275 French slang words, phrases & text slang - A really big list

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!

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	Crazy
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 or crazy
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 crazy
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, go crazy
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
qq	Somebody
auj	Today
mail	E-mail
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)

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.