Why do I need to know bouffer?

Because you do this a few times a day, and you might hear your French friends use it when making evening plans.

What does it mean?

Bouffer – roughly pronounced boo-fay – is the slang version of manger (to eat).

La bouffe is a very colloquial way of saying nourriture (food). Bouffer is the verb version, so you could say j’ai bouffé to tell someone that you ate something.

While it does generally mean to eat, bouffer has kind of a greedy clang to it. French people often use it to express that they overate – in English you might say you had ‘scoffed’ ‘filled your face’ or ‘chowed’ 

Bouffer is also popularly used in the expression se faire bouffer, which best can be translated to ‘be walked all over’. Sport fans often use it to describe a big win or loss, or to show off and play tough before a game.

Bouffer is quite colloquial, and some might even see it as vulgar, so you probably wouldn’t use it in a fancy restaurant or if you’re meeting your French in-laws for a meal.

Bouffer also gives us the root for the French term for junk food – malbouffe (literally ‘bad food’).

Use it like this

Tu bouffes trop vite, tu vas t’étouffer si tu ne t’arrêtes pas de temps en temps – You’re eating too quickly, you’re going to choke if you don’t stop to chew occasionally.

J’ai craqué ce week-end, je suis allé bouffer un énorme Big Mac – I couldn’t resist, I pigged out this weekend and ate a huge Big Mac