) : wine (vin)
piquer : to steal (voler)
pisser : to pee (uriner)
plaquer : to abandon (abandonner)
planter (se) : to screw up (se tromper)
pognon (masculine) : money (argent)
poil (à) : naked (nu)
poireauter : to wait (attendre)
poisse (feminine) : unlucky (malchance) (usually used with “avoir”)
pompe (feminine) : shoe (chaussure)
pote (masculine) : friend (copain)
poucave (feminine) : someone who tells other people your secrets
poulet (masculine) : police officer (policier)
PQ, papier-cul (masculine) : toilet paper (papier toilette)
prof : teacher (professeur)
prune (feminine) : a traffic ticket (contravention)
que dalle : nothing (rien)
racaille (feminine) : a hooligan
rancard (masculine) : a date (rendez-vous)
rappliquer : to come/to arrive
raquer : to spend money
réglo : honest/loyal
relou : unsubtle (verlan for “lourd”)
rigolo : funny
ringard : old fashioned
rouge : wine (vin)
roupiller : to sleep (dormir)
sape (feminine) : clothes (vêtement)
se saper : to get dressed (s’habiller)
serrer : to catch (attraper)
seum : a feeling of disgust or embarrassment
soutif (masculine) : a bra (soutien-gorge)
speed (masculine) : to have a lot of energy
squatter : to stay somewhere or to go to someone’s house
super : awesome
sympa : nice (shortened version of sympathique)
tabasser : to fight (battre)
taf (masculine) : work (initials of “Travail À Faire,” or work to do)
taffer : to work (travailler)
taulard (masculine) : detained (détenu)
taule (feminine) : prison
taulier (masculine) : boss (patron)
taupe (feminine) : someone who infiltrates into a group to get information (a mole)
thune (feminine) : money (argent)
toubib (masculine) : doctor (médecin)
type (masculine) : a man (homme)
vanne (feminine) : a joke that’s often made about another person
vénère : to be angry or annoyed (verlan for “énerver”)
vieux : parents
wesh : filler word used when greeting someone, or asking someone a question
zbool : a racket, a noise that is disturbing the peace
Calliope Zarpas, writer and graphic designer, is a collector of foreign words and experiences. She loves trying traditional foods and drinks from all over the world (ask her about the “happy water” she had in a tiny Vietnamese village) and making friends despite language barriers.
