French · Frustration
C'est chiant !
say SHYAHN · /sɛ ʃjɑ̃/
It's a pain / annoying as hell
2/5 Bar-safe
coarse but friendly; fine among acquaintances
Literally
"It's shitting (annoying)"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
From "chier," but landing softer — the everyday "it's a pain in the neck." A tedious form, a long queue, an annoying rule: "c'est chiant." "Chiant comme la pluie" (annoying as the rain) is the vivid version. Coarse-ish but heard constantly, even at work among peers.
Heard in the wild
Faut tout refaire ? C'est chiant.
We have to redo it all? What a pain.
Where it lands
France (universal)
Quick answers
- What does "C'est chiant !" mean?
- In French, "C'est chiant !" means "It's a pain / annoying as hell". Literally it's "It's shitting (annoying)". From "chier," but landing softer — the everyday "it's a pain in the neck." A tedious form, a long queue, an annoying rule: "c'est chiant." "Chiant comme la pluie" (annoying as the rain) is the vivid version. Coarse-ish but heard constantly, even at work among peers.
- Is "C'est chiant !" offensive?
- It's on the mild end — 2/5 (Bar-safe) on the Punch-o-Meter. coarse but friendly; fine among acquaintances.
- How do you pronounce "C'est chiant !"?
- Say it "say SHYAHN" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: sɛ ʃjɑ̃.
Related in French
Putain ! poo-TAN Damn! / F***! / The all-purpose intensifier — punctuation, really 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! C'est nul ! say NOOL That sucks / That's lame Putain de bordel de merde ! poo-TAN duh bor-DEL duh MEHRD For f***'s holy sake! — the full three-word combo Nom de Dieu ! nohn duh DYUH Goddammit! / For God's sake!
The same idea, elsewhere
Via concepts like "Tough luck".
- German Mist! Crap! / Rats! — the family-friendly 'damn'
- Greek σιγά Big deal / whatever / calm down / as if — dismissive minimizing.
- Italian Merda! Shit! / Damn it!
- Japanese 勘弁して Give me a break / spare me / oh, come on
- Korean 아이고 Oh dear / oof / good grief — the sound of Korea sitting down after a long day.
- Polish szlag Damn it — 'szlag by to trafił' = may a stroke strike it.
- Portuguese Chato Annoying / boring / a pain
- Russian Капец! That's it, it's over / Damn / Whoa
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