Languages › French What Does Bordel Mean in English? Print JGI/Tom Grill / Getty Images French Vocabulary Pronunciation & Conversation Grammar Resources For Teachers By ThoughtCo Team Updated on May 22, 2017 The French word bordel, pronounced "buhr- del," literally means "brothel," but is commonly used in casual expressions to mean "mess" or "chaos." Examples and Common Expressions Read More Introduction to the French Word Déranger By ThoughtCo Team Quel bordel! - What a stinking mess! What a shambles! Ça va être le bordel! - It'll be chaos! Other common French expressions that use bordel include: mettre/foutre le bordel - to create havocmettre/foutre le bordel dans qqch - to screw/bugger something upbordel de merde (vulgar expression used for emphasis) - for God's sake, goddamnit Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Team, ThoughtCo. "What Does Bordel Mean in English?" ThoughtCo, Dec. 6, 2021, thoughtco.com/le-bordel-vocabulary-1371654. Team, ThoughtCo. (2021, December 6). What Does Bordel Mean in English? Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/le-bordel-vocabulary-1371654 Team, ThoughtCo. "What Does Bordel Mean in English?" ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/le-bordel-vocabulary-1371654 (accessed April 25, 2024). copy citation