French · Frustration
Ras-le-bol !
rah luh BOL · /ʁa lə bɔl/
Fed up / I've had it up to here
1/5 Grandma-safe
mild, playful; fine on daytime TV
Literally
"Level with the bowl (full to the brim)"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
The clean, socially acceptable "fed up" — even used as a noun in the news ("un ras-le-bol général" = widespread public frustration). Say it anywhere. It's the polite ceiling before you drop into the coarser "ras-le-cul."
Heard in the wild
Ras-le-bol des réunions inutiles !
I've had it up to here with useless meetings!
Where it lands
France (universal)
Quick answers
- What does "Ras-le-bol !" mean?
- In French, "Ras-le-bol !" means "Fed up / I've had it up to here". Literally it's "Level with the bowl (full to the brim)". The clean, socially acceptable "fed up" — even used as a noun in the news ("un ras-le-bol général" = widespread public frustration). Say it anywhere. It's the polite ceiling before you drop into the coarser "ras-le-cul."
- Is "Ras-le-bol !" 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 "Ras-le-bol !"?
- Say it "rah luh BOL" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: ʁa lə bɔl.
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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