French Expression of the Day: Les toxicos
You'll want to be sure to only use this French expression in the right contexts.
Why do I need to know les toxicos?
Because you might want to avoid using this term if you simply want to describe someone as behaving in a toxic manner.
What does it mean?
Les toxicos – roughly pronounced lay tox-ee-kohs – is the French slang term to describe “drug addict”.
The English equivalent might be “junkie”.
The word comes from a French word for drug addiction more generally. “Toxicomanie” refers to the physical and/or psychological dependence on chemical substances without prescription or therapeutic justification.
The official term for a person addicted to substances is “toximane” - and les toxicos is a shortened, more informal version of the term.
In French, you can also use the term “dépendance” to refer to addiction as well.
READ MORE: French Expression of the Day: Les stups
Some may use this term in a derogatory way, though its usage depends on context and the person speaking.
Use it like this
Le politicien a critiqué le manque de financement de la police et a cité le fait qu'il y avait trop de toxicos près de la gare. – The politician criticised a lack of funding for police and cited the fact that there were too many drug addicts by the train station.
L'homme m'a dit que je devais faire attention en traversant le parc car il y avait beaucoup de toxicos, mais je me sentais en sécurité.– The man told me that I should be careful when crossing the park because there are many junkies, but I felt safe.
See Also
Why do I need to know les toxicos?
Because you might want to avoid using this term if you simply want to describe someone as behaving in a toxic manner.
What does it mean?
Les toxicos – roughly pronounced lay tox-ee-kohs – is the French slang term to describe “drug addict”.
The English equivalent might be “junkie”.
The word comes from a French word for drug addiction more generally. “Toxicomanie” refers to the physical and/or psychological dependence on chemical substances without prescription or therapeutic justification.
The official term for a person addicted to substances is “toximane” - and les toxicos is a shortened, more informal version of the term.
In French, you can also use the term “dépendance” to refer to addiction as well.
READ MORE: French Expression of the Day: Les stups
Some may use this term in a derogatory way, though its usage depends on context and the person speaking.
Use it like this
Le politicien a critiqué le manque de financement de la police et a cité le fait qu'il y avait trop de toxicos près de la gare. – The politician criticised a lack of funding for police and cited the fact that there were too many drug addicts by the train station.
L'homme m'a dit que je devais faire attention en traversant le parc car il y avait beaucoup de toxicos, mais je me sentais en sécurité.– The man told me that I should be careful when crossing the park because there are many junkies, but I felt safe.
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