Friends Boyfriends And Girlfriends

Un mec: a bloke
Une nana: a girl, a bird
Un pote, une pote: a friend, a mate
Mon Jules, mon Julot: my boyfriend
In old-fashioned slang, jules used to mean pimp...

Mon loulou, ma louloutte: my boyfriend, my girlfriend
Loulou is short for loubard, which means yob, louloutte being the feminine.

Ma nénette: my bird

Les Gens
Family

Ouam: Me. Verlan for moi. Verlan is a form of slang where the syllables of a word are said the other way round. M/oi becomes oi/m, pronounced ouam

Ouate: You. Verlan for toi. T/oi becomes oi/t, pronounced ouate.
On va chez ouate ou chez ouam? Your place or mine?

Ma reum. My mum.
Mon reup. My dad.
Verlan for mère, père. Mè/re, pè/re in verlan should be re/mè, re/pè, but the final é sounds ugly, so it's omitted, leaving us with re/m, re/p, pronounced reum, reup. J'habite chez ma reum.

Mon frangin, ma frangine: My brother, my sister.
Un gamin, un mome: A kid.
La belle-doche: The mother-in-law. Should be la belle-mère, but it's yet another opportunity to ridicule this rather unpopular character (with the suffix doche).

Le beauf [bof] nm -
1. short for beau-frère, brother-in-law.
2. pej. & fig. archetypal lower middle-class Frenchman. According to the Larousse dictionary, "beaufs" are archetypal ordinary Frenchmen as perceived by the French themselves. The term, which is short for beau-frère (brother-in-law), also suggests conformism and a narrow outlook.

Humeurs
Moods

I FEEL GOOD!

J'ai la pêche!
Literally, I've got the peach! Officially translated as "I'm full of get-up-and-go!" or "I'm on form!". The fact that this expression can be found in dictionaries means that it is understood by absolutely everyone. But as a result, it loses a tiny bit of its coolness.

J'ai la patate!
Lit. I've got the potato! Patate here has exactly the same function as pêche. This expression is not in dictionaries... yet.

J'ai la frite!
Lit. I've got the chip/french fry! Again, there is no point in trying to figure out the link between the word and its meaning... after all, France is the country of food. Anyway, dictionaries translate it as "I'm on top form!"

Any of these expressions + d'enfer!....... from hell! This emphasizes all of the above. But, you should save it for days when you feel REALLY good, because you are very unlikely to find a stronger expression. La becomes une: J'ai une pêche/patate/frite d'enfer!

Super
Super has been around for decades, experiencing ups and downs in terms of popularity. Now it is cool again - so much so that it has, in many cases, replaced the traditional vachement. It is used as an adverb, just after the verb: J'ai super la pêche/patate/frite!

I FEEL HAPPY

J'ai la banane: Lit. I've got the banana. Finally, an expression that has a rational explanation! What does the shape of a banana refers to? The shape of your lips smiling, of course. Perfectly describes euphoria, doesn't it?


I FEEL UPSET

J'ai les boules! Lit. I've got the balls. French people feel anger swell in them through some glands that they have in the back of their throat, which they call les boules. This expression can be completed by an appropriate gesture:

1.Hold two imaginary pétanque balls, one in each hand.
2.Then repetitively shake your hands in front of your neck, as if enormously swollen glands were growing out of your throat.
3.Say j'ai les boules!
4.Any swearword is welcome, before or after.

J'ai la haine! Lit. I've got hatred. I feel hatred within me. Definitely stronger than j'ai les boules. With this expression, it's impossible for your friends not to take you seriously. They will get the message that today is not the right day to mess with you.

Super
J'ai super les boules/la haine!

Je suis vert(e)! Lit. I'm green! Traditionally, red is the colour associated with anger. Green is probably the next stage up, the colour that your face turns to when you reach a level of utmost anger and consternation. So much so that it makes you feel sick, hence the other expression: Je suis écœuré(e).


I FEEL EXHAUSTED

Je suis nase. I'm knackered. Like its opposite la pêche, it is found in dictionaries and therefore used and understood by all.

Je suis nase-broque. The origin and therefore the spelling of the suffix broque is rather uncertain - it may well come from broke/broken - but what it actually means is not important: it sounds good.

Je suis décalqué(e) Lit. I'm traced.

Je suis explosé(e). Lit. I'm exploded.

Je suis fracassé(e) Lit. I'm smashed.

Ending -o to refer to professions

Un charlot: Refers to the classic character played by Charlie Chaplin. Usually describes someone unreliable, who can't be taken seriously.

Un clodo: a tramp. Short for the official word un clochard.

Un intello: an intellectual. Short for un intellectuel, of which there are many in France.

Un proprio: a landlord. Short for un propriétaire. Universally hated.

Un musicos: a musician. It's cool to pronounce the 's', both in the singular and plural, (des musicos).

La Drague
Pulling

When it comes to seduction, the French do have a bit of a reputation. But is it because of their actual conquest? Or simply because they know how to talk about them, whether they're successful or not? Anyway, here is a little glossary you'll be able to learn and practice on French beaches...

Girls

Une minette: this word is an affecionate term for cat, ie puss or pussy cat and has a masculine equivalent. Cats are famous for being seductive animals, aren't they?

Une nana, une nénette: a girl, a bird. These words are rather neutral and therefore quite handy.

Une meuf: verlan for une femme, a woman.

Une belette: a weasel. Strangely, cool words for women often refer to sweet and furry animals (pussy cats, weasels, and others...)

Une fatma: Arabic for woman. This word was brought over by North African immigrants and is mainly used by the cool and streetwise second generation.

