{"id":269,"date":"2022-04-06T11:25:36","date_gmt":"2022-04-06T09:25:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/?p=269"},"modified":"2024-02-19T09:06:42","modified_gmt":"2024-02-19T08:06:42","slug":"what-is-verlan-in-french","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/what-is-verlan-in-french\/","title":{"rendered":"What is \u201cverlan\u201d in French? Do the French really use it?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>I&rsquo;m sure you sometimes have trouble understanding recent movies, TV shows or certain discussions between young people! No ?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>I remember once I was young&#8230;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>There are two main problems with this:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Completely new vocabulary words<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Completely new vocabulary words<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>I know, the 2nd problem is the same as the first, but actually&#8230; not quite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Le VERLAN : Qu&#039;est-ce que c&#039;est ? Les Fran\u00e7ais le parlent vraiment ??\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/OguMUnRF0RE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-container uagb-block-af8c0edc alignfull uagb-is-root-container\"><div class=\"uagb-container-inner-blocks-wrap\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-container uagb-block-35a8548f\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/img-pdf-bonus-french.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1925\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/img-pdf-bonus-french.png 600w, https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/img-pdf-bonus-french-300x250.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-container uagb-block-64fd7e53\">\n<p class=\"has-large-font-size\"><strong>PDF Bonus<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We have prepared a <strong>free PDF<\/strong> to help you <strong>understand and master the French slang VERLAN<\/strong>. <br>\ud83d\udc49 <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/3fPwgUV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Download it for free<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the end, you will have <strong>exercises <\/strong>to practice with the <strong>correction<\/strong>. \ud83d\udc4d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The 1st point<\/strong> is clear. A lot of new words, or words that are already known but whose meaning changes, are going to be introduced into the language by the youth. I think this is the same in all languages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There is no miracle, it is by listening, by understanding the context, by listening again that, little by little, you will understand them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The second point<\/strong> is a little different. You hear a new word, you think it is new, but in fact you already know it! It&rsquo;s just that the phonetic is completely different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/giphy.com\/embed\/wHE6Dd6RCVHQfjK5dy\" width=\"480\" height=\"400\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"giphy-embed\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p>Don&rsquo;t worry, there is a \u00ab\u00a0certain\u00a0\u00bb logic in this phonetics that is different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let&rsquo;s see it together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-large-font-size\" style=\"color:#60bceb\"><strong>Do you like learning French with videos?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Receive <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/learn-french-fun.com\/newsletter\" target=\"_blank\">our free video newsletter<\/a> every Friday in your e-mail box. You will get <strong>3 \u00ab\u00a0Tips &amp; Tricks\u00a0\u00bb<\/strong> on <strong>grammar<\/strong>, <strong>vocabulary<\/strong>, <strong>phonetics <\/strong>or <strong>French culture<\/strong>.<br>\ud83d\udc49\ud83d\udc49 <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/learn-french-fun.com\/newsletter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sign up now!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/learn-french-fun.com\/newsletter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/BLOG-newsletter.jpg\" alt=\"Every Friday afternoon, a French-language video delivered straight to your inbox, with three tips and tricks on the French language.\" class=\"wp-image-1882\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/BLOG-newsletter.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/BLOG-newsletter-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is \u201cverlan\u201d in French?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>It&rsquo;s slang, a spoken language, which consists in reversing the order of the syllables. \u201cmerci\u201d becomes \u201ccimer\u201d.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Do you know what a syllable is? But yes, it&rsquo;s a \u00ab\u00a0linguistic unit\u00a0\u00bb, something that is in between the phoneme and the word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Okay, an example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Bonjour <\/strong>\u2192 2 syllables: <strong>bon<\/strong>&#8211;<strong>jour<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Bizarre <\/strong>(weird) \u2192 3 syllables: <strong>bi<\/strong>&#8211;<strong>zar<\/strong>&#8211;<strong>re<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Is that clear? Do you understand what a syllable is?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What about verlan? Well, verlan &#8211; as the name suggests &#8211; will reverse the syllables. In a way, you will speak backwards, in the other direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Oh?!?!? \u00ab\u00a0Backwards\u00a0\u00bb \u2192 <strong>l\u2019envers<\/strong> in French&#8230; <strong>Verlan<\/strong>&#8230; l\u2019envers-verlan. Do you understand?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><strong>But WHY ?????? Wasn&rsquo;t the French language complicated enough?<\/strong><br><strong>It was necessary to speak it backwards ???<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/giphy.com\/embed\/2WxWfiavndgcM\" width=\"480\" height=\"272\" frameBorder=\"0\" class=\"giphy-embed\" allowFullScreen><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p>I know&#8230; Sorry&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">An example of the use of verlan&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Pattaya Tu touche pas \u00e0 mes frites\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/TqHk5F9jhq8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Honestly, I can understand her! French fries are sacred, you don&rsquo;t touch them \ud83d\ude00 \ud83d\ude00<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Tu touches \u00e0 mes tefri je m\u2019occupe de oit !<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">(You touch one of my fries, I&rsquo;ll beat the shit out of you!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A \u201cfry\u201d (<strong>frite<\/strong>), in verlan becomes a \u00ab\u00a0<strong>te<\/strong>&#8211;<strong>fri<\/strong>\u00ab\u00a0.