Top 10 *Must-Know* French SlangA as in

Posted on 23. Apr, 2012 by Hichem in Culture, People, Vocabulary

Understanding largot (French Slang) is a must, whether you are planning on moving to France one
day, or simply a casual fan of French music or le cinma franais, where the prevailing language is
not exactly the one you learned at schoolto say the least!

Like we said last time, there are several dictionaries and references of French slang readily
available in bookstores, and some even offer free access online. But the trouble with them,
unfortunately, is that when faced with a huge amount of information, non-native readers find
themselves completely at a loss as to which word or expression to learn in priority.

Whether its argot or not, dont forget to learn French with us on Facebook!

Well, la solution, were happy to say, you will find it here: You will be provided, as of today, with le
strict minimum. The expressions argotiques or familires which you must know when you are
surrounded by native French speakers!
Today, you are offered a unique selection of the Top 10 *Must-Know* French slang words and
expressions starting with the first letter of the alphabet:

LA LETTRE A

* Accouche!
As in Allez, accouche! Meaning: Come on, confess, or spit it out! Often used when
people urge you to finally reveal something to them. Or you can for example see it pop up in a
French movie scene, typically when a police interrogation of a suspect is being conducted. Literally,
it means: Come on, give it birth! Some French slang expressions with the same meaning as to
confess is passer aux aveux, lcher le morceau, or passer table.

* Accro:
Meaning to be hooked on something, since its a shorthand for the verb accrocher (to hook
something.) Example: Elle est accro la musique techtonik (Cest quoi la techtonik?, you may
ask?)
* Allonger:
This one is rather versatile, and depends on the context of its use. The verb allonger means to
extend or to strech out. So if you say allonger une claque or un coup de poing, it means to slap
or punch someone, knocking them down. But you may also hear: Allez, allonge-moi mon fric,
mec!, meaning Come on, fork over my money, dude!
As an adjectif, tre allong means to be dead. Il a aval son acte de naissance, et il est
maintenant au jardin des allongs, which literally means: He swallowed his birth certificate, and
hes now at the garden of the lying down.
Quite charming of an expression, isnt it?
* Ami-ami:
As in Bon, on fait ami-ami, on enterre la hache de guerre, et on fume le calumet de la paix?
The translation of which is: So, we become friends again, we bury the hatchet, and smoke the
peace pipe?
Instead of Deux Flics Miami (Two Cops in Miami, which is the French title of Miami
Vice, starring Don Johnson and Philip M. Thomas) someone I know used as a kid to call this show
Deux Flics Ami-Ami, meaning word-for-word Two Cops Friend-Friend!
For a (very) little idea of what Miami Vice may sound when dubbed in French, heres an example
(the scene starts up with croissants and a French flag)
So, cutting down to the chase:

* Andouille
Andouille simply means dummy, silly, fool, as in ne fais pas landouille (dont act like a
fool!)
* Aprm:
Short for aprs-midi

* plus!
Short for plus tard! (See you later!) When it comes to SMS or chatting on Skype, plus is
often written as A+, or even @+
* Arnaquer:
It means to trick someone, to swindle a person.
* SArracher:
To leave or to escape: Bon allez, on sarrache dici! (Ok, lets get outta here!) You can also
say lever le camp (whereas foutre le camp is way more offensive.)
* Assurer:
This verb in formal French means to ensure (something), as in what insurance companies do. In
French Slang, however, it means to rock, to be on top of ones stuff, to have the situation under
control.
Typical example that young French people say nowadays: Franchement, l tassures!
(Seriously, you rock!)
A synonym of assurer in this case is the verb grer (literally to manage.)
Another typical example would be Tu gres trop! (You to


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