275 French slang words, phrases & text slang - A really big list
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There is nothing like French slang, or argot, to sound like, and connect with the locals.
We have compiled a list of 275 of the best colloquial and informal words and phrases so you can get ready for your next trip to France, Canada or any other French-speaking country... or your next Zoom meeting with your amis francophones!
From French text slang to French slang for cool, you’ll be sure to impress. And if you make a faux pas, you’re in for a good laugh. Read on!
Why you need to know French slang
Sure, it’s useful to know the basics like the French alphabet or how to say hello in French.
But if you want to take your French learning to the next level, consider learning French slang phrases. Here is a few reasons why:
- You’ll speak like a local
- You’ll have fun while learning
- You’ll spice up your conversations with French speakers
- You’ll make francophone friends more easily
- You’ll get a better grasp of movies and TV shows in French (Lupin is really cool, just to mention one)
- You’ll be able to make jokes (within reason) in your informal business meetings with French partners/colleagues.
- You’ll be able to express your feelings better.
- And so many more!
Download our free guide to French slang!
French slang
French pronunciation can be challenging, and even more so with “street” language or colloquialisms. Add in regional differences, such as Québécois or Swiss-French, and it’s even trickier.
Heureusement, the International Phonetic Alphabet can help. And if you don’t know it yet or want to go straight to slang learning, we’ve got you covered with the English phonetic pronunciation. Les doigts dans le nez !
French slang words
| French word | Pronunciation | English meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Bouffer | boo-fay | Eat |
| Truc, machin, bidule | truk, mash-un, bee-dule | Thing (stuff) |
| Draguer | dra-gey | Flirt |
| Piquer | pee-kay | Steal |
| Mec | meck | Guy |
| Meuf, nana | muff, nana | Chick (girl) |
| Blé, fric, pognon, thune | bley, freek, po-gnon, tune | Money |
| Bouquin | book-un | Book |
| Frangin(e) | franj-un, franjeen | Brother, sister |
| Bagnole, caisse | ban-gniole, kess | Car |
| Gosse | goss | Kid |
| Fringues | fraang | Clothes |
| Cinglé(e) | san-glay | Wild |
| Clebs | cleps | Dog |
| Toubib | two-bib | Doctor |
| Picoler | pique-olay | To drink alcohol |
| Poiscaille | pwah-sky | Fish |
| Panard | pan-ahr | Foot |
| Flingue | flaang | Gun |
| Tifs | tiff | Hair |
| Vénère | ven-air | Angry |
| Bidouiller | bee-dew-yay | Knock up |
| Costaud | coast-oh | Strong |
| Flic, keuf, poulet | fleek, cuff, poo-leh | Policeman |
| Flotter | flow-tay | To rain |
| Godasse | go-dass | Shoe |
| Pioncer | pee-ohn-say | To sleep |
| Dauber | doh-bay | To stink |
| Chiottes | she-uht | Toilets |
| Boulot, taf | Boo-low, taff | Work |
| Bosser | boh-say | To work |
| Thon | tohn | Ugly person |
| Chiant(e) | she-on, she-uhnt | Annoying |
| Beauf | bohff | Vulgar, tacky person |
| Kitsch | kitch | Tacky |
| Plouc | plewk | Country bumpkin |
| Boss | boss | Boss |
| Parigo | pah-rigo | Parisian |
| Pompes | pomp | Shoes |
| Frigo | frigo | Fridge |
| Bouffe | bewff | Food |
| Bécane | bey-can | Moto |
| Arnaque | ar-knack | Scam |
| Teuf | tough | Party |
| Zarbi | zar-bee | Strange |
| Boîte | bwatt | Company |
| Boîte de nuit | Bwatt duh new-ee | Nightclub |
