ta gueule
What does ta gueule mean? ta gueule is a French severe that translates to โshut up / shut the fuck upโ in English.
Literal Translation
your mouth/snout (animal)
Meaning & Usage
"shut up / shut the fuck up"
Extremely rude way to tell someone to be quiet. 'Gueule' refers to animal mouths, implying the person is subhuman.
Examples in the Wild
Ta gueule ! Je parle ! (Shut the fuck up! I'm talking!)
When to Use It
Context
- Expressing strong frustration or emphasis
- Only among very close friends who share this register
Avoid
- Professional or formal settings
- Around elders or authority figures
- Public spaces โ will cause genuine offense
- Job interviews, meetings, or customer-facing situations
Cultural Context
Very offensive, more so than English 'shut up'. 'Ferme ta gueule' (close your mouth) is even stronger. 'Ta gueule' alone can start fights.
More in French ๐ซ๐ท
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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 โ sneaking out of a boring party or fleeing a bad situation.
raclure
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What you scrape off the bottom of a pot โ 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.
con / conne
โstupid / idiot / asshole (fem: bitch)โ
Originally vulgar slang for female genitalia (cunt), now primarily means 'stupid' or 'idiot' in France. The feminine 'conne' is more offensive than 'con'.
nique
โfuckโ
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 โ borrowed from Arabic and arriving in French already loaded.
chier
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To defecate; also used in expressions meaning 'to annoy' or 'bore'.
dรฉgueulasse
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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 'dรฉgueu' in casual speech, which somehow sounds even more disgusted despite being shorter.
merde
โshit / crapโ
Standard exclamation for frustration, disappointment, or surprise. Literally excrement.