Chapter 34: Real French

Section 1: The First Rule of Real French (Dropping the "Ne")

When you listen to native French speakers in daily life, you will notice something surprising: they almost never use the word **ne** [nuh] in negation!

While written French requires you to wrap verbs with *ne ... pas*, spoken French completely drops the *ne*.

Let's introduce our first three casual negation vocabulary anchors:

• j'sais pas [shay pah] : I don't know. (Contracted from *Je ne sais pas* [juh nuh say pah] ).
  Mnemonic Anchor: *J'sais* sounds exactly like the English sound **"Shh!"** that you make when telling someone to be quiet. Imagine putting your finger to your lips: **"Shh! (J'sais) ... I don't know!"**
• j'aime pas [zhem pah] : I don't like. (Contracted from *Je n'aime pas* [juh nem pah] ).
  Mnemonic Anchor: *J'aime* is "I like" (think of an **amateur** who does things out of love/liking). Adding **"pas"** to the end instantly turns it into a dislike!
• c'est pas [say pah] : it's not / that's not. (Contracted from *Ce n'est pas* [suh nay pah] ).
  Mnemonic Anchor: *C'est* sounds like the English word **"Say"**. Imagine pointing at something and saying: **"Say! (C'est) ... that is not mine!"**

Let's hear how these sound in real spoken French:

• J'sais pas où il est.
  [shay pah oo eel ay] (I don't know where he is.)
• J'aime pas le train.
  [zhem pah luh tran] (I don't like the train.)
• C'est pas la gare.
  [say pah lah gar] (It's not the train station.)

Section 2: Syllable Flipping (Welcome to Verlan)

French youth developed a secret code language called **Verlan** [vair-lahn] . It is created by taking a standard word and **inverting its syllables**!

In fact, the word **Verlan** itself is built this way!
→ Take the phrase **l'envers** [lahn-vair] (meaning "the reverse").
→ Flip the two syllables: **en-vers** becomes **vers-l'en** → **Verlan**!

Let's introduce our first three Verlan vocabulary anchors:

• meuf [muhf] : woman / girl. (Flipped from **femme** [fahm] ).
  Mnemonic Anchor: *Meuf* sounds like the English word **"muff"** (a thick, tube-shaped cover for keeping hands warm). Imagine a **woman** wearing a soft fur **muff** in the winter cold!
• teuf [tuhf] : party. (Flipped from **fête** [fet] ).
  Mnemonic Anchor: *Teuf* sounds like the English word **"tough"**. If you go out and party all night, it can be **tough** on your body the next morning! A wild night is a *teuf*!
• cimer [see-mair] : thanks. (Flipped from **merci** [mair-see] ).
  Mnemonic Anchor: *Cimer* sounds like the English words **"see more"**. If a friend does you a favor, you want to **see more** of that good behavior, so you say **"thanks (cimer)"**!

Let's hear how these sound in casual sentences:

• C'est une belle meuf.
  [say toon bel muhf] (She is a beautiful girl.)
• Tu viens à la teuf ?
  [too vyan ah lah tuhf] (Are you coming to the party?)
• Cimer pour le café !
  [see-mair poor luh kah-fay] (Thanks for the coffee!)

Section 3: Describing Things in Code

Let's explore some common adverbs and adjectives used to describe wild, weird, or strange situations in real French.

Let's introduce our next three descriptive vocabulary anchors:

• chelou [shuh-loo] : weird / shady / strange. (Flipped from **louche** [loosh] meaning shady/suspect).
  Mnemonic Anchor: *Chelou* sounds like the English words **"shoe-loo"**. Imagine looking outside and seeing someone wearing a giant **shoe** as a hat in the loo! That would look extremely **weird** and **strange**!
• ouf [oof] : crazy / wild. (Flipped from **fou** [foo] meaning crazy).
  Mnemonic Anchor: *Ouf* sounds just like the English gasp **"Oof!"** you make when you see someone do a **crazy** stunt or get hit with some **wild** news!
• c'est dingue [say dang-guh] : it's crazy / it's wild!
  Mnemonic Anchor: *Dingue* is a cousin of the English words **"dingy"** or **"dingbat"** (meaning a wacky, crazy person). When something unbelievable happens, exclaim *c'est dingue*!

Let's hear how these descriptions look in speech:

• Ce mec est chelou.
  [suh mek ay shuh-loo] (This guy is weird.)
• C'est un truc de ouf !
  [say tuhn trook duh oof] (It's a crazy thing! / It's wild!)
• C'est dingue !
  [say dang-guh] (It's crazy!)

Section 4: Street Talk (Seum, Kiffer, Wesh, Reum)

Let's wrap up with four street talk words that you will hear constantly on the sidewalks of Paris and Marseille:

• kiffer [kee-fay] : to like / to love.
  Mnemonic Anchor: Sounds like the English word **"keeper"**. If you really like or love a song or item, you think: "This is a **keeper (kiffer)**!"
• j'ai le seum [zhay luh suhm] : I'm annoyed / gutted / angry.
  Mnemonic Anchor: *Seum* originally comes from the Arabic word for poison (*samm*). It sounds like the English word **"some"**. If you experience **some (seum)** bad luck, you feel completely **annoyed and gutted**!
• wesh [wesh] : yo / what's up? (Also from Arabic).
  Mnemonic Anchor: Sounds like **"wish"**. Wish your friends a good day by calling out: **"Yo! (Wesh!)"**
• reum [ruhm] : mother. (Flipped from **mère** [mair] ).
  Mnemonic Anchor: *Reum* sounds just like **"room"**. Think of your **mother** yelling at you to clean up your **room (reum)**!

Let's hear how these street terms flow in conversation:

• Wesh, Lucas ! Ça va ?
  [wesh, loo-cah ! sah vah] (Yo, Lucas! What's up?)
• Je kiffe cette musique.
  [juh keef set moo-zeek] (I love this music.)
• J'ai le seum pour la teuf.
  [zhay luh suhm poor lah tuhf] (I'm gutted about the party.)
• C'est la teuf de ma reum.
  [say lah tuhf duh mah ruhm] (It's my mother's party.)