French Slang

French/Français- Allez Les Bleus!

You’d be surprised to know that the English language has very strong links with the French language. In some ways they are the closest languages to each other, bearing in mind that French is further removed from it’s Latin base (as English from it’s German base) than any other Latin language. French was introduced into England at one stage by the French conquerors & was the language of court. It slowly diffused into the English language. If you get your basic French grammar worked out, you can surprise a few Frenchies by using a technical English word & just giving it a French ending e.g. plastic would be ‘plastique’ & aesthetic would become ‘aesthetique’ etc etc. So keep this in mind we share a lot of common words. Be aware of ‘faux amis’ false friends e.g preservatifs= condoms. Bearing all this in mind you couldn’t find 2 similar languages with such different pronunciation which makes some sounds extremely hard to pronounce on both sides. Don’t let that worry you though. Give it a try to speak to them in their language & you’ll have a good time with them

National French sporting Chant

Quintessential French

Oh la la!
And finally Oh la la. La vache!  Holy cow!

And Quebecois :- Osti, or Tabarnak
To it’s full extent ; Osti de Tabarnak de Sacrament, de Calice de Christ de Marde
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the flag of the French speaking state of Quebec in Canada

Greetings & Salutations/Salutations

À toute a l’heure. À toute. (short)
See you soon.

A bientot !
See you soon!

À la prochaine!
Until next time!

Amuse-toi bien
Have Fun!

À tes souhaites
Bless you (sneeze)

Au-revoir
Goodbye

Bonne chance!
Good luck!

Bon courage
Good luck (usually for work- hope it goes well)

Bonne journée
Have a good day

Ça va? (Most common but informal greeting)
How are you? (literally alright, to which the response can ‘Ça va!’)

Ça va!      Bien!     Comme ce, comme ça!     Pas mal!     Vachement bien!
Alright!   Good!    So, so!                                  Not bad!    Damned good!

Comment tu vas bien mon petit chameau/biche/poule/crevette ?
Are you well my little camel/goat/chicken/shrimp?

Je suis très heureuse de vous rencontrer
I am very glad to meet you

Je vous remercie
I thank you

Je suis content que tu sois content
I am happy that you’re happy

Merci a toi/vous
You’re welcome (thanks to you)

Merci beau cul
Thank you nice arse (play on words-sounds like merci beaucoup-thank you very much)

On se casse           Je me casse
Let’s piss off        I’m pissing off

Please
S’il vous plait (formal) S’il te plait (informal)

Quoi de neuf, ma poule?
What’s new chicken?

Salut. On se connaît ?
Hello. Do we know each other?

Salut les filles/ les gars
Hi girls/ guys

Tout se passe bien
All is going well

Tu as passe une bonne journée/soirée ?
Have you had a good day/evening?

Citroën DS

Citroën typical French design cars Image by liftarn via Flickr

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With all the resources we have at Street Talk Savvy we couldn’t fit all our French Slang on the one page. To follow on, click on the links below to find other French Slang categories

 

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  • Annouk Bilar

    What is also great in Quebec is every region has their own slang so someone from Montreal might not be able to understand someone from Granby or Quebec city …

  • http://sabinemondestin.com Sabine Mondestin

    And there is so much more …depending on which place you are in Quebec . I just wanted to add this quote from Wikipedia to help you understand more the historic of the slang in Quebec:

    “Quebec French is not derived, as is sometimes misstated, from Old French – a much earlier ancestor that spanned the 10th to 14th centuries and more closely resembled Latin than modern French does. The origins of Quebec French actually lie in the 17th- and 18th-century regional varieties (dialects) of early modern French, also known as Classical French, and of other Oïl languages (Saintongeais, Norman, Picard, etc.) that French colonists brought to New France. Quebec French either evolved from this language base and was shaped by the following influences (arranged according to historical period) or was imported as a koine from Paris and other urban centres of France. “

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