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LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

The nine very best French insults (for use when you’re very, very angry)

If you've finally lost your cool over passive aggressive notes in your apartment building's laundry room, if you want to express your displeasure over a parking fine or if you just want a short sharp exchange of views with the person who has told you off for putting your rubbish out on the wrong day, here are the phrases you will need.

The nine very best French insults (for use when you're very, very angry)
Feeling angry? Stop, take a deep breath and learn to swear properly in French. File photo: Depositphotos

The Swiss are generally polite people and they like to observe social niceties such as saying hello to random strangers on the street – a fact which often surprises people from overseas.

Switzerland is also a great place to live: safe, peaceful, clean…and extremely beautiful of course.

Read also: 20 telltale signs you have gone native in Switzerland

That said, as with living anywhere, there are times when people just need to blow off some steam. But if you’ve truly decided that is enough is enough and someone needs to be given a piece of your mind, there is nothing worse than not having the correct vocabulary to express your fury.

So for those of you living in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, we’ve gathered together some of the best phrases for expressing everything from mild disappointment to eye-popping rage.

1. Chiant/e

So let’s start gently with a relatively mild insult.

Chiant/e is the adjective derived from the verb chier which is a vulgar way to say ‘to crap’ or ‘to shit’. 

But despite this chiant/e isn’t quite as offensive or distasteful as you might think. 

It is frequently used in conversation to describe something as ‘really irritating’, ‘really annoying’, ‘really boring’ or in more extreme slang ‘a pain in the ass’. 

For example you could say, Ce film est super chiant, ne va pas le voir. – ‘This film is super annoying, don’t go and see it.’

Or in its feminine form: J’en ai marre de ma petite sœur : elle est chiante! – ‘I’m sick of my little sister: she’s really irritating!’

2. Relou

This a verlan word, meaning that it is formed by inverting another word’s syllables (for more on verlan, click here).
 
In this case, that word is lourd – not in its literal sense, ‘heavy’, but rather the figurative one, used to describe a presence or situation that is ‘oppressive’, ‘irritating’, or ‘unbearable’.
 
Relou is used to talk about someone or something that is irritating or oppressive, but the verlan version, probably because it is less formal and more slangy, carries a little bit of extra oomph.
 
Relou is probably most frequently used when talking about a person whose presence or behaviour is or has become oppressive:
 
Au début, Pierre semblait cool, mais il est devenu trop relou. – At first, Pierre seemed cool, but he got really annoying.
 
Especially when applied to a man, relou usually refers to the sort of guy who makes bad jokes, lacks tact, and doesn’t know when their presence is unwanted… think Michael Scott from the Office (or David Brent in the UK version), seen without any sympathy.
 
Arrête de la draguer tout le temps, t’es relou! – Stop hitting on her all the time, you’re a pain in the ass!
 
It can also be used to describe a disagreeable situation, much like ‘that sucks’ in English.
 
Comment ça se passe, le travail à Lausanne? – Je ne fais que métro, boulot, dodo, c’est relou. – How’s the job in Lausanne going? – I do nothing but commute, work, and sleep, it sucks.
 
And finally, relou can be used as a generally disparaging adjective to talk about most things or concepts:
 
Ta gueule! On en a marre de tes blagues reloues! – Shut it! We’ve had it up to here with your lame jokes!

3. Ta gueule!

This brings us neatly to number three on the list, which is used more directly to a person, rather than about them. If you’re using this, you’ve passed the point of trying to reason politely with someone.

The word gueule means ‘muzzle’ or ‘maw’, and is a colloquial, often pejorative way of referring to either someone’s mouth, like ‘gob’ or ‘trap’. The phrase ta gueule is a shortened form of ferme ta gueule, meaning ‘shut your gob’ or ‘shut your face’. Ta gueule, the most frequently used variation, is most often translated as ‘shut up!’, as in:
 
T’as vu ? Le PSG a perdu à nouveau hier soir! – Ta gueule! Did you see? PSG lost again last night!- Shut up!
 
4. Vénère

Not exactly an insult as such, but if you want to tell people that you’re really, really angry this is the way to do it.

Vénère is another verlan one and it’s one that you will frequently see in street demos and protests as people describe themselves as well and truly pissed off.

It’s verlan for énervé, meaning ‘irritated’, ‘angry’, or even ‘pissed off’ – the first and last ‘é’ are combined (énervé -> vé-éner -> vénère). As in, Je suis trop vénère, ta soeur m’a piqué mon mec! – I’m really angry, your sister stole my man!
 
Or, Son père était hyper vénère quand il a appris sa note au bac. – His dad was super pissed when he found out about his grade on the bac (end of high school exam).
 

5. Tu m’emmerdes

If your neighbour has kept you awake for the third night in a row partying or arguing with his significant other, that would probably be an appropriate time for this phrase.

The literal translation of tu m’emmerdes is ‘you’re shitting on me’. 
 
But it really means ‘you’re pissing me off!’, ‘you’re bugging me!’ or ‘you’re getting on my nerves!’
 
Tu m’emmerdes avec ton bruit – You’re pissing me off with your noise.
 
 
6. Faux cul
 
Quite a specific insult this – it basically means hypocrite, so you will need to get the context right, although it can probably be safely shouted at all politicians.
 
The words faux cul, sometimes written faux-cul, actually mean “false bottom”, or maybe “false ass”, given that cul is the vulgar French word for one’s backside. Originally, faux cul described an apparatus worn under the dress by 19th century women (sometimes called a “bustle” in English), often along with a corset, in an attempt to emphasise their curves.
 
