Verlan phrases and words in English
Verlan is France's secret backwards language: take a word, flip its syllables, and you get street slang only insiders understand. The name itself is verlan — 'l'envers' (the reverse) becomes 'ver-lan'. Born in the suburbs of Paris, it's now everywhere, from rap lyrics to the way teenagers text. Learn these ten and you'll crack a code most textbooks pretend doesn't exist — and instantly sound like you grew up there.
10 phrases · meanings & example sentences
“Meuf (femme)”
The verlan of 'femme' (woman), and by far the most mainstream one — even grandparents understand it now. It means a woman, a girl, or your girlfriend depending on context. If you learn only one verlan word, learn this: it's the gateway drug to the whole system.
- C'est qui cette meuf ? — Who's that girl?
- Il est venu avec sa meuf. — He came with his girlfriend.
- Y'a trop de meufs cool dans ce groupe. — There are so many cool girls in this group.
“Ouf (fou)”
'Fou' (crazy) flipped becomes 'ouf' — and it's the all-purpose word for 'insane' in both the good and bad sense. 'C'est ouf' can mean amazing or unbelievable. There's even a set phrase, 'un truc de ouf' (a crazy thing), that every young French person says.
- C'est ouf ce que t'as fait ! — That's insane what you did!
- On a passé une soirée de ouf. — We had a wild night.
- Attends, c'est un truc de ouf cette histoire. — Wait, this story is absolutely crazy.
“Relou (lourd)”
From 'lourd' (heavy), 'relou' describes a person or situation that's annoying, tiresome, or a pain. It's the perfect word for the friend who won't stop texting or the metro line that's down again. Light word, heavy feeling — and you'll use it daily.
- Arrête, t'es relou là. — Stop, you're being annoying.
- C'est relou, le bus est encore en retard. — It's a pain, the bus is late again.
- Il m'a appelé dix fois, trop relou. — He called me ten times, so annoying.
“Chelou (louche)”
'Louche' means shady or fishy; reversed, it becomes 'chelou' and means sketchy, weird, or off. A dark alley is chelou, a stranger acting strange is chelou, a deal too good to be true is chelou. It teaches you a whole vibe in two syllables.
- Ce mec est trop chelou. — That guy is really sketchy.
- Il y a une ambiance chelou ici. — There's a weird vibe here.
- C'est chelou qu'il réponde pas. — It's odd that he's not answering.
“Vénère (énervé)”
'Énervé' (angry, irritated) becomes 'vénère' — and unlike the original, it can also work as a verb: 'ça me vénère' (that pisses me off). It's stronger and more street than 'fâché', and it's the go-to word when something genuinely winds you up.
- Il est trop vénère, là. — He's really pissed off right now.
- Ça me vénère quand on me coupe la parole. — It drives me crazy when people interrupt me.
- Calme-toi, sois pas vénère. — Calm down, don't get angry.
“Teuf (fête)”
'Fête' (party) flipped is 'teuf' — the word for a party, especially a big, loud, going-all-night one. 'Faire la teuf' means to party hard. It carries more energy than the polite 'fête', so it's exactly what you'd text friends about on a Friday.
- On fait la teuf ce soir ? — Are we partying tonight?
- C'était une teuf de malade. — It was an insane party.
- Y'a une teuf chez Sarah samedi. — There's a party at Sarah's on Saturday.
“Reuf (frère)”
'Frère' (brother) becomes 'reuf', and like 'bro' in English it means both an actual brother and a close male friend. Calling someone 'reuf' signals tightness and trust. There's also 'reus' for sister (from 'sœur'), so you get a matching pair to learn.
- Vas-y reuf, on y va. — Come on bro, let's go.
- C'est mon reuf depuis la maternelle. — He's been my bro since kindergarten.
- Merci reuf, tu m'as sauvé. — Thanks bro, you saved me.
“Pécho (choper)”
Verlan of 'choper' (to grab/catch), 'pécho' has two very useful meanings: to get or grab something, and to hook up with or pull someone. Context tells you which. It's slangy, playful, and shows up constantly in stories about nights out.
- Je vais pécho à manger, tu veux quoi ? — I'm gonna grab some food, what do you want?
- Il a pécho une meuf à la teuf. — He hooked up with a girl at the party.
- T'as réussi à pécho les billets ? — Did you manage to grab the tickets?
“Chanmé (méchant)”
Here's the magic of slang: 'méchant' means nasty or mean, but its verlan 'chanmé' flipped meaning too — it now means awesome, sick, wicked-good. Just like 'bad' or 'sick' in English came to mean great, 'chanmé' shows how slang turns insults into compliments.
- Ce concert était chanmé ! — That concert was sick!
- T'as vu ses baskets ? Trop chanmé. — Did you see his sneakers? So awesome.
- Elle a un style chanmé. — She's got a wicked style.
“Zarbi (bizarre)”
'Bizarre' barely changes — flip it and you get 'zarbi', meaning strange or weird, with a more affectionate, playful tone than 'chelou'. It's the lighter cousin: a quirky friend is zarbi, not chelou. A great example of verlan that's almost hidden in plain sight.
- Il est un peu zarbi mais je l'aime bien. — He's a bit weird but I like him.
- C'est zarbi comme goût. — That's a weird taste.
- T'as pas trouvé ça zarbi, toi ? — Didn't you find that strange?