| Taule | tohwl | Jail |
| Bourré(e) | boo-rey | Drunk |
| Crevé(e) | cruh-vey | Exhausted |
| Balancer | bah-lance-ey | To give up, to reveal |
| Canon | cah-no | Hot, beautiful |
| Blasé(e) | blaz-eh | Not impressed |
| Pince | pahnce | Cheap (somebody) |
| Darons | dah-ron | Parents |
| Balles | bahll | Euros, buck |
| Carrément | cah-rey-mon | Totally |
| Bordel | bohr-dell | Mess |
| Fastoche | fas-tosh | Easy |
| Hexagone | eggs-a-gohn | France |
| Ouais | wey | Yes |
| Râler | rah-ley | To complain |
| Zik | zeek | Music |
| Michto | mish-tow | Gold digger |
| Blindé(e) | blahn-dey | Very rich |
| Glander | glahn-dey | Do nothing |
| Balec | bal-ek | I don’t care |
| OSEF | os-eff | We don’t care |
| Canard | cah-nar | Clingy |
| Choper | show-pey | Make out |
| Charo, chineur | Cha-roh, she-nur | Seducer |
| Cramé(e) | cram-eh | Exhausted |
| Paname | pahn-am | Paris |
| Meskine | mes-kin | Weak |
| Tise | tease | Alcohol |
| Tiser | tease-ey | To drink alcohol |
| Relou, lourd(e) | roh-loo, lurh, lurhd | Annoying |
| Mytho | mee-toh | Liar |
| Wesh | wesh | Yo |
| Boloss | bo-loss | Gullible |
| Grave | grahve | Totally |
| Chanmé(e) | sha-may | Wicked |
| Oklm | oh-ka-el-em | Chilled |
| Kiffer | key-fait | To like |
| Bouffon | boo-fahn | Loser |
| Chelou | sha-loo | Weird |
| Bachoter | ba-sho-tey | Last minute study for an exam |
| Baffe | baff | Slap |
| Balais | bah-ley | Year |
| Crâner | cra-ney | To brag |
| Balaise | bah-lezz | Strong |
| Baston | bah-stohn | Fight |
| Daube | dohb | Bad |
| Marrant | mah-ruhn | Funny |
| Grailler | gra-ye | To eat |
General French slang phrases
| Slang phrase | Pronunciation | English meaning |
|---|---|---|
| C’est nul | sey-noule | That sucks |
| Flasher sur quelqu’un | flash-ey sewrh kell-kah | To have a crush on someone |
| Ça baigne? | sah-benyuh | How are you? |
| Arrête de te la péter | ah-rette duh tuh lah pey-tey | Stop showing off |
| Il/elle capte rien | ill/elle capt ree-uh | He/she doesn’t understand anything |
| Je me casse | Juh muh cass | I’m out of here |
| Laisse tomber | less tohn-bey | Let it go, drop it |
| J’ai la flemme | jey lah flem | I’m lazy |
| Sans déconner | sahn dey-coh-ney | No joke, not kidding |
| Avoir un creux | sh-vwahr ahn cruh | To be hungry |
| Être dans le coaltar | etr dahn luh coal-tahr | To be half-asleep, disoriented |
| Être dans le pâté | etr dahn luh pah-tey | Same as above |
| Poser une colle | poh-zey une cahll | To ask a tricky questions |
| Vas-y mollo | vah-zee mo-low | Take it easy |
| BCBG | bey seh bey jeh | Posh, chic |
| Se peler | suh puh-ley | To be cold |
| Se bourrer la gueule | suh boo-rey lah gull | To get drunk |
| Faire la tronche | fair lah truhn-shh | To have a long face |
| Ça craint | sah cran | Not cool, it sucks |
| Ça marche | sah mak-shh | Ok, it works |
| Ça me saoule | sah muh sule | That pisses me off |
| Boire un coup | so-arh ahn coo | To have a drink |
| C’est clair | sey claire | You don’t say |
| Un truc de ouf | ahn trewk duh oof | It’s wild |
| Crever la dalle | cruh-vey lah dall | To be starving |
| Être au taquet | etr oh tah-kay | To be on fire |
| Lâche-moi la grappe | lashe-moi lah grap | Leave me alone, give me a break |
| Pas de souci | pah duh suu-si | No worries |
| Point barre | pwahn bahr | Period |
| Je m’en fous | juh mon foo | I don’t care |
| La vache | lah vahsh | OMG |
| Pas mal de | pah mal du | Many |
| Coup de fil | coo duh fill | Phone call |
