Largonji / Loucherbem / Louchébème
French Slang
| Largonji, also called loucherbem
or louchébème,
is a form of French slang that consists of playing
around with syllables, much like pig Latin. It is a secret
language that was invented by the butchers of la Villette in Paris.
Largonji is even more similar to pig Latin than verlan, as you can see by its formation. In Largonji, the first letter of the word is moved to the end and one of a wide variety of suffixes is attached, such as -é, -em, -gue, -i, -ic, -iche, -oque, -ot, -qué, or -uche. An L is then placed at the beginning of the word, thus all largonji words start with L. For example, let's start with the word jargon, which can mean jargon, lingo, or gibberish. Take the J and put it at the end of the word, then add a suffix - in this case, we'll use -i. Put an L at the beginning of the word and voilà. |
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| jargon... argonj... argonji... largonji | |||
| Thus, you have the secret word largonji - the name of this language (jargon in largonji). | |||
| Let's try another example: boucher... oucherb...
oucherbem... loucherbem - the other
name for this language, after the butchers who invented and used it.
Largonji is not an exact science. Letters may be dropped, changed, or added. Some single-syllable words may or may not have a suffix added (fou = louf or loufoque). Largonji is no longer commonly used, although you might hear a word here and there. |
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| Essential Largonji / Loucherbem / Louchébème | |||
| Here are some common largonji terms that you might run across. You'll notice that many of the terms have to do with numbers and money - the butchers obviously liked to talk about prices in secret. | |||
| Largonji | French origin | English: literal, figurative | |
| à loilpé, à loilpuche | à poil | naked | |
| un lacsé | sac | bag, 10 france | |
| un lageopem | pageot | bed | |
| une lamefé | femme | woman/wife | |
| larantequé, laranque, larante | quarante | forty, forty francs | |
| largonji | jargon | jargon/gibberish | |
| un larteaumic | marteau | hammer, crazy person | |
| un lateaubèm | bateau | boat | |
| latqué | quatre | four, 20-centime piece | |
| un latrompèm | patron | boss | |
| laubé, laubiche | beau | handsome | |
| lerche, lerchot, lerchèm | cher | expensive | |
| leude | deux | two, two francs | |
| le leurrebèm | beurre | butter, money | |
| lidré | dix | ten, ten francs | |
| lincsé | cinq | five, five francs | |
| un linspré | prince | prince | |
| un linvé | vingt | twenty, twenty francs | |
| un listrobèm | bistrot | bistro | |
| un loinqué | coin | corner | |
| un lopé | peu | little/bit | |
| un loubé | bout | end | |
| en loucedoc | en douce | quietly | |
| un loucherbèm | boucher | butcher | |
| louf, loufoque, loutingue, loffe | fou | crazy | |
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