WARNING:   These few posts are not suitable for minors.  They contain quite explicit vocabulary.

Let us continue our little adventure down the road of French swear words.   They are something which certainly adds more than just a little colour to our French in Canada and Québec.

Apart from informal talk between friends and peers, you will also tend to hear them used extensively in stand-up comedy, movies (dramas, and especially comedy movies), and literature which features Joual.

You may recall the earlier post on Elvis Gratton.  When watching the Elvis Gratton movies and television series, you would almost get the impression that every third word uttered was a vulgarity in some form or another.

I find it unfortunate when I hear learners of French say they have a difficult time understanding us in French when the language level becomes a bit more informal.   Of course, one reason is the structure and vocabulary used in Joual, but vulgarities and obscenities (swear words) certainly can throw a person off if you’re not familiar with them.

Hopefully these few posts give you some context and help to fill some of the missing gaps (I actually find it kind of awkard to write about this topic… it’s rarely written about in any depth – but all the more reason for me to cover it, and for you to hopefully find it useful 😉 ).

Reminder notes:

NOTE 1:  In the examples below, it is difficult to give an exact translation for every word.   I’ve therefore given the closest approximates with respect to their degree of impact.  That is why I list more than one English equivalent after most words.

NOTE 2:  Underneath the main words, I also list the “toned-down / softened” versions of the words.   These are versions of the main swear word which are considered to be milder, and more acceptable to a wider audience.   In English, the equivalent might be the transformation of “F&@#” to “Fudge”, or “Damn” to “Darn” (the latter words which could be acceptable, even on television).

THE LIST: M to SAC

Marde – Shit!, Damn it! Crap!

This one is interesting because it is softer than “shit” in English (which is “Merde” in French).   “Marde” is also softer than “Merde” — soft enough to the extent that you will hear it on television and the radio.   It also is used in many expressions:

1. “Un tas de marde” (a pile of crap),
2. “C’est de la marde” (it’s crap),
3. “Toute cette marde” (all this crap),
4. “Marde!” (Crap!, Damn!, Shit!).

I recommend that you try your best to replace “Merde” with “Marde” as much as possible.   It sounds better and less offensive.

Maudite merde – Shit!, Damn it!, God damn it!, Piss!

Maudit – Shit!, Damn it!, Crap!, God damn it!, Piss!

This is one of the most common curse words out there…  Right up there in the top five.

• Mardi
• Marois grand P
• Maudasse
• Maudine
• Mausus
• Mautadit
• Morpion
• Morsac
• Motadit
• Saudit
• Saudine
• Sautadites
• Zaudit

Maudit bâtard – Damned bastard / F’ing bastard!

A bit Stronger — AVOID if possible, because it is a direct insult.

Although “Maudit” is not so serious of a word when said on its own, if you add “bâtard” after it, you’re looking for trouble (especially if you call someone this).

Maudit calvaire – For Christ’s Sake!, For F’in Sake!

RATHER STRONG, Recommend not using it.

Merde – Shit!

See “Marde” above.   It’s stronger than “Marde”, and roughly the exact same meaning, impact, and degree of acceptability (or non-acceptability) as “shit” in English.   This is also one of the most common curse words (likely in the top five).

Moses – Christ!, Damn it!, Shit!

• Mosus

Mon… XXX –  Used to form “self-curses” by placing “Mon” in front of the curse word.

In English, there are four levels of “self-curses” which are used to give emphasis.   Examples:

1. Least offensive could be “My Goodness”.
2. One level up might be “My bloody luck”.
3. A level higher might be “I’ll be damned”.
4. The most offensive level would be “F*** me!”

French also has similar levels of “self-curses”.    Examples:

1. Mon bonjour!
2. Mon bon Dieu!
3. Mon ciboire!
4. “Mon Tabar*** !” or “Mon Câlisse!”.

The rule is this:  In Canadian French, you can pretty much add “Mon” in front of any Canadian-specific obscenity (it will work 90% of the time).    The more offensive the word to which “mon” is added, the stronger the message.   Exception:  You generally can NOT add “Mon” in front of most swear words which also exist in Europe (ie:  It does NOT work to say “Mon maudit”, “Mon pute”, “Mon foutre”, etc.)

Noune – Cuss word for vagina.

It is not quite as bad as saying “C$#%” (female genetalia) in English, but it certainly is harsher than saying “Pussy”.   It’s sort of half way between.   In Europe they say “chatte” (a female cat) – which can sometimes also be heard on this side of the Atlantic.

The funny thing is that there is even a well-known, comical song parody using this word (it has gone viral in Québec).  You can listen to it by going to its YouTube link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYcq4nGeYu0

Ostensoir – Shit!, Damn it!, Crap!, God damn it!, Piss!

