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Argot - French Slang - M

The following words and definitions were originally sent in the free Mot du jour newsletter.

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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

 

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

 

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.

 

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

 

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)

 

une mémère

[may mer]

(informal) - granny, grandma; "fat elderly woman"

Je t'aime mémère ! - I love you grandma!

Viens mémère - Come on, (old) lady.

 

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

 

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

 

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!

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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.

 

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

 

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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*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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