Verlan - French Slang
Verlan is a form of French slang that consists of playing around with syllables, kind of along the same lines as pig Latin. Unlike pig Latin, however, verlan is actively spoken in French ghettos. Many verlan words have become so commonplace that they are used in everyday French.
To "verlan" a word, simply separate it into syllables, reverse them, and put the word back together. In order to maintain the correct pronunciation, the verlaned word often undergoes some spelling adjustments. Unnecessary letters are dropped, while other letters are added to make pronunciation logical. There are no real rules for this; it's just something to be aware of. Note that not every word can or should be verlaned; verlan is used essentially to emphasize or hide the meaning of the main word(s) in a sentence.
How It Works
Let's start with the word l'envers, which means "the reverse." Separate l'envers into its two syllables l'en and vers. Invert them, put them together into a single word, and then adjust the spelling:
- l'envers… l'en vers… vers l'en… versl'en… verslen… verlen… verlan
Thus, you can see that verlan is l'envers pronounced à l'envers ("reverse" pronounced in reverse).
Let's try another example:
- pourri… pou rri… rri pou… rripou… ripou
Most single-syllable words are just pronounced backwards.
- fou > ouf
- cool (from English) > looc
Take It a Step Further
The above examples are pretty simple, but verlan gets more complicated when it comes to the e muet, which is a very important sound in verlan. Words that end in e muet (like femme) and words which end in a pronounced consonant and which usually have an e muet sound tacked onto the end (like flic, which is usually pronounced "flique") retain the sound of the e muet when they are verlaned. In addition, when the syllables are reversed, the resulting final vowel sound is sometimes dropped.
- flic… fli keu… keu fli… keufli… keuf
- femme… fa meu… meu fa… meufa… meuf
- arabe… a ra beu… beu ra a… beura… beur
Verlan was invented as a secret language, a way for people (notably youths, drug users, and criminals) to communicate freely in front of authority figures (parents, police). Because much of verlan has become incorporated into French, verlan continues to evolve - sometimes words are "re-verlaned." Beur, commonly heard in the 1980s, has been reversed again to reub. Keuf has been re-verlaned to feuk, with a bonus - it now resembles a vulgar word in English.
Here are some common verlan terms that you should be able to recognize. Remember that verlan is a form of slang, so you probably shouldn't use it when talking to someone you vouvoie.
balpeau verlan of peau de balle
meaning: nothing, zip
barjot verlan of jobard
meaning: crazy, insane
un beur (now reub) un Arabe
meaning: Arab
bléca verlan of cablé
meaning: trendy, in
un brelica verlan of un calibre
meaning: revolver
une cecla verlan of une classe
meaning: class
céfran verlan of français
meaning: French
chanmé verlan of méchant
meaning: mean, nasty
chébran verlan of branché
meaning: cool, plugged in
chelou verlan of louche
meaning: shady, dubious
une cinepi verlan of une piscine
meaning: pool
une deban verlan of une bande
meaning: group, band
un skeud verlan of un disque
meaning: record, album
fais ièche verlan of fais chier
meaning: it's boring, annoying
un féca verlan of un café
meaning: café
être au fumpar verlan of être au parfum
meaning: to be in the know
une gnolba verlan of une bagnole
meaning: car, junker
geudin verlan of dingue
meaning: crazy
jourbon verlan of bonjour
meaning: hello
un kebla verlan of un Black (from English)
meaning: black person
kéblo verlan of bloqué
meaning: blocked, caught
un keuf (now feuk) verlan of un flic
meaning: police officer (equivalent to cop, copper, pig)
un keum verlan of un mec
meaning: guy, dude
laisse béton verlan of laisse tomber
meaning: forget it, drop it
un lépou verlan of un poulet
meaning: police officer (equivalent to cop, copper, pig)
looc verlan of cool (from English)
meaning: cool
une meuf verlan of une femme
meaning: woman, wife
ouf verlan of fou
meaning: crazy
pécho verlan of une choper
meaning: to steal, nick; to get caught
une péclot verlan of une clope
meaning: cigarette
le pera verlan of le rap
meaning: rap (music)
un quèm verlan of un mec
meaning: guy
une raquebar verlan of une baraque
meaning: house
relou verlan of lourd
meaning: heavy
les rempa verlan of les parents
meaning: parents
un reuf verlan of un frère
meaning: brother
une reum verlan of une mère
meaning: mother
un reup verlan of un père
meaning: father
une reus verlan of une sœur
meaning: sister
ripou verlan of pourri
meaning: rotten, corrupt
la siquemu / la sicmu verlan of la musique
meaning: music
un sub verlan of un bus
meaning: bus
être dans le tarcol verlan of être dans le coltar
meaning: to be exhausted
une teibou verlan of une bouteille
meaning: bottle
une teuf verlan of une fête
meaning: party
tirape verlan of partir
meaning: to leave
tisor verlan of sortir
meaning: to go out
une tof verlan of une photo
meaning: photograph
la tourv verlan of la voiture
meaning: car
le tromé verlan of le métro
meaning: subway
zarbi verlan of bizarre
meaning: strange
un zarfal verlan of un falzar
meaning: pants, trousers
une zesgon verlan of une gonzesse
meaning: girl, chick
zyva verlan of vas-y
meaning: go