100 French Slang Words and Expressions You Should Know

Table of Contents

• Common Everyday Slang
• Verlan (Inverted Words)
• Expressions & Idioms
• Internet & Text Slang
• Food & Drink Related
• Social & Friendly Terms
• Informal Exclamations
• Vulgar Slang
• Québécois French Expressions

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Understanding French slang (argot) is essential for sounding natural in conversations with native speakers. While standard French is taught in schools, everyday French incorporates a rich variety of slang expressions that vary across different contexts and generations. This guide introduces you to 100 essential French slang words and expressions that will help you communicate more naturally.

Common Everyday Slang

• Mec: Guy, dude. Ce mec est sympa. (That guy is nice.)
• Meuf: Girl, woman (verlan for "femme"). Cette meuf est cool. (That girl is cool.)
• Kiffer: To like, to enjoy, to be into. Je kiffe cette chanson. (I really like this song.)
• Bosser: To work. Je dois bosser demain. (I have to work tomorrow.)
• Bouffer: To eat (informal). On va bouffer où? (Where are we going to eat?)
• Fric/Thunes/Blé: Money. J'ai pas de fric. (I don't have any money.)
• Truc: Thing, stuff (very versatile). Passe-moi ce truc. (Pass me that thing.)
• Machin: Thing, whatchamacallit. Je ne trouve plus mon machin. (I can't find my thing.)
• Bagnole/Caisse: Car. Sa bagnole est en panne. (His car broke down.)
• Bouquin: Book. J'ai acheté un nouveau bouquin. (I bought a new book.)
• Vachement: Really, very (literally "cow-ly"). C'est vachement bien! (It's really good!)
• Mater: To look at, to check out. Il n'arrête pas de la mater. (He keeps checking her out.)
• Pote: Friend, buddy. C'est mon pote d'enfance. (That's my childhood friend.)
• Boulot: Work, job. Le boulot se passe bien? (Is work going well?)
• Apéro: Pre-dinner drinks and snacks. On se retrouve pour l'apéro à 18h. (Let's meet for drinks at 6pm.)
• Taff: Work, job (similar to boulot). J'ai trop de taff aujourd'hui. (I have too much work today.)
• Fringues: Clothes. Ces fringues sont trop chères. (These clothes are too expensive.)
• Naze: Tired, exhausted; also can mean useless/bad. Je suis complètement naze. (I'm completely exhausted.)
• Sympa: Nice, kind, friendly (short for sympathique). Elle est super sympa. (She's really nice.)
• Fastoche: Easy (from facile). C'est fastoche, ce truc. (This thing is easy.)

Verlan (Inverted Words)

Verlan is a type of French slang that consists of inverting the syllables in a word.

• Ouf: Crazy, insane (verlan for "fou"). C'est un truc de ouf! (It's an insane thing!)
• Chelou: Weird, suspicious (verlan for "louche"). Ce type est chelou. (This guy is weird.)
• Zarbi: Bizarre (verlan for "bizarre"). C'est zarbi, ce qui se passe. (What's happening is bizarre.)
• Relou: Annoying (verlan for "lourd"). Ce mec est relou. (This guy is annoying.)
• Téma: Look (verlan for "mater"). Téma ce que j'ai trouvé. (Look at what I found.)
• Renoi: Black person (verlan for "noir"). Il traîne avec des renois. (He hangs out with black guys.)
• Rebeu: Arab (verlan for "beur", which is verlan for "arabe"). Il y a plein de rebeus dans ce quartier. (There are lots of Arabs in this neighborhood.)
• Ripou: Corrupt (verlan for "pourri"). C'est un flic ripou. (He's a corrupt cop.)
• Teuf: Party (verlan for "fête"). On va à la teuf samedi. (We're going to the party on Saturday.)
• Keuf: Cop (verlan for "flic"). Les keufs arrivent. (The cops are coming.)
• Iench: Dog (verlan for "chien"). Son iench est super mignon. (His dog is super cute.)
• Vénère: Angry (verlan for "énervé"). Il est trop vénère! (He's too angry!)