Une shebba: Arabic for young, beautiful. Same history as fatma.

Boys

Un mec: a bloke, a neutral, handy word.

Un type, un gars, un bonhomme: a guy, a man. Funnily enough, there seems to be a lack of vocabulary when it comes to giving boys cool names.

Un gonze: a very well-known slang word that has a feminine equivalent, une gonzesse. Understood by all although it's not very nice.

Un minet: see une minette.

A Nice-Looking Girl

Un canon: an extremely attractive girl. Seduction is sometimes like war, you have to use your sense of strategy, etc. No wonder, some of the vocabulary includes words like un canon, une bombe, un missile... depending on the level of difficulty of the conquest. More or less the equivalent of "a sex bomb".

An Ugly Person

Un boudin: originally black pudding. For a long time, this word was mainly used to describe unattractive women. It is now unisex. Also available in verlan: un dimbou.

Un thon: a tuna fish. Obscure origins... but efficient, who would want to seduce a tuna fish?

Un streum: verlan for monstre. Mon/stre becomes stre/mon, the nasal vowel "on" was taken out, leaving us with stre/m, pronounced streum. Obviously not flattering, but at least it can be used for men and women alike.

A User's Guide

Step One
Mater: to watch, to check sthg out. A very important verb given the fact that this is where everything starts, because seduction is also about how you look at the other person. Verlan for this word: téma is also very popular.

... Mate cette meuf,c'est un vrai un canon!
Watch this woman, she's a real sex bomb!

... Quel boudin! Il m'a téma toute la soirée!
What an ugly person! He or she stared at me all evening!

Step Two
Brancher: to seduce... or at least to try. The original meaning is "to plug in", "to switch on"... After assessing the situation, which consists in mater, (to watch, to check sthg out) it's time to take the initiative: brancher i.e try some kind of approach.

Step Three
Se faire jeter: Originally "to be thrown out"... when you are not successful, at least use a cool expression to tell your friends about your defeat. Even better: se faire tèj, verlan for this expression...

Se prendre une veste: Lit. to get a jacket. Same meaning as above. When someone refuses to respond to your declarations, you get to see the jacket (or the back of it) of the person turning around to run away from you... Hence the expression.

Choper: Lit. to grab... Your attempts will sometimes be rewarded.

Emballer: Lit. to wrap up (food, presents, etc.). Same meaning as above.

Embarquer: Lit. to ship, to embark (people or goods). Same meaning as above.

Step Four
Un chapeau: Lit. a hat. A very nice way to say "a condom".

Un gant: Lit. a glove. Same as above.

Une poteca: verlan for une capote (hood). More streetwise, though. But being cool shouldn't prevent anyone from being careful and safe.

On sort ce soir?
Fancy going out tonight?

French society is on its way to having a 35-hour working week, which means more time for leisure. Even so, the French have always loved going out.

A famous notorious night-bird wrote a book in which he tells of the restless nights he used to spend wandering out in Paris. Nowadays, urban heroes sleep and rest during daytime. It's only in the evening that they come back to life. If you are tempted to try la vie nocturne, here is a list of expressions that should help you answer the usual question: Qu'est-ce qu'on fait ce soir?

Places to Go

Un restau, un resto: short for un restaurant.

On se fait un restau? Shall we eat out?
Un bistrot: A bar or café. Linguists can't agree on the origins of this old word. What matters is that it has survived and that it's still very popular.

Une boite (de nuit) : A (night) club, lit. a (night) box.

On va en boite? Fancy going clubbing?

Une teuf: Verlan for fête, party. Fê/te became te/fê. The final ê was taken out, leaving us with te/f, pronounced teuf.

Un cinoche: slang for un cinéma.

On se fait un cinoche? Fancy seeing a film?

La téloche: slang for la télévision.
You don't always want to go out every night. But this shouldn't prevent you from sounding cool when telling your friends about it the next day.

Hier soir, j'ai maté la téloche. Last night, I watched the telly.

Une bouffe entre potes: A nosh-up with friends.
This is how most evenings start.

Une soirée cool dans mon calecon: An evening bumming around at home. Lit. A cool evening in my underpants.

Hier soir, j'ai passé une soirée cool dans mon calecon.
Last night, I just bummed around at home.


A Plan

Un plan: lit. A plan. This small word can mean different things.

It can mean your plans for the evening:
Pour ce soir, j'ai un super-plan.
I have a great evening planned.

It can also mean a situation in general:
Cette fête, c'est un plan pourri.
This party sucks. Lit. This party, it's a rotten plan.

It can also designate a hint, a tip, a piece of advice:
Laurent m'a donné un bon plan-resto.
Laurent told me about a great restaurant. Lit. Laurent gave me a good restaurant plan.
Un plan d'enfer: lit. A plan from hell. If it's from hell, it's wicked!

Un plan pourave: lit. A rotten plan. Pourave comes from pourri, rotten. The suffix -ave gives it an edge. Anyway, if it's rotten, it's rubbish.

Un plan moisi: lit. A mouldy plan. Same meaning as pourave above.

All these expressions, d'enfer, pourave, moisi can also apply to anything else (things, situations, etc.)


The Morning After

J'ai la gueule de bois: I have a hangover. lit. I have the wooden head.
Very old expression. It's been, is and will be used and understood by all: the side effects of alcohol never change!

J'ai la tête dans le seau: lit. I've got my head in the bucket.
The morning after your body sometimes rejects the liquids that you weren't sensible enough to refuse the night before.

J'ai la tête dans le cul: I'm feeling upside down. Lit. I've got my head in my bum. No matter what this phrase actually means, it expresses rather well how unpleasant the morning after can sometimes be.