35 French Slang Expressions You Need to Know If You Are Under 30

You have spent hours learning French slang and idioms and they are super fun. But slang evolves fast! If you want to sound like a real French teenager or a young adult under 30, you need to master their slang. French youth slang evolves constantly, heavily influenced by social media, rap, and online culture. Here are 35 French slang expressions you need to know if you are under 30.

1. Everyday Conversational Words

• 1- Wesh – Yo (A casual greeting, often used in urban slang)

  Wesh, ça va ?
  Hey, what’s up?

• 2- Téma – Look at this (Comes from Arabic "t’ma", meaning “to watch”)

  Téma ce nouveau clip, il est trop bien !
  Check out this new music video, it’s so good!

• 3- C’est la hess – It’s a struggle (Used to describe a bad situation)

  Avec tout ce qui se passe, c’est la hess en ce moment.
  With everything that’s going on, it’s a struggle right now.

• 4- C’est une dinguerie - It’s crazy, incredible, or amazing (It can have either a positive or negative connotation, depending on the context )

  Ce concert était une dinguerie, l’ambiance était incroyable !
  That concert was insane, the vibe was amazing!

• 5- J’avoue - I agree / I recognize

  J’avoue, j’ai mangé tout le gâteau !
  I admit, I ate the whole cake!

• 6- En vrai - To be honest / Actually ( Used to say that something is true, that it is the truth

  En vrai, je préfère rester à la maison ce soir.
  To be honest, I’d rather stay home tonight.

• 7- T’inquiète - Don’t worry (contraction of “ne t’inquiète pas!”)

  T’inquiète, tout va bien se passer.
  Don’t worry, everything will be fine.

• 8- Un truc de ouf – Something crazy (A reversed form of “fou,” meaning crazy)

  Cette fête était un truc de ouf, je m’en souviendrai toute ma vie !
  That party was insane, I’ll remember it for the rest of my life!

• 9- Kiffer, kiffer de ouf - to like, to love

  J’ai trop kiffé ce film, il était génial.
  I really loved that movie, it was amazing.

• 10- Un biff/du bifton – Cash/Money (Popular slang for money)

  Il a gagné un biff en vendant sa voiture.
  He made some money by selling his car.

2. Expressing Feelings & Opinions

• 11-Avoir le seum – To be pissed off (Comes from Arabic, meaning "to be really annoyed")

  J’ai le seum, j’ai raté mon examen malgré tous mes efforts.
  I’m so pissed off, I failed my exam despite all my efforts.

• 12-C’est trop stylé – It’s so cool (Used to describe something stylish or impressive)

  Regarde cette voiture, c’est trop stylé !
  Look at this car, it’s so cool!

• 13- C’est chaud – It’s intense (Can mean something is difficult, risky, or shocking)

  La situation avec le patron, c’est chaud, il est vraiment énervé.
  he situation with the boss is intense, he’s really angry.

• 14- Avoir la flemme – Can’t be bothered (A short way to say you are feeling too lazy to do something)

  J’ai la flemme de sortir ce soir, je vais rester à la maison.
  I’m too lazy to go out tonight, I’m staying home.

• 15- C’est éclaté – It sucks (Used to say something is really bad or disappointing)

  Ce film était vraiment éclaté, je me suis ennuyé toute la soirée.
  That movie was really bad, I was bored the entire evening.

• 16- C’est goleri - It is fun (coming from rigoler - to laugh / to have fun)

  Le concert hier soir, c’était goleri !
  The concert last night was awesome!

• 17- C’est carré - It’s all good, It’s perfect, or It’s well done.

  Tout est organisé pour ce soir, c’est carré.
  Everything is organized for tonight, it’s all set.

• 18-C’est chelou - It is weird (Reversed version of louche)

  Cette situation est vraiment chelou, je ne comprends pas ce qui se passe.
  This situation is really weird, I don’t understand what’s going on.

• 19-Être matrixé – To be brainwashed (Used when someone is obsessed with something)

  Il est complètement matrixé par cette série, il la regarde non-stop.
  He’s completely obsessed with this series, he watches it non-stop.

• 20-Je suis vert(e)- I am pissed off" or I am really upset.

  Quand j'ai vu ce qui s'était passé, j'étais vert !
  When I saw what had happened, I was so angry!

  4. Talking About Friends - Family

• 21- Mon reuf – My bro (A reversed version of "frère")

  T’inquiète, mon reuf, je vais t’aider.
  Don’t worry, bro, I’m going to help you.

• 22- Ma reuss - My sister

  Ma reuss et moi, on va au ciné ce soir.
  My girl and I are going to the movies tonight.

• 23-La reum / la daronne - The mother

  Ma reum m’a dit de rentrer à 22h.
  My mom told me to be home by 10 PM.

• 24- Le daron - The father

  Le daron m’a emmené au foot ce matin.
  Dad took me to football this morning.

• 25- Mes darons - My parents

  Mes darons sont partis en vacances cette semaine.
  My parents went on vacation this week.

• 26- Un BG (Beau Gosse) – Hot guy (Used to describe an attractive man, sometimes playfully)

  Regarde ce BG là-bas, il est trop mignon.
  Look at that handsome guy over there, he’s so cute.

• 27- Une Go – Girl (Borrowed from English, but means “girlfriend” or just “girl”)

  J’ai rencontré une go super sympa hier soir.
  I met a really cool girl last night.

• 28- Un mec – Dude/Guy (The most common informal way to say “man”)

  Elle sort avec un mec génial.
  She’s dating a great guy.

• 29- Une meuf – Chick/Girl (A reversed version of “femme,” very common in youth slang)

  Cette meuf est trop sympa !
  That girl is super nice!

• 30-Un boloss – A loser (A mocking term for someone weak or uncool)

  Arrête de te faire avoir comme un boloss !
  Stop letting yourself get fooled like a loser!

5. Internet & Social Media Slang

• 31- Être en mode… – To be in a mood (Used like “I’m in chill mode” or “in work mode”)

  Aujourd’hui, je suis en mode détente.
  Today, I’m in chill mode.

• 32 - C’est trop frais - It’s so fresh / It’s dope ( Used to talk about an impressive look or   style)

  Ton nouveau t-shirt, c’est trop frais !
  Your new t-shirt is so cool!

• 33 - C’est carré – It’s all good (Means everything is set or in order)

  Tout est prêt pour ce soir, c’est carré.
  Everything’s ready for tonight, it’s all good.

• 34- Ça passe crème – It goes smoothly (Used to say something is easy or enjoyable)

  J’étais stressé pour l’examen, mais ça passe crème !
  I was stressed about the exam, but it went smoothly!

• 35- Faire le buzz – To go viral (Used for things that get popular fast on social media)

  Sa vidéo a fait le buzz en quelques heures.
  Her video went viral in just a few hours.

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