In this video, we'll talk about the 27 slang words and expressions you need to know to improve your French. These expressions are used in everyday life by many French people, and can be the source of a lot of confusion if you don't know them!

French expressions used

• It's amazing
• Doing something on the fly
• Food
• To have the slab
• Shout out
• Chelou
• Relou
• Beauf
• Cigarette
• Having the willies
• Soum Soum
• Chanmé
• Dude
• Girlfriend
• Being jumped
• Blase
• Pecho
• Mater
• Reuch
• Daron
• Tune
• Worship
• Fringe
• Cheum
• Flic
• Paname

Transcript

Hello everyone. Today we're going to learn 27 expressions in French slang. Slang is colloquial French. As you'll see, many of these words and expressions are actually verlan. Verlan is a way of speaking in which syllables are reversed. We'll say a word backwards.

• Let's start with the expression, with the word "it's amazing"! ouf" means "crazy" in reverse slang. We use the word ouf to talk about a situation or a person, or sometimes even something. So, for example, you could say, I beat Usain Bolt in the 100-meter dash, that's ouf, it's exceptional, it's incredible. You can also say, I saw Céline Dion in concert, she's amazing, to say that she's great, that you adore her. You can also use it for food, for example, and say "this chocolate cake is ouf", to say that it's delicious.

• The second expression is "doing something on the fly". When we say that we do something "à l'arrache", it means that we do it in a hurry, badly. For example, you could say: "J'ai fait mon devoir de français à l'arrache" to say that you did it at the last minute, not very well, that you botched it. You can also say, "I left home without my jacket, I left in a hurry." So you left in a hurry, in a rush. 

• The third expression is from food. De la bouffe is simply a colloquial word for food or a meal. You can say "Shall we have a bite to eat tonight?" to mean "Shall we have dinner together tonight?". You can also say, for example, "What do you want for food?" To say what food do you want? So the word bouffe declines into the verb bouffer. So you can say je bouffe, tu bouffe, il bouffe to say that someone or you are eating. 

• The fourth expression is have the slab. When you're hungry, it means you're really hungry. For example, you could say "I'm so hungry, I didn't eat anything for lunch" to say that you didn't have time to eat this lunch and that you're really very hungry.

• The fifth word is a verb, is weep. Crying simply means crying. You can say "this film is really sad, I cried from beginning to end", you haven't stopped crying.

• The next word is the word chelou. In slang, chelou means shady. So it's used to describe someone or a situation that's suspicious. For example, you might say "look at that boy over there with his hair down to the floor, he's really chelou". For example, you might say "he's eating his sushi with a spoon, that's really weird", that's really weird, nobody does that. 

• The next word is the word relou. The word is used to describe someone or a situation that is annoying. So a relou is someone who's very, very annoying. For example, you might say, "That boy sends me 10 messages a day, he's a real slob. You can't stand this person. For example, if you hate cooking, you might say "we're going to a restaurant, I don't feel like cooking, it's boring". So you really don't feel like doing the task. 

• The next word is the word beauf. Un beauf is an expression used to describe a French person who isn't very cultured or classy. So it's used to describe a person. Generally, this person will also be rather vulgar, making jokes that are a little embarrassing. So, for example, you might say: "What a redneck, he wears socks in his sandals and constantly eats chips in front of the TV". So he's not very classy, not very educated. Actually, the word beauf comes from the word beau-frère. So, it's going to be your wife's or husband's brother. In France, it's a character who's not very popular, and who's often laughed at. So we're going to caricature him, exaggerating his features or flaws. 

• The next word is cigarette. A fag is simply a cigarette. You can ask someone, "Don't you have a fag? I feel like smoking."

• The next expression is have the willies. When you've got the shakes, it's because you've been through a situation and you're really not happy. For example, you might say, "I'm so fed up, this is the third time I've lost my cell phone. 

• The next expression is to do something by submit submit. Soum soum actually comes from the word submarine, meaning that you do something discreetly, so that nobody sees you. So for example, you could say "I asked my girlfriend what she wanted for her birthday in soum soum", and she'd have no idea what I was doing. 

