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French · The Basics

Putain de merde !

poo-TAN duh MEHRD · /py.tɛ̃ də mɛʁd/

For f***'s sake! / Goddammit!

3/5 Watch your audience

genuinely rude; friends only, never at work

Literally

"Whore of shit"

Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.

How to use it

The natural escalation when a single "putain" won't carry the load. Stack them: real anger, real frustration, dropped-the-lasagne energy. Still friends-and-family register, not a fighting phrase — it's aimed at the universe, not a person.

Heard in the wild

Putain de merde, j'ai raté le train !

Goddammit, I missed the train!

Where it lands

France (universal)

Quick answers

What does "Putain de merde !" mean?
In French, "Putain de merde !" means "For f***'s sake! / Goddammit!". Literally it's "Whore of shit". The natural escalation when a single "putain" won't carry the load. Stack them: real anger, real frustration, dropped-the-lasagne energy. Still friends-and-family register, not a fighting phrase — it's aimed at the universe, not a person.
Is "Putain de merde !" offensive?
It's genuinely rude — a 3/5 (Watch your audience) on the Punch-o-Meter. Fine among friends, never at work or with people you've just met.
How do you pronounce "Putain de merde !"?
Say it "poo-TAN duh MEHRD" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: py.tɛ̃ də mɛʁd.

Related in French

Putain ! poo-TAN Damn! / F***! / The all-purpose intensifier — punctuation, really Merde ! MEHRD Shit! / Damn! — and, bizarrely, 'good luck' Bordel ! bor-DEL What a mess! / Chaos! — also 'what the hell' as an intensifier Ta gueule ! ta GUHL Shut up! / Shut your mouth! Zut ! ZOOT Darn! / Shoot! Crotte ! KROT Poop! / Darn! — the polite-company dodge for 'merde'

The same idea, elsewhere

Via concepts like "Damn".

how to say "Damn" →

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