French · Joy & Hype
Grave !
GRAHV · /gʁav/
Totally! / For real! / So much (intensifier)
1/5 Grandma-safe
mild, playful; fine on daytime TV
Literally
"Serious / grave"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
Standalone "grave !" is emphatic agreement — "totally," "for real." As an intensifier it means "so/very" ("c'est grave bien" = it's so good). Fully mainstream, clean, and one of the most useful little words for sounding current rather than textbook.
Heard in the wild
— Ce film était génial. — Grave !
— That film was great. — Totally!
Where it lands
France (universal); everyday youth-to-adult slang
Quick answers
- What does "Grave !" mean?
- In French, "Grave !" means "Totally! / For real! / So much (intensifier)". Literally it's "Serious / grave". Standalone "grave !" is emphatic agreement — "totally," "for real." As an intensifier it means "so/very" ("c'est grave bien" = it's so good). Fully mainstream, clean, and one of the most useful little words for sounding current rather than textbook.
- Is "Grave !" 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 "Grave !"?
- Say it "GRAHV" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: gʁav.
Related in French
Oh la vache ! oh la VASH Holy cow! / Wow! / Whoa! C'est ouf ! say OOF That's insane! / Crazy! (good or bad) Ça déchire ! sa day-SHEER That rocks! / That's awesome! C'est de la balle ! say duh la BAL It's the bomb! / Awesome! Putain, c'est trop bien ! poo-TAN say troh BYAN F***, this is so good! La classe ! la KLASS Classy! / So cool! / Stylish!
The same idea, elsewhere
Via concepts like "Hell yes".
- German Geil! Awesome! / Sick! / Hell yes!
- Greek ώπα Oops! / Hey, watch it! / Let's go! — NOT mainly the plate-smashing tourist cheer.
- Italian Grande! Nice one! / You legend! / Way to go!
- Japanese やった Yes! / I did it! / We won!
- Korean 아싸! Yes! / score! — the fist-pump syllables.
- Polish zajebisty Fucking awesome / badass — the great slang-POSITIVE of the jebać family.
- Portuguese Que massa! How cool! / Awesome!
- Russian Офигенно! Freaking awesome! / Amazing!
Reviewed by native speakers. Rate it differently? Tell us what we got wrong.