Le Verlan - Le wiki de Mlle Williams

Le Verlan
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 France - 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.
Let's start with the word I'envers, which means "the reverse." Separate I'envers into its two syllables Yen and vers.
Invert them, put them together into a single word, and then adjust the spelling:
I'envers... Ten vers... vers Ten... versl'en... verslen... verlen... verlan
Thus, you can see that verlan is I'envers pronouns a I'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
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///c, 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 1980's,
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 use caution when talking to someone you vouvoie.
balpeau verlan of peau de balle
meaning: nothing, zip
barjot
verlan oijobard meaning: crazy, insane
unsub
verlan of un bus
meaning: bus
etre dans le tarcol
verlan of etre dans le coltar
meaning: to be exhausted
un keum
un beur (now reub)
un Arabe
verlan of un mec
meaning: guy, dude
meaning: Arab
bleca
verlan of cable
meaning: trendy, in
u n brelica verla n of u n calibre
meaning: revolver
une cecla
ce'fran
verlan offrangais
meaning: forget it, drop it
un lepou
verlan of un poulet
meaning: police officer, pig
looc verlan of cool (from English)
verlan of louche
meaning: shady, dubious
une cinepi verlan of une piscine
meaning: pool
une deban
meaning: woman, wife
un skeud verlan of un disque
meaning: crazy
une peclot
verlan of une dope
meaning: cigarette
le pera
verlan of le rap
meaning: rap (music)
verlan of un mec
meaning: guy
meaning: it's boring, annoying
ve rla n of u n cafe
meaning: cafe
etre au fumpar verlan of etre au parfun
meaning: to be in the know
une gnolba verlan of une bagnole
une roquebar verlan of une
baroque
meaning: house
relou
verlan of lourd
meaning: heavy
meaning: car, junker
geudin
verlan of dingue
meaning: crazy
jourbon
verlan of bonjour
meaning: hello
les rempa
verlan of les parents
meaning: parents
un reuf verlan of unfrere
meaning: brother
un kebla verlan of un Black (from Engli
meaning: black person
une reum
verlan of une mere
meaning: mother
keblo verlan of bloque
meaning: blocked, caught
un keuf (now feuk) verlan of un///c
la tourv
verlan of la voiture
meaning: car
verlan of le metro
meaning: subway
zarbi
verlan of bizarre
un zarfal
verlan of un falzar
meaning: pants, trousers
une zesgon
verlan of une
gonzesse
meaning: girl, chick
un quern
u n feca
meaning: to go out
ouf verlan offou
meaning: record, album
fais ieche verlan of fais chier
tisor verlan of sortir
meaning: strange
verlan of une bande
meaning: group
verlan of partir
meaning: to leave
le trome
meaning: cool, plugged in
chelou
tirape
meaning: cool
une meuf verlan of une femme
verlan of branche
bouteille
verlan of laisse tomber
meaning: French
chebran
verlan of une
meaning: bottle
laisse beton
verlan of une classe
meaning: class
une teibou
un reup verlan of un pere
meaning: father
meaning cop, police officer
une reus
verlan of une soeur
meaning: sister
zyva
verlan of vas-y
meaning: go