Ostensoir à pédale – Shit!, Damn it!, God damn it!, Piss!

Patente à gosse! – Shit!, Damn it!, God damn it!, Piss!

Sacré – Shit!, Damn it!, God damn it!, Piss!

Sacre bleu – Shit!, Damn it!, God damn it!, Piss!

Sacréfisse – Shit!, Damn it!, God damn it!, Piss!

Sacrement – F***!, Jesus f***ing Christ!  Quite Strong.

Generally do not use this unless you are on familiar territory with the person you are speaking.  However, this word has lost much of its punch over the last couple of decades (it was considered much stronger when I was a child than what it is now).

• Sacrement de fesses!
• Sacarment
• Sace
• Sacidoux
• Sacramère
• Sacripant

Sacrifice – Shit!, Damn it!, God damn it!, Piss!

The funny thing is that I used to say this one quite a bit in my teens, but I don’t anymore.  I suppose the older I got, the more I realized it sounds fairly uncouth.   But I do sometimes say the softer “Saint-Sacrifice!”.

—– —– —– —– —– —– —–

The list will continue in the next post.  Hold your tongue until then !!

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SERIES:  QUÉBEC AND CANADIAN FRENCH SWEAR WORDS (6 POSTS)

• Gettin’ down ‘n vulgar! – Introduction to swear words – Part 1 (#239)
• Gettin’ down ‘n vulgar! – Swears A to CH – Part 2 (#240)
• Gettin’ down ‘n vulgar! – Swears CI to J – Part 3 (#241)
• Gettin’ down ‘n vulgar! – Swears M to SAC – Part 4 (#242)
• Gettin’ down ‘n vulgar! – Swears SAI to V – Part 5 (#243)
• Gettin’ vulgar! This ain’t no picture book for the kiddies! – Part 6 (#244)

WARNING:   These few posts are not suitable for minors.  They contain quite explicit vocabulary.

This is the 3^rd post in a multi-post series on our French swear words.   A couple of things to note…

There are people want to see this series — I have received a couple of emails with questions regarding French swear words.  Thus I am presenting them in an objective format, considering there is not much comprehensive information out there – especially for language learners.   It all constitutes an aspect of culture (albeit a bit more “twisted” aspect of culture). 😉

NOTE 1:  In the examples below, it is difficult to give an exact translation for every word.   I’ve therefore given the closest approximates with respect to their degree of impact.  That is why I list more than one English equivalent after most words.

NOTE 2:  Underneath the main words, I also list the “toned-down / softened” versions of the words.   These are versions of the main swear word which are considered to be milder, and more acceptable to a wider audience.   In English, the equivalent might be the transformation of “F&@#” to “Fudge”, or “Damn” to “Darn” (the latter words which could be acceptable, even on television).

THE LIST CI – J

Ciboire – Shit!, Piss!, Damn it!, God damn it!

This one is a bit interesting.  It is said quite often, but it has a very “hick” tone to it.  It’s certainly not the worst of the swears, but it’s perhaps a couple notches higher up the offensive scale than mere “mild”.  That may be the reason we hear it often on the street, but not on television or the radio.   Yet, some of the substitutes below can be heard on the radio and television (“cibole” is the most common softened substitute in all circumstances).

• Câliboire
• Cibolaque
• Cibole
• Cibonte
• Ciboulette
• Ciboule
• Ciboulot
• Cinliboire
• Gériboire
• Liboire
• Siblème

Cinclème – For crying out loud!, Christ!

Cré – Shit!, Damn it!, God damn it!, Piss!

• Crétaque

Cré maudit – Shit!, Damn it!, God damn it!, Piss!

Cré tornon – Shit!, Damn it!, God damn it!, Piss!

Criffe – Christ!, Cripes!,  For Christ/Cripes sake!

Crime (also “Crim”) – Christ!, Cripes!, For Christ/Cripes sake!, Adds EMPHASIS

This one is said quite often.  I would said its impact is closer to “Cripes” than it is to “Christ”.  Therefore it is acceptable to use in general conversation, even with your boss.  Now that I think of it, I say it quite a bit – perhaps more than any other “sacre”.

You’ll often hear it at the beginning of sentences to add a tad of extra punch to what is being said… it adds general EMPHASIS.

Here are some examples to let you see what I mean (don’t be afraid to use this one… it’s rather OK):

• “Crime! Il fait beau dehors!” (Wow, it’s a beautiful day today).
• “Crime! J’ai pas pensé à ça!” (Man! I didn’t think of that!).
• “Crime! Il conduit mal!” (Holy smokes! He’s a bad driver!).
• “Crime! Il a raté le but!” (Cripes! He missed the goal!)
• “Crime! Elle a faillit bercher une bonne!” (Whoa! She just about took a tumble!)
• “Crime! Qu’y sont sérieux” (Geez!  They’re really serious!)
• “Crime!” (Whoa!), (Cripes!)

