French · Frustration
J'en ai ras-le-cul !
zhahn ay rah luh KOO · /ʒɑ̃.n‿e ʁa lə ky/
I'm f***ing sick of this
3/5 Watch your audience
genuinely rude; friends only, never at work
Literally
"I have it up to the ass"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
The coarse escalation of "j'en ai marre" — "full up to the ass" with whatever it is. Real, venting frustration. The clean version swaps "cul" for "bol" (ras-le-bol) and can be said anywhere; this one is friends-and-fury only.
Heard in the wild
J'en ai ras-le-cul de ce boulot.
I'm f***ing sick of this job.
Where it lands
France (universal)
Quick answers
- What does "J'en ai ras-le-cul !" mean?
- In French, "J'en ai ras-le-cul !" means "I'm f***ing sick of this". Literally it's "I have it up to the ass". The coarse escalation of "j'en ai marre" — "full up to the ass" with whatever it is. Real, venting frustration. The clean version swaps "cul" for "bol" (ras-le-bol) and can be said anywhere; this one is friends-and-fury only.
- Is "J'en ai ras-le-cul !" 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 "J'en ai ras-le-cul !"?
- Say it "zhahn ay rah luh KOO" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: ʒɑ̃.n‿e ʁa lə ky.
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!
Reviewed by native speakers. Rate it differently? Tell us what we got wrong.