French · Frustration
C'est la merde !
say la MEHRD · /sɛ la mɛʁd/
It's a disaster / We're screwed / What a mess
3/5 Watch your audience
genuinely rude; friends only, never at work
Literally
"It's the shit"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
Note the trap for English speakers: "c'est la merde" is NOT the American compliment "it's the shit" — it means the situation is a disaster. A strike, a system outage, a lost passport: "c'est la merde." "Être dans la merde" = to be in deep trouble. Coarse but everyday.
Heard in the wild
Le serveur est tombé en pleine soldes, c'est la merde.
The server crashed mid-sale — it's a disaster.
Where it lands
France (universal)
Quick answers
- What does "C'est la merde !" mean?
- In French, "C'est la merde !" means "It's a disaster / We're screwed / What a mess". Literally it's "It's the shit". Note the trap for English speakers: "c'est la merde" is NOT the American compliment "it's the shit" — it means the situation is a disaster. A strike, a system outage, a lost passport: "c'est la merde." "Être dans la merde" = to be in deep trouble. Coarse but everyday.
- Is "C'est la 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 "C'est la merde !"?
- Say it "say la MEHRD" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: sɛ la mɛʁd.
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! 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! Ça me fait chier ! sa muh fay SHYAY This pisses me off / What a pain in the ass
The same idea, elsewhere
Via concepts like "What a mess".
- German Scheiße! Shit! / Damn! — the all-purpose German expletive
- Greek σκατά Shit! / Crap! — and 'garbage / terrible' for anything low quality.
- Italian Che casino! What a mess! / What chaos!
- Japanese めちゃくちゃ A total mess / all messed up (or: super, as an intensifier)
- Korean 어떡해 Oh no / what do I do?! — the national noise of small panic.
- Polish masakra A disaster / unbelievable / total carnage — the all-purpose 'this is insane.'
- Portuguese Merda! Shit! / Crap!
- Russian Капец! That's it, it's over / Damn / Whoa
Reviewed by native speakers. Rate it differently? Tell us what we got wrong.