| Se planter | suh plahn-tey | To make a mistake |
| C’est bof | sey buff | It’s terrible |
| C’est naze | Sey nazz | It sucks, it’s boring |
| C’est dégueu | sey dey-guh | It’s disgusting |
| Péter un cable | pey-tey ahn cah-bluh | Freak out |
| À la bourre | ah lah boor | Running late |
| Lâcher une caisse | lah-che une kess | To fart |
| Gueule de bois | guhl duh bwah | Hangover |
| Cul sec | koo sek | To drink the whole glass at once |
| N’importe quoi | nah-port kwah | Shenanigans |
| Fais gaffe | fey gaff | Watch out |
| T’inquiète | tuhn-key-et | No worries |
| Bon app’ | bon app | Enjoy your meal |
| Du coin | dew kwan | From around here |
| Mon œil | mon nuh-ee | I don’t believe it |
| C’est trop la honte | sey troh lah uhnt | It’s so embarrassing |
| Arrête de flipper | ah-rette duh flee-pey | Stop freaking out |
| Se manger la gueule | suh mon-jey lah gull | To fall, to hurt oneself |
| C’est craignos | sey crey-gnos | It sucks |
| Je suis grillé(e) | juh swee gree-yeh | I’m done, I’ve been caught |
| N’importe nawak | nah-port nawak | Shenanigans |
| Avoir le seum | ah-vwahr luh sum | To be angry or ‘pissed’ |
| Beau gosse | boh goss | Handsome guy |
| Je pète la dalle | juh pette lah dahl | I’m starving |
| À chier | ah she-eh | Lame |
| Casser la croûte | kah-sey lah croot | To eat |
| C’est dans la poche | sey dahn lah posh | A successful outing |
| Les doigts dans le nez | ley du-wah dahn luh ney | Piece of cake |
French text slang
| French text slang | English meaning |
|---|---|
| stp | Please |
| slt | Hi |
| tkt | No worries |
| cad | That is to say |
| a+ | Talk to you later |
| pq | Why |
| Je t’m | I love you |
| bjr | Hello |
| bsr | Goodbye (evening) |
| rdv | Meeting |
| Ton 06 | Your phone number |
| K29 | What’s up |
| mdr | lol |
| ptdr | rofl |
| Somebody | |
| auj | Today |
| wétu | Where are you |
| aprem | Afternoon |
| toutafé | Absolutely |
| dsl | Sorry |
| tjs | Always |
| jms | Never |
| dak | OK |
| A2M1 | Talk to you tomorrow |
| bcp | A lot |
| biz | Kiss |
| bg | Handsome guy |
| jpp | I can’t take it anymore |
| tmtc | You know it |
French slang for cool
| French for cool | Pronunciation | English meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Impec | um-peck | Perfect |
| Ça gère | sah jear | It rocks, it’s great |
| C’est de la balle | sey duh lah bal | It’s great |
| C’est le pied | sey luh pee-eh | It rocks, it’s awesome |
| Nickel | knee-kel | Perfect |
| Chouette, cool, super | shwet, kewl, suh-pear | Great |
| Ça déchire | sah dey-shir | It’s awesome, it rocks |
| C’est la bombe | sey lah bumb | It’s the bomb |
| Trop kiffant | troh key-fahn | So cool |
| Sympa | sam-pah | Nice |
| Super | suh-pear | Terrific |
| Trop cool | troh-kewl | So awesome |
French slang for friend
| Slang for friend | Pronunciation | English meaning (if applicable, otherwise disregard) |
|---|---|---|
| Pote, poteau | pot, pot-oh | Friend, buddy |
| Frérot, gros | fre-rot, groh | Bro |
| T’es le sang | teh luh san | You’re important to me |
| Mon vieux | mon vee-yuh | My friend |
| Mec | meck | Dude |
| Biloute | bee-lute | Friend (North of France) |
Free downloadable guide to French slang
We've created a list of popular slang words and phrases so you can start sounding like, and connect with French locals. This guide to slang will take your French learning to the next level.
French Canadian slang
Canadian slang deserves a whole article, but here are a few expressions and words to get you started.
