Argot - French Slang - M
The following words and definitions were originally sent in the free Mot du jour newsletter.
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
| un malfrat
[mal fra] (informal) - thug, crook, truant Il y a une bande de malfrats dans ce quartier - There's a gang of truants around here. Related: malfaisant (adj) - evil, wicked; un malfaiteur - criminal, gangster, thief
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| malin
[ma la(n)] (informal adj) - shrewd, cunning Il faut être malin afin de réussir - You have to be shrewd in order to succeed. Il m'a donné un sourire malin - He gave me a knowing smile. (noun) - crafty or clever person Related words: malignement (adv) - maliciously; la malignité - malice, spite
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| marrant
[ma ra(n)] (informal adj) - funny, odd Ce n'est pas marrant ! - It's not funny! David, il est marrant ! - David is so funny! C'est marrant, parce que je ne me souviens pas de son prénom. - It's strange, because I can't remember his name.
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| maudit
[mo dee] (informal adj) - darned, blasted, hateful Où sont ces maudites clés ? - Where are those darned keys? Après ce cours, je ne veux plus voir ce maudit livre - After this class, I don't want to see this hateful book any more. (literary adj) - accursed Related: maudire - to curse; un/e maudit/e - damned soul; le Maudit - the Devil
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un mec
[mek] (familiar) - dude, bloke Ce mec-là est très grand - That dude is really tall Synonyms: gars, type (although these are just informal, equivalent to "guy" in English)
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| une mémère
[may mer] (informal) - granny, grandma; "fat elderly woman" Je t'aime mémère ! - I love you grandma! Viens mémère - Come on, (old) lady.
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la mie
[mee] the soft part of bread Je préfère la mie - I like the soft part better. Bread is a much more important part of the French meal, as seen by the fact that they have a word for both the crust (la croûte) and the soft part (la mie). Informal expression: à la mie de pain - worthless
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| mijoter
[mee zhuh tay] to simmer Il faut mijoter la sauce pendant vingt minutes - The sauce must simmer for twenty minutes. (informal) - to plot, hatch, cook up Qu'est-ce que tu mijotes, là ? - What are you cooking up over there? une mijoteuse - slow cooker
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| mince [ma(n)s] (adj) - thin, meager Elle est très mince - She is very thin. Nous avons connu un profit mince - We earned a meager profit. (informal exclamation) - Darn it!, Wow!
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| un minet
[mee ne] (informal, baby talk) - kitty Où est mon minet ? - Where's my kitty? (informal, term of affection) - pet, sweetie-pie Salut minet ! - Hi sweetie! Hi pet! (derogatory) - dandy, fop
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| les mirettes
[mee ret] (informal, plural fem) - eyes, peepers Tiens les grandes mirettes de cette fille ! - Look at the big eyes on this girl! Related: en avoir plein les mirettes - to be very tired, drunk, dazzled; le jus de mirettes - tears
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| moche
[muhsh] (informal adj) - ugly, mean Que ce chien est moche ! - What an ugly dog! Thierry est moche avec elle - Thierry is mean to her (treats her badly). Related word: la mocheté - ugliness, eyesore, ugly person
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| mollo (familiar adv) - easy (in attitude)
[muh yo] Vas-y mollo ! - Take it easy!, Go easy! Related word: mollir - to give, yield, relent Learn more about French adverbs: http://french.about.com/library/weekly/aa060300.htm
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| une môme
[mom] (long o) (informal) - kid, brat, chick Il y a trop de mômes ici - There are too many kids around. Tu as vu cette môme ? - Did you see that chick? Related: une mômesse - chick; des mômeries (inf, fem) - childish behavior, group of children un/une môme - young homosexual
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| la mouise
[mweez] (familiar) - poverty, hard times Il est toujours dans la mouise - He's always broke. C'est la mouise chez elle - She's having a hard time; She has hit hard times.
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| moule
[mul] un moule - mold (for shaping something) Il a une bonne collection de moules - He has a nice collection of molds. une moule - mussel; (informal) - idiot Je n'aime pas les moules - I don't like mussels. Related: fait sur le même moule / coulé dans le même moule - cast in the same mold; être fait au moule - to be shapely; un moule à briques - brick mold; un moule à beurre - butter mold; un moule à gâteaux - cake pan; un moule à gaufre - waffle iron; un moule à tarte - pie plate; mouler - to mold, make a cast of
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| la musique
[mu zeek] music Quel type de musique aimes-tu ? - What kind of music do you like? Informal expressions: Tu connais la musique - You know the routine; C'est toujours la même musique - It's always the same old song; Je connais la musique - I've heard it all before
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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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