Regional and Other Words Used in French (Parler Comme Les Français Partout)

My first summer in Marseille, a friend pointed at a woman in huge sunglasses and said,
« Regarde la cagole /ka.ɡɔl/ là-bas. »
I proudly checked my mental dictionary: cage? glue? crowbar? Nothing.

Later I learned une cagole is Marseillais slang for a very flashy, over-the-top girl.
The same week in Lyon, someone called a kid un gone /ɡɔn/, and in Paris a colleague told me,
« Arrête de kiffer /ki.fe/, c’est juste une boulangerie. »
“Stop freaking loving it, it’s just a bakery.”

That’s when it clicked: even when everyone is speaking French, the words aren’t always the same French. Regional slang, Arabic borrowings, English imports—modern French is a giant linguistic buffet.

Let’s walk through some of the regional and borrowed words you’ll hear all the time, so they sound fun instead of terrifying.

The Quick Primer

There are three big families of “other” words you’ll meet in French:

1. Regional words inside France
   From Marseille to Lille, people keep their local flavour.
   
2. Borrowed words from other languages
   Especially Arabic, English, and Italian.
   
3. Youth & informal words that spread everywhere
   They often start as regional or immigrant slang, then go national.
   

Important things to keep in mind:

• Many of these words are informal or very informal.
  
• Some are totally fine at work, some are better with friends only.
  
• Understanding them is essential; using them yourself is optional (but fun).
  

We’ll focus on useful, common items you can safely recognise and sometimes use.

Regional Words Across France

These words come from regional languages (Occitan, Provençal, Breton, etc.) or strong local cultures. You’ll still hear them in everyday conversations.

South of France: Marseille, Nice, Toulouse…

Example sentence:

Il est complètement fada /fa.da/.
He’s totally crazy (in a kind of cute way).

Lyon and Around

North and “Ch’ti” Area

You won’t use these much unless you live there, but you’ll see them in movies, series, and jokes.

West, Brittany and Atlantic Coast

You don’t need to memorise every regional term. But recognising a few like pitchoun, fada, gone, and cagole will help you follow conversations and TV shows.

Everyday Words From Arabic Used in French

Modern French slang is full of words from Arabic, especially in cities and among younger speakers. Many are now completely mainstream.

kiffer /ki.fe/ is one you’ll hear constantly:

• Je kiffe cette chanson.
  /ʒə kif sɛt ʃɑ̃.sɔ̃/
  I love this song.
  
• Tu kiffes Paris ?
  /ty kif pa.ʁi/
  Do you like Paris?
  

le seum /sœm/ is very popular with younger speakers:

• J’ai le seum.
  /ʒɛ lə sœm/
  I’m so annoyed / gutted.
  

These are fine with friends, classmates, colleagues your age. Avoid them in very formal situations with your boss’s boss.

English Words Used in French (Anglicismes)

French likes to complain about English influence… and then happily say le week-end /lə wi.kɛnd/ and un mail /œ̃ mɛl/ all day.

Here are some of the most useful ones:

Examples:

On se voit ce week-end ?
/ɔ̃ sə vwa sə wi.kɛnd/
Shall we see each other this weekend?

Envoie-moi un mail.
/ɑ̃.vwa.mwa œ̃ mɛl/
Send me an email.

Most French people don’t even realise these are “English” anymore—they’re just part of everyday language.

Other Borrowed Favourites (Italian, Japanese, etc.)

French also borrows from lots of other languages, especially for food, fashion, and pop culture.

From Italian

From Japanese (via global culture)

You’ll hear these in every big French city, especially around food and geek culture.

Youth and Informal Words That Travel Everywhere

Some words start as regional or minority slang and then go national thanks to music, social media, and TV.

Here are a few that are common, but still quite informal:

Examples:

Ce concert, c’était un truc de ouf.
/sə kɔ̃.sɛʁ se.tɛ œ̃ tʁyk də uf/
That concert was insane.

Il est relou aujourd’hui.
/il ɛ ʁə.lu o.ʒuʁ.dɥi/
He’s really annoying today.

Use these mainly with friends or relaxed colleagues, not with your professor in a serious oral exam.

Region Notes (France, Québec, Belgium, Switzerland)

France (Hexagone)
You’ll hear all of the above, especially:

• Arabic borrowings (kiffer, bled, seum)
  
• English words (week-end, mail, parking)
  
• Regional words in local areas (fada, pitchoun, gone)
  

Québec (Canada)
Lots of influence from English, but often different choices:

• car = une auto /yn o.to/ or un char /œ̃ ʃaʁ/
  
• job = une job /yn dʒɔb/ (very common)
  

Some of the French urban slang (seum, kiffer) is less common.

Belgium & Switzerland
Mostly similar to France, but you’ll find a few local surprises and pronunciation differences. English and Arabic borrowings are still widely understood.

For your purposes: knowing the France French usage already gives you a strong base everywhere.

Mini Dialogues

Dialogue 1 — Kiffer and Ouf

Je kiffe cette ville, c’est un truc de ouf.
/ʒə kif sɛt vil se tœ̃ tʁyk də uf/
I love this city, it’s insane.

Grave, surtout le week-end.
/ɡʁav syʁ.tu lə wi.kɛnd/
Totally, especially on the weekend.

Dialogue 2 — Regional Word in Marseille

C’est ton pitchoun ?
/se tɔ̃ pi.tʃun/
Is that your little one?

Oui, mon fils. Il est un peu fada parfois.
/wi mɔ̃ fis il ɛ œ̃ pø fa.da paʁ.fwa/
Yes, my son. He’s a bit crazy sometimes.

Dialogue 3 — English Loanwords at Work

Tu peux me transférer le mail ?
/ty pø mə tʁɑ̃s.fe.ʁe lə mɛl/
Can you forward me the email?

Oui, je te l’envoie tout de suite.
/wi ʒə tə lɑ̃.vwa tu də sɥit/
Yes, I’ll send it to you right away.

Quick Reference

Five-Minute Practice Plan

1. Recognition Drill
   Read the list of words and quickly say whether they are:
   R = régional, A = arabe, E = anglais, O = autre langue.
   Example: kiffer (A), week-end (E), pitchoun (R), pizza (O).
   
2. Two Sentences Per Group
   Make:
   
   • 2 sentences with kiffer /ki.fe/ and seum /sœm/
     
   • 2 sentences with week-end /wi.kɛnd/ and mail /mɛl/
     
   • 2 sentences with ouf /uf/ and relou /ʁə.lu/
     
3. Mini Role-Play
   Imagine you’re in Marseille. Create a tiny dialogue in your head using pitchoun or fada and say it out loud.
   
4. Spot the Register
   Choose 5 words and decide: would you use them with
   
   • your best friend,
     
   • your teacher,
     
   • or your boss?
     Say your choices out loud.
     
5. Shadow a Dialogue
   Pick one of the Mini Dialogues and repeat it three times, copying rhythm and pronunciation as closely as you can.
   

Talking Like a Yak From Everywhere at Once

The magic of modern French is that it’s not just “pure” textbook French—it’s Paris plus Marseille, a bit of Arabic rhythm, a slice of English, and some Italian food on top. Once you recognise words like kiffer, week-end, pitchoun, and ouf, you stop feeling lost and start hearing the music of real-life French.

And who knows—one day, you might even be the person calmly explaining to another confused learner what cagole means.