Crisse – Get the F*** out!, Don’t give a F****!, F***ing angry!, Shit!

When used on its own, it only means “Shit!”.

When used in other contexts, it needs to be inserted in a a sentence:

• Je m’en crisse (I don’t give a shit / F***!)
• Crisses-toi d’ici (Get the F*** out of here!)
• Ch’en crisse! (I’m pissed/angry!)

Crucifix – Shit!, Damn it!, God damn it!, Piss!

Damn – Shit!, Damn it!, God damn it!, Piss!

Enfant de chienne – Son of a bitch!, Shit!, F***!

Personally, I would avoid saying this.  It sounds vulgar, likely because it is not as common as you would think (less common = it gets more attention when said).   There are so many other words out there which can be used to express the imperative “Son of a bitch!”   Generally speaking, any of the words which have the same impact as “Shit!, Damn it!, God damn it!, Piss!” also can be used if you wish to give the same impact as the imperative “Son of a bitch!”.

However, if you specifically wish to call someone a “son of a bitch”, then you could use this expression (in France & Europe they would say “fils de pute/putain”).

• Enfant de chishe
• Enfant de nanane
• Enfant de néanne
• Enfant de nénane

Esprit – Shit!, Damn it!, God damn it!, Piss!

Étoile – Damn!, Cripes!

Eucharistie – Shit!, Damn it!, God damn it!, Piss!

• Caresse
• Eucharesse

Fuck – Damn!, Damn it!, God damn it!

This word is quite interesting when said in French versus in English.  It is not nearly as bad in French as in English.

You will even hear it said often enough on French-language radio.  The CRTC (Canada’s federal government body which regulates what is and is not acceptable to say over the airwaves) does not consider “FUCK” to be a “bad word” when inserted in French sentences.   Ironic, isn’t it?   I surprisingly hear it on the radio.

Nonetheless, you may wish to be careful when you decide in which “region” to say it in Québec.  It does not sound very nice when inserted in general French-language conversation in Montréal, simply because there is a higher concentration of Anglophones in Montréal versus other regions of Québec.   Personally, I choose not to say it when speaking French, but it doesn’t bother me when others do (it’s all in the context).

HOSTIE – Jesus f’ing christ!, For F*** sake!   Rather strong.

Try to avoid it in general conversation unless you are on very familiar terms with the person which whom you are speaking.   Personally, I rarely even use the “softened-down” words below, unless I know the person very well, or unless the “softened” word is quite different from the original swear word (such as “stie”, or “Ostination”.

It’s just best to avoid it unless your French is at an advanced or native level (and best to only say among friends, close peers and family).

• Esti
• Hastie
• Hostie au lard
• Hostie fee
• Hostination (this can also be a noun which means “Connerie” or “Crap” / “Rigamarole” in English… “Toute cette hostination”)
• Hostique
• Ostie
• Ostination (this can also be a noun which means “Connerie” or “Crap” / “Rigamarole” in English… “Toute cette ostination”)
• Stie

Jésus-christ – Jesus Christ!, Christ!, God damn it!

• Jésome
• Jésus de plâtre

Joualvert – Cripes!, Damn it! (soft enough you’ll hear it on the radio).

—– —– —– —– —– —–

Crime! J’dirais que ça roule presque! Pas vrai?  I’ll see you soon with continued posts in this mini-series on swears.

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SERIES:  QUÉBEC AND CANADIAN FRENCH SWEAR WORDS (6 POSTS)

• Gettin’ down ‘n vulgar! – Introduction to swear words – Part 1 (#239)
• Gettin’ down ‘n vulgar! – Swears A to CH – Part 2 (#240)
• Gettin’ down ‘n vulgar! – Swears CI to J – Part 3 (#241)
• Gettin’ down ‘n vulgar! – Swears M to SAC – Part 4 (#242)
• Gettin’ down ‘n vulgar! – Swears SAI to V – Part 5 (#243)
• Gettin’ vulgar! This ain’t no picture book for the kiddies! – Part 6 (#244)

The last post gave an introduction to French swears as we use them on this side of the Atlantic.

This post and the next few posts will give you concrete examples.  These lists are not exhaustive, and they generally do not include swear words from Europe.

WARNING:   These next few posts are not suitable for minors.  They contain quite explicit vocabulary.  I have received a couple of emails with questions regarding French swear words, so I decided to present them in an objective format, considering there is not much comprehensive information out there – especially for language learners.

We hear these swear words all the time (sometimes even on television and the radio), and they often confuse language learners.   Thus, this resource may be useful to elementary and intermediate-level language learners (after all, I’m not writing these posts for the sake of being “vulgar”).

