101 French Slang Words and Phrases to Speak like a Boss

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Did you know that, in real life, French people don’t speak French? Or more precisely, not the French language you learn at school. They have argot (slang) words or expressions for about everything. Slang words that mean money, friend or cool are used extensively by young people. Your ability to understand and use argot may help you live a real French speaking experience.

It's interesting that argot or informal French sayings come from the underworld. The first French slang words appeared in the fifteenth century. The criminals used technical words, typical of their illegal activities, and encoded them to create a secret language or jargon that only them could understand.

We've compiled a list of the most commonly used French slang words and expressions to help you talk like a native. If you want to keep them in your pocket, you might want to try French Translator Dictionary + by VidaLingua. You can download it for free on your iPhone and Android.

French Slang Words

French slang for Money

blé
Nous dépensons beaucoup de blé pour nos vacances.
We spend a lot of money on our holidays.

fric
Je n'ai pas de fric pour m'acheter une voiture.
I don't have the money to buy a car.

flouse
Les voleurs ont pris tout le flouse dans la caisse.
The thieves took all the money from the cash register.

oseille
Les étudiants gagnent de l'oseille grâce aux petits boulots d'été.
Students earn money with summer jobs.

pèze
File-moi du pèze.
Give me some money.

pognon
Je mets mon pognon à la banque.
I put my money in the bank.

thune or tune
Jacques a perdu beaucoup de thunes au casino.
Jack lost a lot of money at the casino.

French slang for Friend

pote
Thomas est mon meilleur pote.
Thomas is my best friend.

poteau or poto
Je pars en vacances avec un poteau.
I'm going on vacation with a friend.

French slang for Cool

chouette
Mon nouveau prof est vraiment chouette.
My new teacher is really cool.

cool
Ce groupe de rap est trop cool.
This rap band is so cool.

super
Tu viens avec nous ? Super !
You're coming with us? Cool!

More French Slang

beu or beuh - weed
Les jeunes fument de la beuh en cachette.
Young people smoke weed on the sly.

baba - flabbergasted
La petite fille danse si bien que j'en reste baba.
The little girl is such a good dancer that I'm flabbergasted.

tise - alcohol
Je dois acheter de la tise pour la fête.
I must buy some alcohol for the party.

piaule - small apartment / room
Claire loue une piaule près de la fac.
Claire rents a small flat near the university.

se peler - to be cold
On va se peler si on n'allume pas le chauffage.
We will be cold if we don't turn the heater on.

canon - beautiful
Les mannequins sont souvent canon.
Models are often beautiful.

binouse/binouze - beer
Allons boire une binouse après le travail.
Let's go and have a beer after work.

bouquin - book
Je lis un bouquin sur la vie de Napoléon.
I'm reading a book about Napoleon's life.

frangin - brother
Sophie a deux ans de moins que son frangin.
Sophie is two years younger than her brother.

bagnole, caisse, gamos, tire - car
Tu dois amener ta bagnole chez le mécanicien.
You have to take your car to the mechanic.

gamin(e), gosse, marmot, mioche, môme, moutard - child
La maîtresse essaie de calmer le gamin turbulent.
The teacher tries to calm the turbulent child.

clope - cigarette
Les participants fument une clope pendant la pause.
Attendees smoke a cigarette during the break.

fringues - clothes
Je m'achète de nouvelles fringues pour l'été.
I buy myself new clothes for the summer.

barré(e), cinglé(e), déjanté(e), dingue, ouf, taré(e) - crazy
Sa réaction démesurée est complètement dingue.
His excessive reaction is totally crazy.

clébard, clebs - dog
Le clébard aboie quand il voit le facteur.
The dog barks when he sees the postman.

clampser, clamser, crever - to die
Je vais clamser si je continue à courir !
I'll die if I keep running!

toubib - doctor
Paul va chez le toubib car il a mal à la gorge.
Paul goes to the doctor because his throat aches.

picoler - to drink alcohol
Je ne picole jamais avant de conduire.
I never drink before driving.

bourré(e), charasse, torché(e) - drunk
Tom est bourré tous les samedis soir.
Tom is drunk every Saturday night.

béqueter, bouffer, grailler - to eat
Nous aimons bouffer au restaurant le dimanche.
We like to eat at the restaurant on Sundays.

mirette - eye
Sandra a les mêmes mirettes bleues que sa mère.
Sandra has the same blue eyes as her mother.

bouille, tronche - face
Ses lunettes lui font une drôle de tronche !
He has a funny face with his glasses on!

chocottes, frousse, jetons, trouille - fear
Elle a une trouille incontrôlable des souris.
She has an uncontrollable fear of mice.

poiscaille - fish
Il y a beaucoup d'arêtes dans le poiscaille.
There are many bones in the fish.

panard - foot
Mes chaussures neuves me font mal aux panards.
My feet hurt because of my new shoes.

gonzesse, meuf, nana - girl
Sam est très amoureux de sa nouvelle meuf.
Sam is very in love with his new girl.

flingue - gun
Le braqueur menace les otages avec un flingue.
The robber threatens the hostages with a gun.

tif - hair
Le coiffeur me coupe les tifs.
The hairdresser cuts my hair.

louche, menotte, mimine, paluche, pogne - hand
Nous nous serrons la paluche pour conclure l'affaire.
We shake hands to close the deal.

caboche - head
La chaleur me donne mal à la caboche.
The heat gives me a headache.

canasson - horse
Le vieux canasson a perdu la course.
The old horse lost the race.

baraque, bicoque - house
Nous emménageons dans notre nouvelle baraque demain !
We are moving into our new house tomorrow!