Expressions & Idioms

• Avoir la flemme: To feel lazy. J'ai la flemme de sortir. (I feel too lazy to go out.)
• Avoir la dalle: To be very hungry. J'ai la dalle, on va manger? (I'm starving, shall we eat?)
• Avoir la pêche: To feel energetic, in good shape. Je suis en forme, j'ai la pêche! (I'm in great shape, I'm feeling energetic!)
• Avoir le cafard: To feel down, depressed. Il a le cafard depuis sa rupture. (He's been feeling down since his breakup.)
• Être à côté de la plaque: To be completely off/wrong. Tu es complètement à côté de la plaque. (You're completely off the mark.)
• Avoir un poil dans la main: To be extremely lazy (literally "to have a hair in the hand"). Il a un poil dans la main celui-là. (That guy is extremely lazy.)
• Se casser la tête: To rack one's brain. Ne te casse pas la tête pour ça. (Don't rack your brain over this.)
• Mettre les pieds dans le plat: To put one's foot in one's mouth. Il a mis les pieds dans le plat en parlant de son ex. (He put his foot in his mouth by talking about his ex.)
• Avoir le coup de foudre: To fall in love at first sight. J'ai eu le coup de foudre quand je l'ai vue. (I fell in love at first sight when I saw her.)
• Être en train de péter un câble: To be losing it, freaking out. Il est en train de péter un câble à cause du stress. (He's freaking out because of stress.)
• Avoir le seum: To be bitter, upset (from Arabic). J'ai le seum, j'ai raté mon exam. (I'm bitter, I failed my exam.)
• Tomber dans les pommes: To faint. Elle est tombée dans les pommes en apprenant la nouvelle. (She fainted when she heard the news.)
• Avoir la gueule de bois: To have a hangover. J'ai la gueule de bois après la soirée d'hier. (I have a hangover after last night's party.)
• Raconter des salades: To tell lies or made-up stories. Arrête de raconter des salades! (Stop telling lies!)
• Avoir un verre dans le nez: To be a bit drunk (literally "to have a glass in the nose"). Il a un verre dans le nez. (He's a bit tipsy.)
• Être dans la lune: To daydream, not pay attention (literally "to be on the moon"). Tu es dans la lune ou quoi? (Are you daydreaming or what?)
• Avoir les boules: To be upset, annoyed. J'ai les boules d'avoir raté le train. (I'm upset about missing the train.)

Internet & Text Slang

• MDR: LOL (Mort De Rire - dying of laughter). Ce meme est MDR. (This meme is LOL.)
• PTDR: ROFL (Pété De Rire - burst of laughter). Ta blague est PTDR. (Your joke is ROFL.)
• Jsp: I don't know (Je Sais Pas). Jsp quand il arrive. (Idk when he arrives.)
• Oklm: Calmly, chilling (Au calme). Je suis oklm chez moi. (I'm chilling at home.)
• Tkt/T'inquiète: Don't worry (T'inquiète). Tkt, je gère. (Don't worry, I got this.)
• Grave: Really, seriously. C'est grave bien! (It's really good!)
• Stp/Svp: Please (S'il te plaît/S'il vous plaît). Envoie-moi ça stp. (Send me this please.)
• Cc: Hey (Coucou). Cc, ça va? (Hey, how are you?)
• Mtn: Now (Maintenant). Je suis occupé mtn. (I'm busy now.)
• Chui: I am (Je suis). Chui fatigué. (I'm tired.)
• Dsl: Sorry (Désolé). Dsl du retard. (Sorry for being late.)

Food & Drink Related

• Bobo: Bourgeois bohemian (for trendy organic food lovers). Ce restaurant est plein de bobos. (This restaurant is full of hipsters.)
• Pinard: Wine (casual). On s'est enfilé une bouteille de pinard. (We downed a bottle of wine.)
• Binouze: Beer. On va prendre une binouze après le boulot? (Shall we have a beer after work?)
• Bouffe: Food. La bouffe était dégueu. (The food was gross.)
• Dégueu: Disgusting (short for dégueulasse). C'est dégueu ce truc. (This thing is disgusting.)
• Restau: Restaurant. On va au restau ce soir? (Are we going to the restaurant tonight?)
• McDo: McDonald's. On mange au McDo? (Shall we eat at McDonald's?)
• Goûter: Afternoon snack (particularly for children). C'est l'heure du goûter. (It's snack time.)
• Casser la croûte: To have a quick bite to eat. On va casser la croûte? (Shall we grab a bite?)

