The accent of south-west France is, apparently, considered the sexiest French accent there is. You can hear the team at The Local discussing this accent in the latest episode of the Talking France podcast. Listen here or on the link below
But there are also some words and phrases that you will only hear in the south-west. Here’s our brief guide to some words it would be good to know if you’re travelling around the bottom left of the country.
Adieu – Hello! Goodbye! (but not, crucially, I love you)... Think salut, or ciao: a multi-purpose good-to-see-you, see-you greeting that you can use at the start or end of a conversation in south-west France. In deepest Occitan, you may also hear adishatz – roughly pronounced adi-sha – for goodbye.
Oh con ! – Speaking of greetings, you may also hear someone use this as a greeting. It’s not as bad as it sounds, honest. It’s an expression of happy surprise among friends – think “Bloody hell – it’s you. How are you?”. Best advice, don’t use it yourself, unless you know your interlocutor pretty well.
Une poche – You may know it as a trouser pocket. In south-west France you may also be asked if you want a small purchase to be put in ‘une poche’ – a small, usually paper, bag.
READ ALSO Why French sounds so different in the south-west
Chocolatine – Look, just accept it. Anyone who calls the delicious pastry a pain au chocolat is plain wrong, and folks in the south-west of the country, who call it by this name are correct. There are even T-shirts to remind you of the right word to use.
Une cagade – if you hear someone say “j’ai fait une cagade”, they mean that they have made a mistake, such as asking for a pain au chocolat in a bakery in Auch.
Mila diou or mille dieux – Among older, more polite, less cursey south-westerners, the phrase “Mila diou” or “mille dieux” may precede “c’est une cagade”. It literally means ‘a thousand gods’ and is an expression of frustration - in the rest of France you might hear mince, purée or (for a more explicit version) putain.
Dia – Not so much a word as an expression. Think ‘Oh, god!’ It can also pop up at the beginning of a sentence, such as “Dia, comme c’est beau”.
Bouducon – You may also, occasionally hear this exclamation. It’s basically ‘Good god’, with an added ‘con’, which, if you recall from earlier, isn’t quite as strong a sweary word in the south west as it might be elsewhere.
Tcharer – Chat. The French version of the Occitan “chará”, meaning “to talk, to discuss”, and is unique to Gascony and eastern Languedoc.
ça daille – That sucks. The perfect phrase to use upon realising you have to leave south-west France because you have to go back to work – which also has its own very special phrase: “aller au maille”.
La cagnard – not a word you’re likely to hear in the winter months, even in the sunny south-west, because it means a heatwave.
Un jaune – Important this one. It means a pastis – the yellow aniseed adult-only beverage that it’s almost a legal requirement to try in the south of the country. Enjoy responsibly.
Pinter – to drink … a lot. Usually alcoholic, and often to regretful levels.
READ ALSO The regional French slang you'll need for travelling around France
Jobard – while the French have endless ways to describe crazy people and situations, south-west France’s trademark alternative to fou is jobard – and its feminine version jobarde as well, of course.
C’est gavé – that’s expensive / too much. You can also use it positively, like this: C'est gavé bien – which means that’s very / too good
Cagouille – over in Charente, you may hear this word instead of escargot for snails. It’s comes from the old Occitan word “cogolha”, which is itself derived from the Latin “conchylia”. Inhabitants of the Charente are sometimes nicknamed “Cagouillards”.
La malle – car boot or trunk. Where you put your luggage. In standard French this is un coffre.
Péguer – to stick, but not necessarily in a good way. This south-western French term has made it into a few dictionaries as a synonym for coller – but it’s not entirely accurate. Think about your shoes sticking to the floor of a dive bar. It’s that horrible sensation of sticky that the word gets across.
Espanter – another word that French has inherited from Occitan, and still quite commonly used in the region. It means to astonish / amaze. Le type ne sait même pas ce que c’est qu’une chocolatine, ça m’espante – this guy doesn’t know what a chocolatine is, that astonishes me.
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