Argot - French Slang - D
The following words and definitions were originally sent in the free Mot du jour newsletter.
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| une dalle - paving stone, slab
[dal] J'aime les trottoir en dalle - I like sidewalks made of paving stones. Familiar expressions: que dalle - damn all; ne... que dalle - not a damn thing (Je ne vois que dalle - I can't see a damn thing); avoir la dalle en pente - to be a bit of a boozer; avoir la dalle - to be starving Related words: le dallage - paving, pavement; daller - to pave; un dalleur - flag layer Don't miss the leçon du jour : http://french.about.com/library/weekly/q-dailylesson.htm
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| débile
[day beel] (adj) - weak, feeble, frail, sickly, poor Cette organisation est débile ; elle n'a pas de vrais pouvoirs. - This organization is weak; it doesn't have any real powers. La santé de ma mère est débile. - My mother's health is poor. (informal) - pathetic, stupid, moronic Quel film débile ! - What a stupid movie!
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| déglinguer
[day gla(n) gay] (inf) - to bust, break L'appareil-photo que je viens d'acheter est déjà déglingué - The camera I just bought is already busted. se déglinguer - to be on the blink, fall apart, go bust Sa télé se déglingue tout le temps - His TV is always on the blink. Related: la déglingue (fam) - dilapidation, decay; déglingué (inf adj) - battered, broken, run-down, kaput, ramshackle
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| dégoiser (informal) - to
spout, rattle on
[day gwa zay] Qu'est-ce qu'il dégoise ? - What's he rattling on about? Il ne finit jamais de dégoiser - He never shuts up, He never stops rattling on. You can dégoiser all you want in the forums: http://forums.about.com/ab-french/start
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| dégommer
[day guh may] (familiar) - to demote, unseat, sack, fire; to put down, lay into, get told off On veut dégommer le directeur-général - They want to sack the manager. Il s'est fait dégommer par ses parents - His parents told him off / laid into him. Related: le dégommage (familiar) - demoting, unseating, sacking
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| dégoter
[day guh tay] (informal) - to dig up, find La police n'a pas réussi à dégoter assez de preuve - The police didn't manage to dig up enough proof. Où as-tu dégoté ces livres ? - Where did you dig up these books? Alternate spelling - dégotter
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| déguerpir
[day ger peer] (inf) - to clear off/out, scarper Il a dit aux gosses de déguerpir - He told the kids to clear off. J'espère qu'il pourra faire déguerpir les fourmis ! - I hope he can get the ants to clear out!
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| dégueulasse
[day geu las] (fam adj) - lousy, rotten, filthy, disgusting
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déguster
[day gu stay] to taste, sample, savor Nous allons déguster du vin - We're going to taste some wine. Il déguste son café - He's enjoying/savoring his coffee. (informal) - to suffer, have a rough time J'ai un mal de tête, je déguste ! - I have a hell of a headache!; I have a headache and it's killing me! Related: une dégustation - tasting; un dégustateur - wine taster
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| déménager
[day may na zhay] to move (from one house/place to another) Je vais deménager au Maroc en août. - I'm going to move to Morocco in August. (familiar) - to leave, get lost, clear out; to be crazy Il déménage complètement ! - He is totally crazy! Related: un deménageur - furniture mover; un deménagement - removal, moving; déménager à la cloche de bois - to sneak off in the middle of the night; ça déménage ! (informal) - it's great! brilliant!
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| détaler
[day ta lay] (informal) - to bolt, take off, clear out, skedaddle Quand j'ai entendu les sirènes, j'ai détalé ! - When I heard the sirens, I took off! Expressions of emphasis: détaler à toutes jambes, détaler comme un lapin, détaler au triple galop; détaler d'une telle vitesse que... - to take off so quickly that...
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| un dico
[dee ko] (informal) - dictionary (short for dictionnaire) J'ai besoin d'un bon dico français-anglais. - I need a good French-English dictionary. Check out dozens of online "dicos" at http://french.about.com/cs/dictionaries/index.htm
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dingue
[da(n)g] (inf adj) - crazy, nuts, barmy. un/e dingue (inf noun) - nutcase,
loony
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| le dodo
[do do] (baby talk) - sleepy time, beddy-bye Je vais faire dodo - I'm going to beddy-bye (I'm going to sleep). Au dodo ! - Sleepy time! More baby talk: http://french.about.com/library/vocab/bl-babytalk.htm
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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
| *Pronunciation
notes
Due to the limitations of HTML, I cannot use true phonetic symbols. I tried to be as straightforward as possible, but please refer to this chart to understand my pronunciation symbols. Note that this is only a guide to help you get the most out of the sound file. Please refer to a dictionary for the exact pronunciation. |
a | father | ||
| ay | hate | |||
| e | bed | |||
| ee | meet | |||
| euh | full | |||
| o | go | |||
| uh | the | |||
| u | fool | |||
| (n) | nasal n | |||
| zh | mirage |
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