French · Frustration
J'en ai marre !
zhahn ay MAR · /ʒɑ̃.n‿e maʁ/
I'm fed up / I've had it
1/5 Grandma-safe
mild, playful; fine on daytime TV
Literally
"I have enough of it"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
Completely clean and completely essential — the everyday "I'm fed up." Safe with anyone, from your boss to your grandmother. "J'en ai ras-le-bol" is the slightly stronger clean cousin; escalate to "ras-le-cul" when you want the coarse version.
Heard in the wild
J'en ai marre d'attendre le bus.
I'm fed up with waiting for the bus.
Where it lands
France (universal)
Quick answers
- What does "J'en ai marre !" mean?
- In French, "J'en ai marre !" means "I'm fed up / I've had it". Literally it's "I have enough of it". Completely clean and completely essential — the everyday "I'm fed up." Safe with anyone, from your boss to your grandmother. "J'en ai ras-le-bol" is the slightly stronger clean cousin; escalate to "ras-le-cul" when you want the coarse version.
- Is "J'en ai marre !" offensive?
- It's on the mild end — 1/5 (Grandma-safe) on the Punch-o-Meter. mild, playful; fine on daytime TV.
- How do you pronounce "J'en ai marre !"?
- Say it "zhahn ay MAR" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: ʒɑ̃.n‿e maʁ.
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 "Calm down".
- German Mir reicht's! I've had it! / That's the last straw!
- Greek σιγά Big deal / whatever / calm down / as if — dismissive minimizing.
- Japanese いい加減にしろ Knock it off / that's enough / cut it out
- Polish spoko Chill / no worries / it's fine — the great Polish de-escalator.
- Russian Остынь! Calm down / Chill out
- Spanish No hay bronca No problem / no worries
- Turkish Aman! Oh come on / whatever / good grief
- German Scheiß drauf! Screw it! / To hell with it!
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