Untranslatable French words
(Be careful, these are casual expressions you can use with your friends but do NOT write them in essays!)
Putain
We use this word for literally anything: when we’re happy, amazed, annoyed, disgusted…
Examples: “C’est génial putain!”, “Putain, ça me fait chier!”, “Mais bouge-là ta caisse putain!”. We also use it in front of nouns: “Cette putain de machine”
Ouf
When something is great, amazing. It’s the “verlan” (reverse) of the word “fou”, which means crazy.
Examples: “Ce match est ouf!”, “C’est un ouf lui!”, “C’est un truc de ouf!”
We also use it when something bad or scary happened but we finally made it, it’s a word of relief.
Examples: “Ouf, on s’en est sorti!”, “Ouf, on a eu chaud”
De ouf
This expression uses the same words as before but means something different. We use “de ouf” to mean that something is extra, too much. It’s usually a reply to agree with someone.
Examples: “- Il était tellement bourré hier soir! - De ouf!”
La flemme
The closer translation to “avoir la flemme” would be “to be lazy”. But I don’t think that there is any word in English that comes close to the concept of “flemme”. You can have “la flemme” to do basically anything.
Examples: “ -Tu viens à la soirée ce soir? -Non, j’ai trop la flemme” , “J’ai la flemme de la faire la vaisselle”
Ras-le-bol
It literally means “at the edge of the bowl”, we use this expression when we’re over something, when we can’t stand it anymore, when it’s annoying us. It can be used for a thing or for a person.
Examples: “J’en ai ras-le-bol de mes voisins”, “J’en ai ras-le-bol de répéter tout le temps la même chose”
Flâner
Probably the only word of this list which is not a slang but actually a word that you would find in books and that you can use in essays etc. “Flâner” means to walk slowly, to enjoy your time, to wander aimlessly just for the pleasure to walk and to enjoy your environment.
Example: “Elle a flâné dans les rues de Lille tout l’après-midi”, “Ils aiment flâner dans les allées du magasin”
Ringard
When something is out, when it’s not trending anymore and it’s a bit shameful to like it or wear it.
Example: “Cette chanson est trop ringarde”, “Porter des pantalons pattes d’eph c’est ringard”
Relou
This is the “verlan” (reverse) of the word “lourd”, which means heavy. “Relou” means that something or someone is annoying you or that it’s boring or annoying.
Example: “Le bus a 15 minutes de retard, c’est relou”, “Ce mec est tellement relou”
Pêter un cable
To go crazy, to burn out
Example: “Si ça continue comme ça je vais péter un cable”, “Il a pété un cable au bar hier soir”
Un beauf
Someone who wears old or ridiculous clothes such as socks with flip-flops. The stereotype is that these persons are white, not very educated, live in the countryside, are quite poor, like drinking alcohol, listen to bad music, have bad hair etc… I’ll join a picture so that you can portray better what is means
The man from the picture is actually “Jeff Tuche”, a character from a popular movie in France called “Les Tuche” which is the story of a beauf family who wins the lottery.
Examples: “C’est un camping de beauf”, “Patrick Sébastien ne fait que des chansons de beauf”
Avoir le seum
To be mad, to be petty about something. We mainly use it when we’re annoyed because we lost or when we wanted something to happen but it’s not happening.
Examples: “Ma mère veut pas que je sorte ce soir, j’ai le seum”, “Les belges ont le seum d’avoir perdu contre les français”
Bric à brac
A mix of random objects
Examples: “C’est un vrai bric à brac ta voiture”, “Je n’arrive plus à retrouver mon briquet dans ce bric à brac”
And the last one: Pouloulou, it’s not a word, it’s a feeling
