Get ready to learn all the things you need to know about the funny French phrase "Bordel de merde !". It includes a full definition of what it is and how you can use it in a conversation with an audio example. Not to mention the cool stuff we added like dialogue example, slow pronunciation audio and more!
Translation : Holy sh*t!
Register : Informal - Funny - Swear
Slow
Normal
IPA : / bɔʁdɛl də mɛʁd /
"Bordel de merde" is the common way to say "Holy shit" in French. It's a very popular expression.
"Merde / Putain / Bordel / Fait chier" are used exactly like "Crap / Fuck / Shit / etc." in English. But we like to make a sentence out of them according to the level of angriness and vulgarity we want.
So the more of "Merde / Putain / Bordel / Fait chier" we use in one sentence and the more pissed we are. And we also often add "Oh" before to make it more dramatic, let's see how it works...
Vulgar (Just one swear word):
Super vulgar (x2 combo):
Super mega vulgar (x3 combo):
Infinite vulgarity (x4 combo):
Finally, if you really want to express your frustration in formal contexts without using bad swear words, you can use instead:
N.B: It's not "formal" per se but "neutral" and so it won't be shocking
N.B.2: some translations above are a bit approximative since there is no direct English equivalent, but it reflects the spirit of each possibility as close as possible from the French version.
French pro trick: sometimes you start to say naturally "Merde" (Shit) but before finishing the first syllable you realize you are in a formal context and that it wouldn't be appropriate.
So, if you just said "Mmm" you can switch to "Mince" which is not vulgar and has the same meaning → Mmmm...ince.
But if you already said "Merrrr", instead of finishing the word "Merde" you say "Mercredi" (Wednesday) instead → Mer...credi. In this case people will know you almost said "Merde" but it's still better than actually saying it.)
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Un cycliste maladroit
A clumsy cyclist
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