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French Word of the Day: Bader

The Local France
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French Word of the Day: Bader
Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond

One of an increasing number of French slang terms that are actually English words made into an 'er' verb.

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Why do I need to know bader?

Because if you’re feeling a bit blue, then this is a great word for you.

What does it mean?

Bader – usually pronounced bah-day - is a slang term taken originally from English. The root of the word is ‘bad,’ and when put into -ER verb form in French, it means to have anxiety, worry or depression.

You probably will not find this word in the dictionary, and as such the proper conjugation for bader - whether you ought to use it as a reflexive verb or not - depends largely on the speaker. Whether you say 'ça me fait bader' (that makes me depressed) or je bade (I am depressed), both are technically acceptable.

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Though, you will most often see it used interchangeably with another French verb: déprimer, which means ‘to depress.’

It can also be used to mean ‘depressing’ - if you want to use it in this sense, you can say ‘badant.’

Bader is not the only French slang term to take its root word from English, some notable others are ‘swiper,’ ‘checker’ and ‘scroller’ which all mean pretty much what you’d think: to swipe, to check, to scroll, respectively, usually used for social media or online dating sites.

This word is definitely one you can use if you wish to parlez le langage des jeunes (speak the language of the youth), but it might not be as commonly known or understood in former or inter-generational settings.

Use it like this

C’est badant de voir ses amis traîner sans toi. – It’s depressing to see your friends hangout without you.

Ça me fait bader de penser que je vais manquer les vacances à cause du Covid. Être malade pendant les vacances, c'est le pire. – It depresses me to think I will miss my holidays because of Covid. Being sick during vacation is the worst.

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