Social & Friendly Terms

• Pote/Copain/Poto: Friend, buddy. C'est un bon pote. (He's a good friend.)
• Nickel: Perfect, great. C'est nickel! (It's perfect!)
• Boloss: Loser, sucker. Ne sois pas un boloss. (Don't be a loser.)
• Daron/Daronne: Father/Mother. Mon daron veut pas que je sorte. (My father doesn't want me to go out.)
• Frangin/Frangine: Brother/Sister. Mon frangin est plus âgé que moi. (My brother is older than me.)
• Gamin/Gamine: Kid, child. Ces gamins font trop de bruit. (These kids make too much noise.)
• Louper: To miss, to fail. J'ai loupé mon bus. (I missed my bus.)
• Ado: Teenager (short for adolescent). Les ados passent tout leur temps sur les réseaux sociaux. (Teenagers spend all their time on social media.)
• Mytho: Liar (from mythomane). C'est un gros mytho, ne le crois pas. (He's a big liar, don't believe him.)
• BG: Handsome guy (Beau Gosse). Il se prend pour un BG. (He thinks he's a hottie.)
• Kiffant: Awesome, cool. C'était trop kiffant comme soirée. (It was a really awesome party.)
• Relou: Annoying, a drag. Ce cours est relou. (This class is a drag.)
• Cassos: Hopeless case, disaster (from "cas social"). Il est devenu un vrai cassos. (He's become a real disaster case.)

Informal Exclamations

• Putain: A very common and versatile interjection (literally means prostitute but used like "damn" or "f***"). Putain, j'ai oublié mes clés! (Damn, I forgot my keys!)
• La vache!: Wow! (literally "the cow"). La vache! C'est impressionnant. (Wow! That's impressive.)
• Oh là là!: Expressing surprise (not sexual as sometimes interpreted in English). Oh là là! Il a fait une énorme erreur. (Oh my! He made a huge mistake.)
• Ça craint: That sucks. Ça craint qu'il ne puisse pas venir. (It sucks that he can't come.)
• Trop!: Too much/very (used for emphasis). C'est trop bien! (It's so good!)
• Ouf!: Phew! (expression of relief). Ouf! J'ai réussi l'examen. (Phew! I passed the exam.)
• Génial!: Great! C'est génial ton idée! (Your idea is great!)
• Bof: Meh, so-so (expressing indifference). Comment était le film? Bof... (How was the movie? Meh...)
• Mon œil!: Yeah right! (expression of disbelief). Il dit qu'il a gagné un million? Mon œil! (He says he won a million? Yeah right!)

Vulgar Slang

• Bordel: Mess, chaos (literally brothel). Quel bordel dans ta chambre! (What a mess in your room!)
• Merde: Shit. J'ai marché dans la merde. (I stepped in shit.)
• Se faire chier: To be bored. Je me fais chier ici. (I'm bored here.)
• Foutre: To do, to put (vulgar). Qu'est-ce que tu fous? (What the hell are you doing?)
• Connerie: Nonsense, stupid thing. Arrête de dire des conneries. (Stop talking nonsense.)
• Con/Conne: Idiot, stupid. Ne sois pas con. (Don't be stupid.)
• Enfoiré: Jerk, bastard. Cet enfoiré m'a coupé la route. (That jerk cut me off.)
• Salaud: Bastard. C'est un salaud, il m'a trahi. (He's a bastard, he betrayed me.)
• Casse-couilles: Annoying, pain in the ass. Il est casse-couilles avec ses questions. (He's a pain in the ass with his questions.)
• Se foutre de la gueule: To make fun of someone. Tu te fous de ma gueule? (Are you making fun of me?)
• Niquer: To mess up, to destroy (also has sexual meaning). Il a niqué sa voiture. (He wrecked his car.)

Québécois French Expressions

While most of this list focuses on France's slang, here are a few distinctly Québécois expressions:

• Char: Car (in France it's "voiture"). Mon char est en panne. (My car broke down.)
• Chum: Boyfriend (in Québec). C'est mon chum. (That's my boyfriend.)
• Blonde: Girlfriend (in Québec). Ma blonde arrive demain. (My girlfriend arrives tomorrow.)
• Magasiner: To shop (in France it's "faire du shopping"). Je vais magasiner cet après-midi. (I'm going shopping this afternoon.)
• C'est plate: It's boring. Ce film est vraiment plate. (This movie is really boring.)
• Niaiseux: Silly, stupid. Arrête d'être niaiseux. (Stop being silly.)
• Tabarnak: A strong swear word (from "tabernacle"). Tabarnak! J'ai oublié mes clés. (Damn! I forgot my keys.)
• Calisse: Another strong Quebec swear word (from "chalice"). Calisse, je suis en retard! (Damn, I'm late!)
• Pogner: To take, to grab, to catch. J'ai pogné un rhume. (I caught a cold.)

This list provides a solid foundation for understanding French slang! Remember that slang evolves quickly and can vary significantly across different regions, age groups, and social contexts. The best way to learn is through immersion - watching French movies, listening to music, and conversing with native speakers.