Idioms / sayings / slang

[Frank]

Someone just asked me privately how to say "to kick ass" in French.

I'm going to answer, but maybe other people would be interested in saying/translating other idioms as well. So let's create a dedicated thread. Feel free to ask for any expression you'd like to say in French, or translate from French. Informal speech / usual slang is okay, but no vulgar words, please. I won't answer any question regarding anything vulgar.

Now, back to "to kick ass".

There are several way to say it. The best one (ie. the one you can use in almost every case where "to kick ass" would apply) is probably "être trop fort".

The basic meaning of "être trop fort" is "to be too loud" or "to be too strong". But unless you're explicitly talking about music or muscles, it means "to kick ass".
You can say it, maybe even to your boss. But don't write it, except to close friends. It's not vulgar, but it's definitely informal speech.

Here are a couple of examples:

- "Roger Federer est trop fort"

It means that Roger Federer kicks ass. He has mad skills.

- "Cette soirée est trop forte"

This party kicks ass

You can also emphasize it with "vraiment": "Roger Federer est vraiment trop fort", "Cette soirée est vraiment trop forte" (= really kicks ass)

It also works that way:

- "Cet exercice est trop fort pour moi", "Cet exercice était trop fort pour moi"

This exercise kicks my ass, this exercise kicked my ass

For the record, here are two other ways to say "to kick ass". They are very informal. While they aren't vulgar and while they are commonly used, esp. by young people, don't write them ever. Don't say these to your boss or to your teacher either.

- "tuer" (to kill), "être une tuerie" (to be a slaughter), "être un tueur" (to be a killer)
"Roger Federer est un tueur"
"Le dernier album d'Eminem tue" or "Le dernier album d'Eminem est une tuerie"

Neither RF nor Eminem is a murderer. They are just very good.

- "déchirer" (to tear)
"Le nouvel iPhone 3GS déchire" (the new iPhone 3GS kicks ass)

Hope it helps,

-Frank.

[Neil Coffey]

Thanks Frank for starting this thread. If it gets very long, we may think about splitting it up.

A couple of things maybe worth adding:
- sometimes "trop fort" is used ironically, whereas "kick ass" doesn't tend to be. So for example, sometimes people say "t'es trop fort toi" when they actually mean "you suck"
- another verb to consider is "assurer" when the subject is human, although I suppose maybe it's more common in the negative ("T'assure pas", "J'ai pas assuré")

There are other possibilities in specific contexts of course. If somebody exclaims "That kicks ass!", a French equivalent might be "La vache!".

[Frank]

Hello Neil,

Indeed, these expressions are very important to know, because you're likely to hear them a lot. And their meaning isn't straightforward. They really have nothing to do with cows nor insurance companies.

However, "La vache" doesn't really mean "that kicks ass". It's more like "gosh!", "wow!", "jeez!".
Also, while "la vache" is something everybody would understand, it sounds a bit old nowadays. It used to be popular, but your people don't say it much, it's more an expression of older generations.

[Neil Coffey]

Oh dear, I have friends who say "La vache!". Are you saying I'm getting old... ;-)

[Party planner]

Hi there- I am having a "french" black tie girls night out at a popular french restaurant. I am making invitations and I want to srite something witty ont he front of the invite?? Any suggestions?

[adel]

good idea Frank, as I am from the older generation I am happy to catch up with the younger generation who kick ass linguistically, last year on holiday in france I heard 'pas de soucis' which I liked its like don't worry in english, the other one is 'on s'eclate' . the english one is "to kiss ass' which I like but I would'nt dare say that to my boss.

[Frank]

Hi Adel,

"s'éclater" means to have a blast.

"pas de soucis" is indeed a very common way to say no probem, or it's no biggie (as an alternative to "c'est pas grave").

[adel]

Hi Frank,

S'eclater as blast is ok , for example when my son helped me with decorating my place, he brought one of his cds and played it at full volume yes that was a blast! but also s'eclater could be to burst of laughter as fou rire. I know I said I am happy to catch up, but blast in music sense is out of question for my ears.

[Frank]

Hi Adel,

This is not about music. To have a blast means to have a lot of fun.

Listening to very loud music would be s'exploser les oreilles.

[adel]

Frank, another one is "hnech" or "hneche"?I heard this one on french serie on tv. Hnech is policier policeman, Hnoucha is pluriel,if I am correct, Hnach means snake in arabic. Hnech Ninja would be police special forces.

[Frank]

Never heard that before, sorry.

[adel]

Hi Frank,

SPIRAL (ENGRENAGES)
Philippe Triboit and Pascal Chaumeil, France, 2005

La Capitaine Berthaud (Caroline Proust) in the film tells someone in the cast "parole de HNASH,HNECH), by the way feminin for policewoman is HANCHA,HANSHA.

[Crack1]

To say kick his/her ass borders vulgar.
It is tantamount to the four letter word