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French Verlan, suburb slang

verlan slang, cheumo

Il est trop cheumo.

Verlan slang in French

What is 'Verlan slang' in French and how does it work? What does it sound like? Listen to Anne talk about it.

Verlan slang started in the mid-eighties in France. The word “verlan” itself is a very good illustration of what it is: you get the word “verlan” by inverting the two syllables “l’en” and “vers” from the word “à l’envers”, which incidentally means “backwards.”

Translated into English, it would be something like saying “wards-back slang”. I’m tempted to make up a new word and translate it by “words-back slang”.

English → French → combination → invertion → Verlan

shady, sleazy → louche → lou + che → che-lou → chelou

upset, irritated → énervé → é + ner + vé → (é) vé-ner → vénère

Start-up list of Verlan Slang

1.à donfe = à fond = totally
2.chébran = branché/e = really “in”, fashionable
3.chelou = louche = shady, sleazy, not trustworthy
4.cheum, cheumo = moche = ugly
5.ouf = fou/folle = crazy, nuts
6.rebeu = arabe = a person from North AFrican ethnicity
7.rèche = cher/chère = expensive
8.tarpé = pétard = joint, doobie
9.teubé/e = bête = stupid
10.teuf = fête = party
11.treum = métro = subway
12.vénère = énervé = upset, irritated

Continue with this longer list

Related:  Play online .

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3 comments to French Verlan, suburb slang

  • soiheme

    Hi my family member! I want to say that this article is amazing, great
    written and come with approximately all significant infos.
    I’d like to peer extra posts like this .

  • Stephen Haust

    You don’t need to make anything up, Anne
    In English it already exists, even on the same principal of reversal:

    Pig Latin!

  • Stephen Haust

    Example:

    Google in Pig Latin:

     
     

 
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