• The next word is chamé. When we say that something is chanmé, it means that it's super, that it's top, that it's extraordinary. For example, you can say to someone "your business idea is chanmed", you're sure he's going to succeed in the business he's building, it's a great project. For example, you might say to someone "your business idea is chanmed", you think he's got a great business idea to create, or you might say "the latest Scorsese film is chanmed", it's extraordinary, exceptional.

• The next term is the word a guy. The word dude is used to talk about boys in general or a boyfriend. So, for example, you can say "tonight, I'm going to a restaurant with my boyfriend" to say that you're going to a restaurant with your lover. Or you could say "look at that guy over there, he's weird" to say that a boy in the distance is a bit odd. There are also many slang words used to describe a boy. For example, type or keum. Keum is, in fact, simply slang for guy. 

• The next word is the word a chick. A chick is simply the feminine form of a guy. Like the word guy, you can use the word chick to describe your girlfriend, your lover or any girl. So you can say "tonight, I'm going to a restaurant with my chick" or "look at that chick over there, she's very pretty". There are many other slang words for a girl, for example, you can say a go or a zouz.

• The following slang expression is to be jumped. Literally, it means you've had sauce poured over you. In reality, it's used to say that you're very happy with a situation or something that's happened to you. For example, you might say: "Jje suis trop saucé, j'ai eu dix sur dix à mon examen de français". You did very well, so you're very happy. 

• The next term is a blase. A blase is a nickname, the way people call you. For example, you could say "My name is Jean, but everyone calls me Jeannot. That's my nickname". So it's how they call you. 

• The next expression is pick up. Pécho in slang means to catch, to grab. You can use it to talk about an object. So, for example, you want to pécho the remote control to change channels. But in everyday language, it's also used to say that you've kissed someone. For example, you might say: "Yesterday at the party, I ficked Nathalie". That means you kissed her. 

• The next word is a verb, the verb mater. In reality, the word mater means to subdue someone, to force them to do something. But in slang, it's used to say that you look at someone insistently. For example, you could say "that boy keeps staring at all the girls who pass by, he looks at them insistently". 

• The next term is the word boloss. A boloss is someone you think sucks, is a bit cheesy or just did something you thought sucked. It's not necessarily to qualify them as a person. For example, you might say: "My boyfriend forgot my birthday again, what a boloss". So you think he's got a really lousy attitude. But you can also use it to qualify someone. For example, to say "look at the way he dresses, he's really a boloss". Because you think he dresses very badly, in a cheesy way.

• The following expression is the word reuch. We use the word reuch to say that something is really, really expensive. So for example you might say "the bread in this bakery costs 18 euros, that's really really reuch." To say that it's overpriced. 

• The next term is the darlings. Les darons is a slang word used to refer to parents. In fact, to describe the father, we say "le daron". And for the mother, we say la daronne. So, for example, you could say "I'm 30 and I still live with my darons, I'd like to find my own apartment" to say that you still live with your parents. 

• The next term is of the tune. De la tune is simply money. Money is probably one of the words that has the most other words in slang to describe it. So if you hear talk of flouze, blé, moula, fric, these are other slang terms for money.

• The following expression is to be revered. Vénère simply means pissed off again. So you're very angry about a situation or at someone. For example, you might say: "I missed the bus, I'm too pissed off, I'm going to be late for school". You're very, very angry about the situation. 

• The following expression is the word clothing. Clothes are clothes. This word also has a verb, the verb fringuer. So you can say, for example, "Your clothes are so stylish, where did you buy them?", to say that someone has nice clothes. You can use the verb fringuer, for example, in the following way: "I get dressed the same way every morning" - you dress the same way every day. 

• The following expression is the word cheum. When you say that someone is cheum, you mean that you find them very, very ugly, not at all beautiful, not to your taste. So, for example, you might say, "That boy sitting over there with his hair all the way down to the floor is really cheum." So you don't find him handsome.

• The next term is the word cop. A cop is a slang word for a policeman, so don't use it in front of them - they might not be very happy. So, for example, you could say: "I had a big party and the cops came because the music was too loud." 

• And finally, the last word we'll look at today is the term Paname. If a Frenchman talks to you about Paname or about going up to Paname, he's simply talking about going to Paris. 

Thank you for watching this video, I hope you enjoyed it. Please feel free to comment on any slang words you don't understand and would like to learn. If you'd like to see other videos, podcasts or content, please visit www.hellofrench.com.

See you soon.