vénère - irritated, upset
Je suis vénère parce que mon train a été annulé.
I am irritated because my train has been cancelled.

bidouiller - to knock up
Sam a bidouillé le moteur de sa voiture.
Sam knocked the engine of his car up.

baveux - lawyer
Le baveux essaie de convaincre le jury.
The lawyer tries to convince the jury.

dégager, se casser, se tirer - to leave
Ils se sont cassés à cause du bruit.
They left because of the noise.

guibole - leg
Il s'est cassé la jambe au ski.
He broke his leg skiing.

kifer, kiffer - to like
Les jeunes kiffent ce groupe de rap.
Young people like this rap group.

se gourer, se planter - to make a mistake
Je me suis gourée en lisant les instructions.
I made a mistake when I read the instructions.

gars, keum, mec, type - man
Les mecs jouent au foot dans le jardin.
The men play soccer in the garden.

bidoche - meat
Nous préparons la bidoche pour le barbecue.
We prepare the meat for the barbecue.

meule - moped
Les ados font rugir leur meule modifiée.
Teenagers make their modified moped roar.

belle-doche - mother-in-law
Je m'entends très bien avec ma belle-doche.
I get on very well with my mother-in-law.

balaise, balèze, baraqué(e), costaud - muscular
Il est baraqué depuis qu'il fait du sport.
He got muscular since he started exercising.

blase - name
Le blase de mon voisin est Dupont.
My neighbor's name is Dupont.

blair, pif, tarin - nose
Elle a un bouton sur le pif.
She has a spot on her nose.

zinc - plane
Le zinc décollera à 10h.
The plane will take off at 10 am.

flic, keuf, poulet - policeman
Le flic lui demande ses papiers d'identité.
The policeman asks him for his ID.

flotter - to rain
Je prends mon parapluie parce qu'il flotte.
I take my umbrella because it's raining.

casse-dalle - sandwich
Les ouvriers déjeunent avec un casse-dalle.
The workers eat a sandwich for lunch.

bahut, boîte - school (high)
Les élèves arrivent au bahut à 8h30.
Students arrive at high school at 8.30 am.

godasse - shoe
Hélène porte toujours des godasses à talons.
Helen always wears heel shoes.

frangine - sister
Ma frangine et moi échangeons souvent nos vêtements.
My sister and I often swap clothes.

pioncer, roupiller - to sleep
J'ai pioncé toute la nuit comme un bébé.
I slept all night like a baby.

chouraver, chourer, piquer - to steal
Quelqu'un a chouré mon portefeuille.
Someone stole my wallet.

dauber, schlinguer - to stink
Cette viande pourrie daube dans toute la maison.
This rotten meat stinks all over the house.

causer, jacter - to talk
Nous causons de la situation pendant l'apéro.
We talk about the situation while having a drink.

couilles (vulgar), burnes (vulgar), roubignoles, roupettes, roustons - testicles
Une selle trop dure fait mal aux roupettes.
A hard saddle hurts the testicles.

chiottes (vulgar) - toilets
Les chiottes publiques sont souvent sales.
Public toilets often are dirty.

biter, bitter, capter, piger - to understand
Je ne pige rien malgré ton explication.
I don't get it despite your explanation.

dégueuler, dégobiller, gerber - to vomit
L'ivrogne a dégueulé sur le trottoir.
The drunkard vomited on the sidewalk.

flotte - water
Je bois un grand verre de flotte pour me désaltérer.
I drink a big glass of water to quench my thirst.

pinard, pive - wine
Le Bordeaux est mon pinard préféré.
Bordeaux is my favorite wine.

boulot, taf, turbin - work
J'ai trouvé un petit boulot pour payer mes études.
I found an odd job to pay for my studies.

bosser, charbonner, taffer - to work
Je dois bosser dur pour gagner de l'argent.
I have to work hard to make money.

calendos - camembert cheese
Le calendos est mon fromage préféré.
Camembert cheese is the one I prefer.

French Slang Phrases

Boire un pot/un coup - To have a drink

Ça craint. - That sucks.

Ça déchire ! - It rocks!

Ça marche. - That works.

Ça me saoule. or Ça me gonfle. - That pisses me off.

Ça passe crème. - It goes off without a hitch.

Carrément ! - Straight up! or You bet!

C’est de la balle ! - It’s fantastic!

C’est chelou. - It’s weird.

C’est clair ! - You don’t say!

C'est le pied ! - It rocks!

C’est nul. - That sucks.

C’est un truc de ouf ! - That’s crazy stuff!

Crever la dalle - To be starving

Elle/Il se la pète trop ! - She/He thinks she/he’s hot stuff!

Être grillé(e) - To be toast

Être au taquet - To be on fire

Ferme ta gueule ! or Ferme-la ! or Ta gueule ! - Shut the hell up!

Génial ! - Awesome!

Jamais de la vie. - No way.

Lâche-moi la grappe/les basques/les baskets. - Give me a break.

Laisse tomber ! - Forget it!

Ne pas se louper - Not to screw everything up

Non mais sans déc ! or Sans déconner ! - Cut the crap!

Pas de souci. - No problem.

Point barre ! - Period!

Se prendre une murge - To get wasted

Top ! or Nickel ! - Great! or Perfect!


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Want to learn to speak French like a native? Check out these great articles.
- Funny French Idioms
- French Verb Conjugation
- French Love Words and Sayings
- French Canadian Words
- Best Apps to Learn French

Looking for lessons with interactive exercises to practice speaking? Download Learn French + for free on your iPhone or iPad.

À plus dans le bus ! (See you later alligator!)

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Christine Ducos-Restagno
Lead French Linguist
VidaLingua




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