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Discover the French phrase "Fait chier"

On this page, we are going to explain you all the things you need to know about the funny phrase "Fait chier !". To be more precise, this includes a full definition of what it is and how to use it in a casual conversation with an audio example. Plus, we also added some useful stuff like dialogue example, slow pronunciation audio and more!


French to English

  • Translation : Oh crap!

  • Register : Informal - Funny - Swear

Pronunciation guide

Slow

Normal

  • IPA : / fɛ ʃje ! /

aesthetic french quote fait chier

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What does fait chier ! mean?

Definition

"Fait chier" literally means "makes poop" but implies "It makes me poop". That's a common French swear expression used to say "Shit" or "Crap" or "Damn".

How to use

"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.

Fun fact

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.)

Example in a dialogue

Dialogue

Bordel ! Il pleut comme vache qui pisse !

Dammit, it's raining like a peeing cow!

Oh non, ça fait chier !

Oh crap!

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