Because of the use of the faux cul to misrepresent one’s appearance, it soon became a synonym for “hypocrite”, “phony” or “two-faced”. As in, Ce faux cul, il nous dit qu’il faut beaucoup travailler, mail il ne fait jamais rien. – “That hypocrite, he tells us that you have to work hard, but he never does anything.”
 
Or – Elle m’avait dit précisément le contraire. Quel faux cul! “She told me exactly the opposite. What a phony!”
 
 
7. Raclure de bidet
 
Very much the nuclear option of insults, since you’re describing someone as bidet scum, so probably best to keep this one for someone you are quite definite that you will never be friends with.
 
But if you’d like an inventive way to put someone in their place then you might want to crack out: T’es une raclure de bidet. – ‘You bidet scum.’
 
8. Merde/connard/salope and . . . putain!
 
If you slightly balk at describing someone as the scrapings left at the bottom of a bidet, you could try some common or garden variety French swearing – merde (shit), salope (bitch) con or conard/conasse (asshole or dickhead – conasse is used for a woman) but the daddy of all French swearing is putain.
 
So fabulously versatile is this word that the French site of The Local devoted an entire article to its many uses.
 
Interestingly, although it’s usually translated into English as ‘fuck’ it’s not always a particularly strong word (although you still wouldn’t say it to your grandma).
 
It all depends on how it’s used. But if you’re screaming Nom de dieu de putain de bordel de merde de saloperie de connard d’enculer ta mère (we blush to translate, let’s just say it’s very rude) at someone, then they’ll probably get the idea that you are mildly perturbed.
 
 
But of course, it’s highly likely that when you do finally blow your stack you’ll forget all of these and only remember what you should have said much later.
 
And helpfully, French has a phrase for that too. Esprit d’escalier (literally translated as staircase wit) describes the moment when you think of a perfect retort for an argument – but only much later when the argument has finished.
 
It’s said that 18th century French philosopher Diderot coined the phrase because he found that it was only by walking away from the argument, literally down the stairs, that he could he think of a suitable riposte.

Member comments

  1. Well done. That was a well written, amusing and extremely helpful article.

    Thank you for writing it.

    I’ve lived almost 40 years here and I could’t have done better myself.

    In fact, I’m happy to say, I learned a lot. 😊

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LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

The German words you need to talk about cold weather in Switzerland

How can you describe cold weather in German (and Swiss German)? With temperatures dipping recently, here are some essential words you’ll likely be hearing or using in winter.

The German words you need to talk about cold weather in Switzerland

Firstly, it’s important to know that the weather is a safe small talk topic in Switzerland. The Swiss are always happy to complain about whether it’s freezing outside or blazing sunshine. 

For that reason, it’s worth brushing up on your weather vocabulary so you can break the ice with your German-speaking (and Swiss German) colleagues and friends. 

Bitterkalt

This compound word is pretty straightforward when translated into English – bitterly cold. It’s a great word to use when the mercury falls below freezing, as it has in much of Switzerland recently. 

Use it like this: 

In Basel ist es bitterkalt

It’s bitterly cold in Basel.

READ ALSO: Geneva and Lausanne activate their extreme cold plan

Saukalt/Schweinekalt

Both of these words can be used in the same way as “bitterkalt” but literally translate as “pig cold”.

The terms have existed in German for many years, supposedly referring to the low temperatures needed to store meat outdoors – at which point farmers would typically slaughter their pigs for the winter.

“Saukalt” and “Schweinekalt” have a slightly vulgar tone, equivalent to “damned cold” or “bloody cold” in English. 

Use it like this: 

I don’t want to go to the cinema, it’s damn cold.

Ich habe keine Lust, ins Kino zu gehen, es ist saukalt.

Skiing in Schwyz, Switzerland in winter 2022.

Skiing in Schwyz, Switzerland in winter 2022. Photo by Yves Scheuber on Unsplash

Arschkalt

Sometimes it’s just too cold to mince your words. In this case, German speakers might say it is “arschkalt” – literally “ass cold” (or bloody cold in English). 

Mein Gott, es ist arschkalt draußen!

My God, it’s freezing outside!

Scheißwetter

One of the most common ways to complain about the weather in German is by using the word “Scheißwetter” (shit weather), which means horrible weather. Even though the word is used colloquially, it is still listed in the German dictionary Duden, and defined as “very unpleasant weather”.

Use it like this: 

Was für ein Scheißwetter heute.

What shitty weather today.

READ ALSO: The three important Swiss driving rules for when it snows

Es regnet Bindfäden

But temperatures below freezing (in the “Minusbereich”) aren’t the only hallmarks of a European winter. Rain is rarely far away, and when it’s pouring down, German speakers might exclaim “Es regnet Bindfäden!”, literally “It’s raining strings!” 

Some Swiss German words for the winter:

Of course, in German-speaking areas of Switzerland, Swiss German dialects are spoken. 

One word for cold that you might often hear is “chalt”, while “iischalt” is icy cold.

In mountainous areas, people might even be “iigschneit” (snowed in) during winter.

There’s also a special Swiss German word for when a lake freezes over… “Seegfrörni”.

READ ALSO: Five places to learn (Swiss) German for free in Zurich

Es gibt kein schlechtes Wetter, nur schlechte Kleidung

That said, there’s only so much complaining you can do about the weather. Typically, the Swiss tend to wrap up in warm in waterproofs and brave winter storms regardless, leading to one final favourite German language saying:

Es gibt kein schlechtes Wetter, nur schlechte Kleidung.

There is no bad weather, just the wrong clothing.”

Don’t forget your Winterjagge (winter coat)!

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