One of the things that often any traveller has to encounter is not knowing about the slang words. They literally exist in every language, wherever one can go. The same is the case with one of the most revered languages of the world which we know as French. When you think of French, things like romance, culture, great cuisines, all those good things cross your mind. But no one usually, thinks about the French slang words that one may encounter and mostly, they are not taught in French language classes either.

But, knowing those slang is also important as one may have used them to simply sound as you belong to that place as well

Even people who have studied French for years at times mostly suffer the embarrassment of being responded to in English by French people who are fast to pick up their accent. If you wish to really fit in, it is necessary to learn French argot (slang), of which there is a lot.

Chanmé/e

Several modern French slang words come from other words having been inverted. This sounds true here with chanmé, which came from méchant, means badly behaved or ‘wicked’ and ordinarily used to describe a child. You will commonly hear the Parisians using it to mean ‘wicked’ in the modernized, positive sense of the word. This is a simple one to slip into the conversation without sounding too forced.

Chiant/e

This could be used in various ways, but it definitely is not a pleasant word. It is usually, used to describe anything that is a pain in the ass, be that a person or a situation.

Bolos

What does Bolos stand for in French? This word was actually added to the dictionary. According to its official definition, someone who is a bolos who is naive, a bit of a coward, totally ridiculous, and even a little stupid. This word is specifically, popular among teenagers.

Chelou

What is the meaning of Chelou in French? This is another verlan word originating from “louche” which means strange and shady. Chelou in English means exactly the same, yes, this is a simple one! It is used quite often, particularly, by millennials (but even some parents are giving chelou a try these days!)

Vénère

What does Vénère in French means? It may seem a little bit trickier initially, but this is also a verlan word which comes from (and means) énervé (annoyed or irritated).

Bouffer

This verb is used to mean ‘to eat’, but more in the sense of ‘to scarf’. With all the culinary delights of France, this word is certain, to be useful! (‘La bouffe’ can also be utilized as a noun to mean ‘food’.)

Oklm

This phonetic acronym of the phrase au calme became popular due to French rapper Booba with his 2014 single. It is used by several young people to describe something that is ‘cool’ or ‘chilled’, in the ‘hip’ sense of the word. If you begin following French people on Instagram, you will get to see it crop up more and more in captions.

Avoir le seum

This is a mode to express that you are unhappy about a certain things or, perhaps more accurately, ‘pissed’ about something. This is authentic Parisian slang, and you will certainly impress people by dropping this into the conversation. Several people of older generations will not have even heard of this expression.

Mec

Translates as ‘guy’ in a usual sense, as a more casual way of describing a man, but is also generally used to describe a boyfriend.

Mytho

Another insult that you might hear thrown about quite often than you might think, mytho is an abbreviation of mythomana, literally means ‘a compulsive liar’, normally, used to describe someone who has been known to exaggerate the truth, mostly with the intent to make himself sound better.