French Slang Words and Expressions: 20+ Must-Know Argot and Verlan Terms

The Short Answer

French slang revolves around two systems: argot (traditional street vocabulary) and verlan (syllable-reversal slang). Words like kiffer (to love), meuf (woman), and ouf (crazy) are used daily by millions of French speakers, especially younger generations. Understanding these expressions is essential for following French movies, music, and real conversation.

French is spoken by approximately 321 million people worldwide across 29 countries, according to the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF). While textbooks teach standard French, the language spoken on the streets of Paris, Lyon, and Marseille is layered with slang that evolved from centuries of working-class culture, immigration, and youth creativity.

"Slang is not a corruption of language, it is language at its most creative. French argot and verlan represent living proof that speakers are constantly reinventing their tools of expression."

(Connie Eble, Slang and Sociability, University of North Carolina Press)

This guide covers 20+ essential French slang words organized by category: verlan expressions, classic argot, Arabic-origin slang, and everyday casual terms. Each entry includes pronunciation, cultural context, and real usage so you sound natural rather than like a textbook.

Quick Reference: French Slang at a Glance

Understanding Verlan: France's Syllable-Reversal Slang

Before diving into individual words, it helps to understand verlan, the slang system that makes French uniquely creative. The word verlan is itself verlan for l'envers (reverse, backward). The technique works by flipping syllables: femme becomes meuf, louche becomes chelou, fou becomes ouf.

Verlan emerged in the banlieues (working-class suburbs) of Paris in the mid-20th century and went mainstream by the 1990s through French hip-hop and cinema. According to the Centre National de Ressources Textuelles et Lexicales (CNRTL), some verlan terms have become so common that speakers no longer recognize them as reversed words.

Research from Le Petit Robert's 2025 edition notes that verlan terms now appear in formal dictionaries, reflecting their full integration into modern French. Here are the most important ones.

Ouf

Ouf is probably the single most-used verlan word in contemporary French. The reversal of fou (crazy), it has almost entirely replaced its source word in casual speech among speakers under 40. You will hear it constantly in French films, on social media, and in everyday conversation.

Meuf

Meuf perfectly illustrates how productive verlan is. Femme (fam) gets reversed to meuf. It is now the default informal word for "woman" or "girl" among young French speakers, much like "girl" in casual English. Its masculine counterpart is mec (guy).

Chelou

When something feels off, chelou is the word. It conveys the same unease as "sketchy" or "shady" in English. A person, a situation, a neighborhood: anything can be chelou.

Relou

Relou is what you call someone who does not take a hint, tells the same joke three times, or keeps texting after you have said goodnight. The word captures a specific kind of persistent annoyance that English struggles to express in one word.

Keuf

Here is where verlan gets wonderfully recursive. Flic is already argot for "police officer." Then verlan flips flic into keuf. Slang of slang, a perfect example of how these two systems feed into each other.

Teuf

Teuf comes from reversing fête (party/celebration). It entered mainstream slang through the French rave and electronic music scene of the 1990s and has stayed ever since.

Zarbi

While chelou carries a hint of suspicion, zarbi is more playful. The person who wears mismatched socks on purpose, the teacher who brings their parrot to class: they are zarbi, not chelou.

Chanmé

Just like English turned "wicked" and "sick" into compliments, French took méchant (mean) and reversed it into chanmé to mean "incredible" or "awesome." This semantic flip is a hallmark of youth slang across languages.

Classic Argot: Traditional French Street Slang

Argot predates verlan by centuries. Originally the coded language of criminals, thieves, and the Parisian underclass, it gradually seeped into mainstream French. Today, many argot words are so integrated that speakers do not realize they were once considered vulgar or criminal. Le Petit Robert traces some of these terms back to the 17th century.

Fric

French has a remarkable number of slang words for money: fric, thune, blé, oseille, pognon, flouze. But fric is the most universally understood. It works across all age groups and regions of France.