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u00ab\u00a0You\u00a0\u00bb (<strong>toi<\/strong>) becomes \u00ab\u00a0<strong>oit<\/strong>\u00ab\u00a0.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>And so on&#8230; We reverse the pronunciation of the syllables.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Some rules with the verlan<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>We <strong>don&rsquo;t care about spelling<\/strong> at all (basically, it&rsquo;s an oral language, don&rsquo;t forget)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\" start=\"2\">\n<li><strong>No rigor <\/strong>on the number of syllables. In general, the open syllables, those ending with a vowel, are swallowed, we do not keep them.<br>The word \u00ab\u00a0Bizarre\u00a0\u00bb, in slang, is called \u00ab\u00a0zarbi\u00a0\u00bb.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\" start=\"3\">\n<li>Short words that have only <strong>one syllable are still transformed<\/strong>: \u201cToi\u201d \u2192 \u00ab\u00a0oit\u00a0\u00bb.<br>I told you\u2026 No rigor!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Odd for France, this lack of rigor, no? \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Do all French people speak \u201cverlan\u201d?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>No, of course not, but all French people understand it &#8211; or almost all French people\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You&rsquo;ll find it regularly in movies, in songs and even in literature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you want to discover it in writing, I recommend this book by Zerca, \u00ab\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Paname-Underground-French-Zarca\/dp\/B073FD5ZTD\/ref=sr_1_1?crid=VKSNH7IRSSF4&amp;keywords=paname+underground&amp;qid=1649234157&amp;sprefix=paname+underground%2Caps%2C130&amp;sr=8-1\">Paname underground<\/a>\u00ab\u00a0, which received a literary award, the Prix de Flore, in 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Can all French words be used in \u201cverlan\u201d?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes and no.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Next question? \ud83d\ude00<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I told you, there is no linguistic rigor with verlan, it is a slang, a spoken language that is used in a certain context. So it&rsquo;s not a rule that defines if a word can be used in verlan, but do people use this or that word in verlan!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here a link to a dictionary that lists the most used slang words: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dictionnaires.com\/verlan\/\">https:\/\/www.dictionnaires.com\/verlan\/<\/a>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Conclusion<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p>So there you have it \u2013 verlan! Just like with any other language, it may take a little bit of practice to get the hang of speaking verlan fluently. But once you do, you\u2019ll be able to communicate with the locals in no time! And who knows, maybe you\u2019ll even start using verlan back at home too!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ask your questions in comments below, I answer to everyone \ud83d\ude00<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.buymeacoffee.com\/learnfrenchfun\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/bmc-encart-blog.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1885\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/bmc-encart-blog.png 600w, https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/bmc-encart-blog-300x200.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Articles that might interest you: <\/h3>\n\n\n<ul class=\"lcp_catlist\" id=\"lcp_instance_0\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/french-vocabulary-of-drinks\/\">French Vocabulary of Drinks<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/10-french-idiomatic-expressions-with-animals\/\">10 french idiomatic expressions with animals<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/10-french-idioms-related-to-music\/\">10 French idioms related to music<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/what-english-words-are-from-french\/\">What English words are from French?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/french-all-purpose-words\/\">French all-purpose words<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/french-vocabulary-for-the-holidays\/\">French vocabulary for the holidays<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/make-his-own-french-flashcards-with-vocabulary\/\">Make his own French flashcards with vocabulary<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/some-tips-and-tricks-to-enrich-your-french-vocabulary\/\">Some tips &#038; tricks to enrich your French vocabulary<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/5-french-idioms-with-everyday-objects\/\">5 French idioms with everyday objects<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/how-to-eat-like-a-french-person\/\">How to eat like a French person?<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Do you know what \u201cverlan\u201d is? It\u2019s a type of French that uses the inverse order of the words. For example, \u201cparler\u201d (to speak) becomes \u201clerpa\u201d. It can be confusing for students at first, because it feels like you\u2019re speaking an entirely different language! In reality, however, verlan is simply a way of speaking Standard French in a more informal way. And despite what some people may think, the French really do use verlan! So if you want to fit in with the locals while you\u2019re in France, be sure to learn a few phrases in verlan!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":275,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-french-vocabulary"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/montage-verlan.jpg",1200,800,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/montage-verlan-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/montage-verlan-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/montage-verlan-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/montage-verlan-1024x683.jpg",1024,683,true],"hd_qu_size2":["https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/montage-verlan.jpg",400,267,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/montage-verlan.jpg",1200,800,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/montage-verlan.jpg",1200,800,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Christian","author_link":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/author\/christian\/"},"uagb_comment_info":7,"uagb_excerpt":"Do you know what \u201cverlan\u201d is? It\u2019s a type of French that uses the inverse order of the words. For example, \u201cparler\u201d (to speak) becomes \u201clerpa\u201d. It can be confusing for students at first, because it feels like you\u2019re speaking an entirely different language! In reality, however, verlan is simply a way of speaking Standard\u2026","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=269"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2406,"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269\/revisions\/2406"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}