French Word of the Day: Chiant
This is a very common French word and it isn't as vulgar as you might assume.
Why do I need to know chiant?
Chiant - or the feminine version, chiante - is used a lot by the French but despite its origins it's not as impolite as you might think.
So, what does it mean?
Chiant/e - roughly pronounced she-ahnt - is the adjective derived from the verb chier which is a vulgar way to say 'to crap' or 'to shit'.
But despite this chiant/e isn't quite as offensive or distasteful as you might think.
It is frequently used in conversation to describe something as 'really irritating', 'really annoying', 'really boring' or in more extreme slang 'a pain in the ass'.
If you'd like to convey a similar meaning to chiant using a different word, you could go for assommant which means 'boring', 'tedious' or 'stupefyingly dull'.
Or alternatively you could use emmerdant which means 'annoying', 'irritating' or 'aggravating'.
Use it like this
Ce film est super chiant, ne va pas le voir. - 'This film is super annoying, don't go and see it.'
J'en ai marre de ma petite sœur : elle est chiante! - 'I'm sick of my little sister : she's really irritating!'
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Why do I need to know chiant?
Chiant - or the feminine version, chiante - is used a lot by the French but despite its origins it's not as impolite as you might think.
So, what does it mean?
Chiant/e - roughly pronounced she-ahnt - is the adjective derived from the verb chier which is a vulgar way to say 'to crap' or 'to shit'.
But despite this chiant/e isn't quite as offensive or distasteful as you might think.
It is frequently used in conversation to describe something as 'really irritating', 'really annoying', 'really boring' or in more extreme slang 'a pain in the ass'.
If you'd like to convey a similar meaning to chiant using a different word, you could go for assommant which means 'boring', 'tedious' or 'stupefyingly dull'.
Or alternatively you could use emmerdant which means 'annoying', 'irritating' or 'aggravating'.
Use it like this
Ce film est super chiant, ne va pas le voir. - 'This film is super annoying, don't go and see it.'
J'en ai marre de ma petite sœur : elle est chiante! - 'I'm sick of my little sister : she's really irritating!'
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