For those who are learning French in any sort of formal setting, it’s easy to become despirited when listening to French speakers communicate and not having the faintest clue about what is being talked about. Slang words and idioms are tricky because they are extremely common, especially amongst the younger demographic, and formal study might not necessarily address them. To help you, here is a list of the most common French slang in 2019.
Remember, the french create a lot of new words by inverting the old words for things. This is called verlan (which itself is a reversal of l’envers (the opposite). An example of this, the word meuf (woman, chick or lady) comes from the more standard word ‘femme’ (woman).
Some slang words you will undoubtedly hear in 2019
Wesh (int.)
Roughly translates to yo, whaddup etc etc. It comes from the arabic salutation wesh rak meaning ‘how’s it going?’
Clope (nf.)
A cigarette
Kiffer (v.)
This verb roughly translates to like, dig or enjoy very much. Je kiffe ce style de musique – I dig this type of music
Bosser (v.)
To work/get your grind on
Boulot (nm.)
Very casual way to say the ‘workplace’ J’ai pas du tout envie d’aller au boulot ce matin – I really don’t want to go to work this morning
Taf (nm.)
Same as above.
Mec (nm.)
Dude, guy, man. Usually used to denote a boyfriend.
Fric (nm.)
Cash, money, $
Relou (adj.)
Verlan for ‘lourd’ (heavy) and denotes annoying, heavy or exhausting. Qu’il est lourd le mec – Damn this guy is a drag.
Ouf (adj.)
Crazy, awesome, impressive. On a fait un truc d’ouf heir soir! – We did something awesome last night.
