French slang

[malkin86]

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I've been told that we should build up a collection of slangy type phrases to use in the dreaded email format and such, does anyone want to share?

Some that I can think of on the fly are:

vachement = really (more informal than vraiment)

les nanas = chicks (as opposed to l'ananas, a pineapple)

les gars = guys

C'et a dire = that is to say (good for impressing examiners in the oral, I think)

Bisoux = kisses (signing off an informal letter)

[chepas]

ch�pas - Je ne sais pas in the warbled, 4-words-in-one-syllable speak of les ados

ficher (v) -
1) in the sense of Qu'est-ce que tu fiches ici?, What are you doing here?
2) Je m'en fiche! (s'en ficher) - I don't care, though probably closer to I don't give a shit!
3) A million other uses here and there.

la fac (nf) - short for la facult�, uni. That's used a lot and gets ya browny points - good when talking about yourself and your future. So does, though probably obviously, 'le bac' for 'baccalaur�at', HSC.

hyper-+adjective - 'hyper' gives more emphasis to an adjective, like hyper-cool!, hyper-chaud. Though personally I haven't seen it much...

Vachement - also good as a substitute for 'tr�s', which we use a looot, almost too much.

About using slang though. There's always a line about when something comes too slangy that the examiner doesn't like it or just doesn't understand. In an exam situation especially with emails it depends sooo much on how much the examiner/marker knows, and if the examiner/marker is 100 years old who still speaks the slang of Charles de Gaulle we could be up the creek if we used to much. I used �a craint! for 'that sucks!' in a prelim exam last year and the teacher circled it because she had no idea what it meant, which I'd picked up of some subtitle on a DVD or something on the net. I can't remember... So it's good to verify how often it's used and how widely it's used before we'd use it! Hehe. It's really tricky.

http://french.about.com/library/voca...t/bl-argot.htm is a good site that has an alphabetical run down of some slang. Might be worth checking out.

Anyway, just some random thoughts comme d'hab(itude - another one!).

Ch�pas

[blam_babe]

Idioms are good but they're not really slang so I don't even know why I'm saying this here

[sugaryblue]

thon- girls that are not good looking
cass�- you use that after you've said an offending comment but you wanna discontinue the flame.

[RCMasterAA]

mec - mate
Good for aussie use heh

[sugaryblue]

mon type- My guy

bof- new version of 'comme ci comme �a' <-- people don't use this now apparently.

magasiner- Canadian French expression for shopping (don't use it in Exams!!)

[chepas]

bouffer - instead of manger

couci, cou�a - another 'comme ci, comme �a' variant

piger - to get/to understand: like "I don't get it."

'magasiner', Hurray for Qu�b�cois!

[sugaryblue]

ta gueule!- apparently, rude version of 'shut up'
BCBG = bon chic bon gens- classy people

[Serpentia]

I love "ta gueule" - gueule means the throat of an animal, so yes it is rather rude. But apparently frenchies use it quite often so it is rude but used so often as to not have the impact it used to have. Kind of like calling people a bastard..... it is rude if your tone says it is rude.

astap - a cet apres-midi

a plute - a plus tard

chepas - ah ha, that explains your name... that's pretty cool indeed

[chepas]

ta gueule - never come across it. yay!

Question: What's a good little list of phrases that mean "shut up!" ? There's got to be more than these:

tais-toi!
la ferme!
ta gueule!

what others? They're good for dialogues and stuff involving some form of matriarch or brother/sister.

Ptet - peut-�tre

Though I don't know how far we can go with the shortening of stuff... I'll ask le prof.

[iambored]

Originally posted by RCMasterAA
mec - mate
Good for aussie use heh

i think there's another meaning for mec as well,something along the lines of 'guy'

i can't remember the slang i knew, if i remember i will post

[Serpentia]

le prof lol

I'm going to see tais-toi soon... yay

[Serpentia]

oh yes

meuf - very informal for chick

[chepas]

Yeah of course, all the verlan/l'envers stuff. I can't remember any!

Ur seeing Tais-toi soon!! I think I am going to see it in about 2 weeks.. That and Les invasions barbares.

[chepas]

One that just came to me:

le bec - mouth, donc;

ouvrir le bec - top open your mouth, like the mildly derogatory English equiv.