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cursing.in curse like a local

French · Exclamations

Putain de bordel de merde !

poo-TAN duh bor-DEL duh MEHRD · /py.tɛ̃ də bɔʁ.dɛl də mɛʁd/

For f***'s holy sake! — the full three-word combo

3/5 Watch your audience

genuinely rude; friends only, never at work

Literally

"Whore of brothel of shit"

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

How to use it

The maximalist stack, deployed when the situation truly earns it — the French equivalent of a long chained English curse. It's almost theatrical; saying the whole thing signals genuine exasperation (or comic overreaction). Aimed at the universe, not a person, so it stays out of fighting-words territory despite the length.

Heard in the wild

Putain de bordel de merde, l'imprimante est encore cassée !

For f***'s sake, the printer is broken AGAIN!

Where it lands

France (universal)

Quick answers

What does "Putain de bordel de merde !" mean?
In French, "Putain de bordel de merde !" means "For f***'s holy sake! — the full three-word combo". Literally it's "Whore of brothel of shit". The maximalist stack, deployed when the situation truly earns it — the French equivalent of a long chained English curse. It's almost theatrical; saying the whole thing signals genuine exasperation (or comic overreaction). Aimed at the universe, not a person, so it stays out of fighting-words territory despite the length.
Is "Putain de bordel 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 bordel de merde !"?
Say it "poo-TAN duh bor-DEL duh MEHRD" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: py.tɛ̃ də bɔʁ.dɛl 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 Putain de merde ! poo-TAN duh MEHRD For f***'s sake! / Goddammit! 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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