| French Canadian slang | Pronunciation | English meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Habillé(e) comme la chienne à Jacques | ah-bee-yeh com lah she-en ah Jacques | Dressed with poor taste |
| Gars | gah | Guy |
| Char | shar | Car |
| Blonde | blon-duh | Girlfriend |
| Chum | shum | Boyfriend |
| Niaiseux | knee-eh-zuh | Boring, stupid |
| Piastre | pee-ahs-truh | Buck, dollar |
| Bas | bah | Socks |
| Matante | mah-tahnt | Gossipy woman |
| Mononcle | mon-non-cluh | Obnoxious man |
| Osti | oh-stee | Oh god |
| Avoir de la misère à | ah-vwahr duh lah me-zere ah | To have a lot of trouble doing something |
| Avoir la chienne | ah-vwahr lah she-en | To be terrified |
| Pas pire | pah peer | Not bad |
| Faire un téléphone | fair ahn teh-leh-phun | To make a phone call |
| Ça me bouillonne dans le fond de la flûte | sah muh boo-yun dahn luh fuhn duh la flute | I need to pee |
| Attache ta tuque | ah-tahsh tah tuke | Hold on tight |
| Au plus sacrant | oh plew sah-crunh | Quickly |
| Fin | fahn | Nice, sweet |
| C’est le fun | sey luh fun | It’s awesome |
| Jaser | ja-zey | To chat |
| Mets-en | mey-zunh | Totally, for sure |
| Franchement | frahn-shuh-mon | Really? |
| Chanter la pomme | shan-tey lah pom | To chat up, to flirt with |
| Domper | dohn-pey | To dump |
| La bobette | lah boh-bette | Underwear |
| T’est ben chix | tey bahn shix | You’re hot |
| Partir sur une balloune | pahr-teer suhr une bah-loon | To party hard |
| Être paqueté | etr pah-cuh-tey | To be drunk |
| Être sous raide | etr suu red | To be hungover |
| Calice de Crisse, tabarnak | cah-leese duh crease tah-bahr-nack | Damn it |
| Ostie d’innocent | ost-ee dee-noh-sahn | Idiot |
| J’ai mon voyage | jey mon vwah-yaj | I had enough |
| Je m’en sacre | juh mon sak-re | I don’t care |
| Tu me bosses | tew muh boss | You’re annoying me |
| Cogner des clous, toaster des deux bords | co-gnee-eh dey clue, tohs-tey dey duh boahr | To be exhausted |
| Lache pas la patate | lash pah lah pa-taht | Don’t give up |
| C’est de valeur | sey duh vah-lehur | What a pity |
| Il fait frette | ill fey fret | It’s freezing |
| Être vite sur ses patins | etr veet suhr sey pah-tahn | To be very smart, clever |
| Avoir les shakes | ah-vwahr ley shake | To be scared |
| Aller aux vues | ahl-le oh vew | To go to the movies |
| Caller l’orignal | cohl-le low-re-gnal | To vomit |
| L’enterrement de crapaud | lahn-terre-mont duh crah-poh | That’s awful |
Other French colloquial expressions from various countries and regions
| Expression | Pronunciation | Country/region where it’s used | English meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Go | goh | Ivory Coast | Girl or girlfriend |
| Être calé | etr car-le | Ivory Coast | To be chilling |
| Merci mingi | Mer-see meen-gi | Democratic Republic of Congo | Thank you very much |
| Baybay | bye-bye | Seychelles | Goodbye |
| Ça plèque | sah plehck | Belgium | It’s sticky |
| Être sur le balan | etr suhr luh bah-lon | Switzerland | To hesitate |
| Je wanda | juh wanda | Cameroon | I wonder |
| Dallasser | dah-lah-sey | Senegal | To show off |
| Okelendo | oh-kay-len-do | Mali | Ok |
| Mari sa | mah-ri sah | Mauritius | Wow |
| Djal | jal | French Guiana | Girlfriend, boyfriend |
| Allons bouger | ah-lon boo-jey | La Réunion | Let’s go |
More slang FAQs
How do you say “have fun” in French slang?
The most common slang for “Have fun” is “s’éclater”.
What are some well-known French expressions about life?
Modern French expressions use a lot of Anglicisms. For example, you can say “C’est la life” instead of “C’est la vie”.
What are some French colloquial expressions about love?
If you like a French mec or meuf, you can express your feelings with “J’te kiffe” (slang phrase for “I like you”).
What is some French internet slang?
The English Internet language has lol and rofl. The French Internet language has mdr (mort de rire) and ptdr (pété de rire), respectively.
Tips for learning French colloquialisms
Practice, practice, practice
If you can’t travel to a French-speaking country at the moment, the Internet is a wonderful place to find francophones to speak or chat with. You can also search for tandem/language exchange programs in your area.
Watch TV
Yes, you read that right. Watch recent French-speaking movies and TV shows to learn new slang, and the slang words and phrases you’ve just learned in this article. Nice homework, right?
Learn French online
With regular lessons and study, you’ll integrate new slang words and phrases and reach a French level qui déchire!
Mastering casual French, c’est dans la poche
With 273 phrases and words under your belt, you are au taquet to fit in among French speakers!
And our French text slang words will help you sound like a local even when texting. Trop cool, non ?
Loved this blog article lesson? Discover more French vocabulary articles on our learning French blog.
