Transcript

Hi everyone! You're going to love the theme of today's video, I'm sure. Today I'm going to teach you how to swear in French, but in a polite way.

Swearing while being polite, but without being cheesy. Old-fashioned means old-fashioned. Alternatives to words like put*** or mer** to swear politely, without being has-been.

The words we're going to see, they're really used by everyone.

I hope you're all comfortable. Before you do anything else, don't forget to put a "j'aime" and activate the English or French subtitles, if you need them. Today, we're going to have four words together, four interjections to show your annoyance, your irritation, your surprise, whether positive or negative, but without using swear words.

You certainly know that the French use the word put*** in more or less every context. But when you're at work, or with people you don't know in contexts where you have to be polite, the French have alternatives, little words they use so they can keep swearing but without being vulgar.

The first word we're going to see is "thumbtack". So it starts the same way. That leaves you the opportunity if you start saying "pu" to change to "naise". Punaise.

A bedbug. I don't know if you're familiar with this animal. It's not a very pretty insect. I hope you've never had a bedbug in your home because it's horrible to get rid of them, it's super hard to get them to leave.

You have stings everywhere, all over your body. It's really horrible. So punaise, we really, really use it as a synonym for pu****. So to show either surprise, annoyance or astonishment. Bug, I've broken my phone again, it's the second time this month. Shit, you've spilt the whole bottle of wine, can't you be a bit careful?

The second word we're going to see, the second interjection, is purée. Purée. Purée is a recipe for mashed potatoes. You've probably eaten them before.

You can also use mashed potatoes to make mashed carrots, for example. Mashed again, it's used exactly like tacks. Mashed, I can't take this day any more, I just want to go to sleep. Purée, did you hear? Lola left Sébastien. I was sure she was madly in love with him.

Here, you see, I've used it to express my astonishment.

Shoot. Mince we don't use it exactly like pu****, we use it a little more like zut. But zut is a bit old-fashioned. Mince is an interjection generally used when you've made a mistake.

Shoot, I forgot my keys. Oh dear, I mixed up the sugar and salt in my recipe.

And finally, the last interjection we're going to look at today is cow. The cow, yes, like the animal, is an animal often found on the farm. The cow is also used as a bug, to express an emotion, such as surprise, anger, admiration or spite. Cows can be positive or negative.

You can use it to show that you're surprised or impressed by something. Holy cow, you've already painted half the house in 3 hours? You're super fast.

Here you see, it's quite positive, it's a positive astonishment. The cow looks at how he's dressed. All in yellow for a funeral, it's not done at all. There are other words that can replace swear words and insults.

Like "saperlipopette" or "flûte". But in reality, nobody uses them, except maybe old people. But if I start saying "saperlipopette", people will certainly find it odd.

It's not at all natural to say flute or saperlipopette when you're quite young.

That's it for today. I hope you've enjoyed these four expressions, these four interjections, and that now you too can swear like a Frenchman, but in a polite way.

If you liked this video, of course, put a j'aime. And if you're not yet a subscriber, subscribe and activate the bell to receive all my videos.

See you soon.