Clipped and flipped
Spoken French likes to shorten long words, which is called troncation. It also flips some words around, which is verlan, itself a flipped (à) l'envers. Neither changes the meaning, both change the register: the sentence sounds more relaxed, younger, more familiar.
Same statement, two registers
Neutral
Ce soir, on va au restaurant, puis au cinéma.
Tonight we're going to a restaurant, then to the cinema.
Ton professeur est vraiment bizarre.
Your teacher is really strange.
Familier
Ce soir, on se fait un resto, puis un ciné.
Tonight we're eating out, then catching a film.
Ton prof, il est trop zarbi.
Your teacher is seriously weird.
Troncation
Usually the end of the word is dropped, much like English lab or info. The short form often ends in -o, even when the full word has no o at that point. Less often the beginning goes, as in autobus to bus. Gender and plural stay as in the full word: la manifestation, so la manif, des manifs.
Common clipped words
| Full form | Short form |
|---|---|
| le restaurant | le resto |
| l'appartement | l'appart |
| la faculté | la fac |
| la manifestation | la manif |
| l'apéritif | l'apéro |
| le propriétaire | le proprio |
| disponible | dispo |
Tu es dispo pour un apéro jeudi ?
Are you free for drinks on Thursday?
Le proprio de mon appart ne répond jamais.
My landlord never gets back to me.
Il y avait une manif devant la fac.
There was a demo outside the uni.
Verlan
In verlan the syllables swap places: bi-zarre becomes zar-bi, lou-che becomes che-lou. One-syllable words often gain an eu sound before being flipped: femme becomes meuf, fête becomes teuf. What counts is the sound, not the spelling. Some words shift their meaning along the way.
Verlan in wide use today
| Source word | Verlan | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| bizarre | zarbi | weird |
| louche | chelou | odd, shady |
| lourd | relou | annoying, a pain |
| fou | ouf | crazy, insane |
| énervé | vénère | pissed off, wound up |
| femme | meuf | woman, girlfriend |
| fête | teuf | party |
Le concert d'hier, c'était ouf !
Yesterday's concert was insane!
Il est relou avec ses blagues.
He's a pain with his jokes.
Ce mec est un peu chelou, non ?
That guy's a bit dodgy, isn't he?
Elle était vénère qu'on l'ait pas prévenue.
She was annoyed we hadn't told her.
What fits where
Common clipped words like resto, appart or prof are casual but harmless. You can use them with colleagues too. Verlan is clearly familier and sounds young. Words like ouf, relou or chelou are heard across all age groups by now, but not when talking to a client. Meuf about a woman you don't know can come across as disrespectful. In anything written outside chats, use the full forms.
Same complaint, two listeners
Among friends
Mon proprio est trop relou.
My landlord is such a pain.
Talking to your boss
Mon propriétaire est assez difficile.
My landlord is rather difficult.