When developing language skills, it must be a very confusing experience for elementary (and even intermediate) learners because they would have not learned these words in school.  Yet, when curse words are encountered in the street, learners may incorrectly believe their French skills are failing them for not understanding what is being said.  But if learners are at least able to identify these words as swears, they can then forgive themselves for not understanding, and simply move on.  (Note:  Language learners will encounter Québec and Canadian French swears far more often than European French swears, and they are used more often and more liberally than English swears).

European (France, Belgium, Swiss) swear words are also used on this side of the ocean.  The most common being:

• Merde (Shit)
• Vas te faire foutre (F-off)
• Trou de cul (A. Hole)
• Vas chier (screw off)
• Ça fait chier (piss me off)
• Mange la merde (F-you)
• Putain (whore)

But there are some European swears which we do not generally say on this side of the ocean.  Some which we do not generally use are:

• Casse toi! (Piss off, F-off)
• Chatte (vagina… rarely said – in Canada we generally say “noune”)
• Encule (F-off)
• Fils de pute (Son of a bitch… however “pute” can sometimes be heard by itself)
• Fils de salope (Son of a bitch… however “salope” can sometimes be heard by itself)
• Zut (darn)… This one makes me laugh because it is taught in so many FSL classes around the world, but is never ever said in Canada.  We’d be more apt to simply say “Merde” or something like “Crîme” in Canada/Québec.
• Gros cul (fat ass)

NOTE 1:  In the examples below, it is difficult to give an exact translation for every word.   I’ve therefore given the closest approximates with respect to their degree of impact.  That is why I list more than one English equivalent after most words.

NOTE 2:  Underneath the main words, I also list the “toned-down / softened” versions of the words.   These are versions of the main swear word which are considered to be milder, and more acceptable to a wider audience.   In English, the equivalent might be the transformation of “F&@#” to “Fudge”, “Hell” to “Heck” or “Damn” to “Darn” (the latter words which could be acceptable, even on television).

THE LIST A – CH

Acré gué – Shit!, Piss!, Damn it!, God damn it!

Argya – Shit!, Piss!, Damn it!, God damn it!

Balls – Shit!, Piss!, Damn it!, God damn it!

Baptême – Jesus Christ!, God damn it!,  Christ!

• Baptiste
• Bâteau
• Batêche
• Batéye
• Batince
• Bazwel

Barabbas – Christ

Bâtard – Bastard

Bondance – For crying out lout!, Christ!

Bonyeu – (short “Bon dieu”) Holy crap!, Holy Shit!, Shit!, Damn!

• Bondance
• Bonguenne
• Bonguienne
• Bongyeu
• Bonjour
• Bonyenne
• Bonyousse
• Boyenne
• Vaingieu
• Vingieu
• Vinguienne

Bout de crime (sometimes said Bout crime) – Christ!,  God damn it!

Bout de crisse – Christ!,  God damn it!

Bout de Bon Dieu – Christ!,  God damn it!

Bout de calvaire – Christ!,  God damn it!

Bout de sacre – Christ!,  God damn it!

CÂLICE – For F***s sake!, Jesus f***ing christ!  (quite strong).

AVOID THIS in general conversation.  But it is quite acceptable to say one of the words below, with the most common being “Câline”.  Just to give you an idea, I don’t even say câlice (and often you’ll see it blanked out in texts:  C******).  But I will say “Câline”, or even “Câll”.

• Câlasse
• Câlif!
• Câline
• Câline de binne
• Câlique
• Calistirine

Calvaire – Piss!, Damn it!, God damn it!, Oh Christ!

• Calvanasse
• Calvasse
• Calvenus
• Calvette
• Calvince
• Calvinisse
• Cataplasse

Chette – Shit

Chrisse qui pisse – Piss me off!, Damn it all to hell!, For Christ’s sake!, What the hell!

Christ – Christ!, Jesus Christ!, God damn it!, Shit!

• Christie
• Christine
• Christophe
• Chrysostôme
• Clif
• Clisse
• Clousse
• Crème
• Cric
• Cris
• Cristal
• Saint-sicrisse

————————–

The next posts will continue with more lists.

Restes-là câline!! 😉

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SERIES:  QUÉBEC AND CANADIAN FRENCH SWEAR WORDS (6 POSTS)

• Gettin’ down ‘n vulgar! – Introduction to swear words – Part 1 (#239)
• Gettin’ down ‘n vulgar! – Swears A to CH – Part 2 (#240)
• Gettin’ down ‘n vulgar! – Swears CI to J – Part 3 (#241)
• Gettin’ down ‘n vulgar! – Swears M to SAC – Part 4 (#242)
• Gettin’ down ‘n vulgar! – Swears SAI to V – Part 5 (#243)
• Gettin’ vulgar! This ain’t no picture book for the kiddies! – Part 6 (#244)