French · Joy & Hype
C'est ouf !
say OOF · /sɛ uf/
That's insane! / Crazy! (good or bad)
1/5 Grandma-safe
mild, playful; fine on daytime TV
Literally
"It's crazy ('ouf' = verlan for 'fou')"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
"Ouf" is "fou" (crazy) flipped backwards — verlan, the back-slang that's now fully mainstream. Utterly current among anyone under 50, clean, and endlessly useful for anything astonishing. "Un truc de ouf" = an insane thing. This is the verlan item everyone actually says.
Heard in the wild
Il a couru le marathon en 2h30, c'est ouf !
He ran the marathon in 2:30, that's insane!
Where it lands
France (universal); verlan, mainstream since the 2000s
Quick answers
- What does "C'est ouf !" mean?
- In French, "C'est ouf !" means "That's insane! / Crazy! (good or bad)". Literally it's "It's crazy ('ouf' = verlan for 'fou')". "Ouf" is "fou" (crazy) flipped backwards — verlan, the back-slang that's now fully mainstream. Utterly current among anyone under 50, clean, and endlessly useful for anything astonishing. "Un truc de ouf" = an insane thing. This is the verlan item everyone actually says.
- Is "C'est ouf !" 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 "C'est ouf !"?
- Say it "say OOF" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: sɛ uf.
Related in French
Putain ! poo-TAN Damn! / F***! / The all-purpose intensifier — punctuation, really Merde ! MEHRD Shit! / Damn! — and, bizarrely, 'good luck' Zut ! ZOOT Darn! / Shoot! Purée ! poo-RAY Sheesh! / Dang! — the clean stand-in for 'putain' Mince ! MANSS Shoot! / Darn! Oh la vache ! oh la VASH Holy cow! / Wow! / Whoa!
The same idea, elsewhere
Via concepts like "That's crazy".
- German einen Vogel zeigen You've got a screw loose / you're insane
- Greek τρελάθηκες; Are you crazy?! / Have you lost your mind?
- Japanese やばい Insane / crazy / no way — good OR bad, from context
- Korean 미친 Crazy — from 'that's insane(ly good)!' to 'you lunatic' to a genuine slur on someone's sanity.
- Polish masakra A disaster / unbelievable / total carnage — the all-purpose 'this is insane.'
- Portuguese Sinistro Sick! / Insane! (both awesome and scary)
- Russian Псих! Psycho / nutcase
- Turkish Deli oluyorum! I'm losing my mind / this is driving me crazy
Reviewed by native speakers. Rate it differently? Tell us what we got wrong.