Bagnole

Bagnole is one of those argot words that has been so thoroughly adopted that it barely registers as slang. Your grandmother would use it. Your boss might too. It sits comfortably between formal voiture and more colorful terms like caisse (crate) or tire (puller).

Bouffe

In a country where food is practically sacred, it makes sense that the casual word for eating is everywhere. Bouffe as a noun means "food" or "a meal." The verb bouffer means "to eat" and carries a slightly more enthusiastic connotation than the standard manger.

Bosser

Bosser has almost entirely replaced travailler in casual speech. It carries a slightly more effortful tone: you do not just work, you grind. The related noun boulot (job/work) is equally essential. C'est le boulot (that's work for you) is something you will hear French people say with a characteristically Gallic shrug.

Pote

While ami is the textbook word for "friend," pote is what you actually hear in daily life. It conveys a warmth and casualness that ami sometimes lacks. C'est mon pote (he's my buddy) implies genuine closeness.

Truc

Truc is the Swiss Army knife of French casual vocabulary. Cannot remember the name of something? Truc. Need to refer vaguely to an idea? Truc. Its close cousin machin serves the same purpose, and some speakers alternate between them in the same sentence.

Arabic-Origin Slang: Immigration's Linguistic Legacy

Decades of North African immigration have enriched French slang with Arabic-origin words. These terms, once confined to immigrant communities, are now used by French speakers of all backgrounds, a reflection of France's multicultural reality. According to Ethnologue's 2024 data, Arabic is the most widely spoken non-European language in France, with an estimated 3-4 million speakers.

Kiffer

Kiffer is the star example of Arabic influence on French slang. From Maghrebi Arabic kif (pleasure), it has become the go-to casual verb for expressing strong enthusiasm. Je kiffe is more intense than j'aime (I like) but more casual than j'adore (I adore). You will hear it in French music constantly.

Bled

Bled has two distinct uses. For speakers of North African heritage, it affectionately refers to their ancestral homeland. For other French speakers, it often means a small, boring, middle-of-nowhere town. On habite dans un bled paumé (We live in a town in the middle of nowhere) captures the second meaning.

Seum

Avoir le seum (to have the seum) expresses a very specific emotion: bitter frustration at something that was nearly within reach. It went from banlieue slang to national vocabulary during the 2018 FIFA World Cup and has stayed ever since.

Everyday Casual Expressions

These expressions are not strictly argot or verlan but are essential to sounding natural in informal French.

Crevé(e)

When fatigué (tired) does not cut it, crevé steps in. The image is vivid: you are so exhausted you have burst like a flat tire. It is dramatic in a way that perfectly suits the French tendency toward expressive language.

Veinard(e)

The connection between veine (vein) and luck is a quirk of French that has no equivalent in English. When you call someone veinard, you are saying luck runs through their veins.

Nickel

Nickel fills the gap of a casual "perfect" in French. The apartment is clean? Nickel. The plan works out? Nickel. Everything is settled? Nickel. It is one of those words you will hear ten times a day in France.

Parisian vs. Banlieue vs. Regional Slang

French slang is not monolithic. Where and who you are shapes which words you use.

The biggest divide is between metropolitan France and Quebec. A Parisian saying C'est ouf ! and a Montrealer saying C'est malade ! mean the same thing, but neither expression would sound natural in the other's city. Quebec's joual draws from centuries-old Norman French and English loanwords, creating a slang system entirely independent of argot and verlan.

How to Respond to French Slang

When someone uses slang with you, it signals they consider you an insider. Here are natural responses.

Practice With Real French Content

The best way to absorb French slang is through immersion. French cinema is rich with informal language. Films like La Haine (1995) pioneered banlieue slang on screen, while series like Lupin and Emily in Paris show different registers of contemporary French.

Wordy lets you watch French movies and shows with interactive subtitles. When a character drops a verlan word or an argot expression, you can tap it to see its meaning, etymology, and register level in real time. Instead of memorizing slang from a list, you pick it up naturally from authentic conversations.

For more French content, explore our blog for guides on everything from how to say hello in French to the best movies to learn French. And visit our French learning page to start practicing today.