Argot Français phrases and words in English
French argot is the everyday slang that real conversations run on — the words you'll hear in cafés, group chats and films but never in a textbook. Some come from Arabic, some from old thieves' cant, some from pure invention, yet every French person uses them without thinking. Master these ten and the gap between 'school French' and 'real French' suddenly closes.
10 phrases · meanings & example sentences
“Kiffer”
Borrowed from Arabic ('kif', a state of pleasure), 'kiffer' means to love, enjoy, or be into something. It's warmer and cooler than 'aimer', and you can kiffer a song, a place, or a person. It's also a window into how much North African culture shaped modern French.
- Je kiffe trop cette chanson. — I'm really into this song.
- On a kiffé notre soirée. — We loved our night out.
- Je crois qu'elle te kiffe. — I think she's into you.
“Avoir la flemme”
The single most French expression for 'I can't be bothered.' 'La flemme' is that specific, almost cozy laziness when you know you should do something but really, really don't want to. There's no clean English equivalent, which is exactly why it's worth learning.
- J'ai la flemme de cuisiner ce soir. — I can't be bothered to cook tonight.
- On devait sortir mais j'ai eu la flemme. — We were supposed to go out but I couldn't be bothered.
- Flemme totale aujourd'hui. — Zero motivation today.
“Galérer”
From 'galère' (a galley ship — rowing in chains), 'galérer' means to struggle, to have a hard time, to grind through something painful. Job hunting, moving flats, learning a language — you galère through them. It captures struggle with a shrug, and French people say it constantly.
- Je galère à trouver un appart. — I'm struggling to find an apartment.
- On a galéré pour monter ce meuble. — We had a nightmare assembling this furniture.
- C'est la galère, les transports aujourd'hui. — Transport is a disaster today.
“La thune / le fric”
French has a dozen slang words for money, and these two are the daily ones: 'la thune' and 'le fric' both mean cash, dough. Add 'le blé' (wheat) and 'les sous' and you've got a full set. Knowing them keeps you from sounding like a banking textbook when the bill arrives.
- J'ai plus de thune jusqu'à la paie. — I'm out of cash until payday.
- Ça coûte un max de fric. — That costs a ton of money.
- Il se fait plein de thune avec ça. — He's making loads of money with that.
“Avoir le seum”
From Arabic ('semm', venom), 'avoir le seum' means to be bitter, gutted, or salty — that mix of anger and disappointment when something doesn't go your way. Missed the train, lost the match, got left on read? Tu as le seum. It's everywhere in younger speech.
- J'ai trop le seum, j'ai raté le concert. — I'm so gutted, I missed the concert.
- Il a le seum d'avoir perdu. — He's salty about losing.
- Ça me met le seum cette histoire. — This whole thing makes me bitter.
“Le bordel”
Literally a brothel, but in daily slang 'le bordel' just means a mess or chaos — a messy room, a disorganized situation, total pandemonium. 'C'est le bordel' is the universal French sigh at anything falling apart. Mildly rude, completely everyday.
- Range ta chambre, c'est le bordel. — Tidy your room, it's a mess.
- C'était le bordel à la gare. — It was chaos at the station.
- Quel bordel ce dossier. — What a mess this file is.
“Faire la gueule”
'La gueule' is an animal's mouth/face — rude when used for a human, but baked into tons of expressions. 'Faire la gueule' means to sulk or give someone the cold shoulder. You'll also hear 'avoir la gueule de bois' (to have a hangover — literally 'a wooden face').
- Pourquoi tu fais la gueule ? — Why are you sulking?
- Elle me fait la gueule depuis hier. — She's been giving me the cold shoulder since yesterday.
- J'ai la gueule de bois ce matin. — I'm hungover this morning.
“Capter”
Originally 'to pick up a signal', 'capter' slid into slang meaning to understand or get it. 'Je capte rien' (I don't get anything) is how a confused French person actually talks. Bonus: it still keeps its phone meaning — 'ça capte pas ici' means 'there's no signal here'.
- Désolé, j'ai pas capté ce que t'as dit. — Sorry, I didn't get what you said.
- Il capte vite, ce gamin. — That kid catches on fast.
- Ça capte pas dans le métro. — There's no signal in the metro.
“Le taf / bosser”
Two everyday work words: 'le taf' is your job or your work, and 'bosser' is the verb 'to work' (much more common in speech than 'travailler'). Together they cover most of what you'd say about your job without ever sounding formal.
- Je dois aller au taf. — I've got to go to work.
- Il bosse trop, ce mec. — That guy works too much.
- J'ai trouvé un nouveau taf. — I found a new job.
“Saouler (tu me saoules)”
Literally 'to get someone drunk', but in slang 'saouler' (often written 'soûler') means to annoy or exhaust someone. 'Tu me saoules' is the very French way to say 'you're doing my head in.' It pairs perfectly with 'relou' and 'le seum' as your everyday irritation toolkit.
- Tu me saoules avec tes questions. — You're doing my head in with your questions.
- Ça me saoule de devoir recommencer. — It's such a drag having to start over.
- Il saoule tout le monde au bureau. — He annoys everyone at the office.
