French swear words

“bitch / slut”

Female dog; used as insult toward women.

“to get out, to bolt, to take off”

Another crude way to say 'to leave,' slightly less aggressive than 'se casser.' 'Barre-toi' is 'get out of here.' 'Je me barre' is 'I'm leaving.' The word implies leaving quickly, sometimes covertly — sneaking out of a boring party or fleeing a bad situation.

“scum, lowlife, bottom-feeder”

What you scrape off the bottom of a pot — the residue, the dregs. Applied to a person, it means they're the lowest of the low, the scum of society. It's a creative insult that paints a vivid picture of worthlessness.

“disgusting, gross, nasty”

The go-to French word for expressing physical or moral disgust. It covers everything from a filthy bathroom to a politician's corruption scandal. Shortened to 'dégueu' in casual speech, which somehow sounds even more disgusted despite being shorter.

“stupid / idiot / asshole (fem: bitch)”

Originally vulgar slang for female genitalia (cunt), now primarily means 'stupid' or 'idiot' in France. The feminine 'conne' is more offensive than 'con'.

“shit / crap”

Standard exclamation for frustration, disappointment, or surprise. Literally excrement.

“to shit / to annoy”

To defecate; also used in expressions meaning 'to annoy' or 'bore'.

“fuck”

The raw verb form of 'niquer,' used on its own as a crude exclamation or command. Unlike 'baiser,' which has a polite meaning (to kiss) that was slowly corrupted, 'niquer' has always been purely vulgar — borrowed from Arabic and arriving in French already loaded.

“go fuck yourself”

The maximally aggressive French dismissal. Where 'va te faire foutre' is the standard 'go fuck yourself,' this version specifies the anatomical route, making it considerably more vulgar. It's the kind of thing that ends conversations — or starts fights.

“gross, filthy, nasty”

Slang contraction of 'crasseux' (filthy) that became its own word. It describes anything disgustingly dirty — a room, a person, a habit. Less intense than 'dégueulasse' but covers the same territory. The extended form 'cradingue' adds emphasis through its playful suffix.

“piece of shit, scumbag”

Calling someone a manure pile — the agricultural version of 'piece of shit.' It's surprisingly common in French and carries a specific type of contempt: this person is not just bad, they're the waste product of something useful. It's been an insult for centuries, since France was primarily agricultural.

“coward, scaredy-cat”

Someone who's scared — the idea being that fear makes you fart. It's a playful, almost childish insult for cowardice. 'Péteux' has a gentle quality that pure insults lack; it's more teasing than attacking. The word is particularly common in Quebec French where it's one of the go-to words for 'scared.'

“weed, pot, herb”

Verlan (French back-slang) for 'herbe' (herb), meaning cannabis. One of the most widely known verlan words, used even by people who don't regularly speak verlan. It's the casual, non-threatening way to refer to marijuana in French.

“loser, deadbeat, no-hoper”

Originally horse racing slang for a horse that has no chance of winning, applied to humans who are similarly useless or doomed to fail. It's dismissive rather than aggressive — calling someone a tocard is writing them off more than attacking them.

“whore / hooker”

Prostitute. 'Pute' is noun form, 'putain' is interjection or noun.

“shitty, crappy”

The adjective form of 'merde' — literally 'of or relating to shit.' It describes anything of terrible quality: a shitty job, a shitty day, a shitty movie. It's cruder than 'nul' but less explosive than 'merde' used as an exclamation, because adjectives always feel calmer than interjections.

“coward, chicken”

A coward — from 'trouille,' which means both fear and (in older usage) diarrhea. The connection between fear and bowel looseness is embedded in the word's DNA. It's a standard insult for cowardice, less childish than 'péteux' but still not particularly harsh.

“fuck / shit / damn”

The most versatile French swear word. Used as an interjection for anger, surprise, joy, or emphasis. Originally meant 'whore' but now functions like the English 'fuck' as an exclamation rather than a noun.