French · Québec Sacres (Cursing by the Altar)
Sacrament !
sa-kra-MAHN · /sa.kʁa.mɑ̃/
Goddammit! (heavy Québécois sacre)
3/5 Watch your audience
genuinely rude; friends only, never at work
Literally
"Sacrament"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
The sacrament itself — one of the weightier sacres, often reserved for genuine anger. Softened to "sacrifice." Rated 3 for Québec, edging toward the harder end of the everyday scale when said with real heat. Rounds out the Québec liturgical arsenal alongside tabarnak, câlisse, ostie, and crisse.
Heard in the wild
Sacrament, ça fait trois fois que je recommence !
Goddammit, that's the third time I've started over!
Where it lands
Québec (Canada) — liturgical curse
Quick answers
- What does "Sacrament !" mean?
- In French, "Sacrament !" means "Goddammit! (heavy Québécois sacre)". Literally it's "Sacrament". The sacrament itself — one of the weightier sacres, often reserved for genuine anger. Softened to "sacrifice." Rated 3 for Québec, edging toward the harder end of the everyday scale when said with real heat. Rounds out the Québec liturgical arsenal alongside tabarnak, câlisse, ostie, and crisse.
- Is "Sacrament !" 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 "Sacrament !"?
- Say it "sa-kra-MAHN" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: sa.kʁa.mɑ̃.
Related in French
Tabarnak ! ta-bar-NAK F***! / Goddammit! — the king of Québécois sacres Câlisse ! kah-LISS F***! / Christ! (Québécois sacre) Ostie ! os-TEE Damn! / F***! — and an all-purpose intensifier Crisse ! KRISS Christ! / F***! (Québécois sacre) Ostie de câlisse de tabarnak ! os-TEE duh kah-LISS duh ta-bar-NAK The full chained Québec curse — maximum blasphemy Maudit ! moh-DEE Damn / damned (mild Québécois intensifier)
The same idea, elsewhere
Via concepts like "Damn".
- German Scheiße! Shit! / Damn! — the all-purpose German expletive
- Greek γαμώτο Damn it! / Dammit!
- Italian Cazzo! Fuck! / Damn! / The all-purpose Italian curse.
- Japanese くそ Damn! / Crap! / Shit!
- Korean 씨발 Fuck / fucking hell — the load-bearing Korean curse.
- Polish kurwa Fuck / damn / shit — the load-bearing word of Polish, and its most common comma.
- Portuguese Porra! Damn! / Fuck! — but mostly used as pure punctuation
- Russian Блин! Damn! / Darn! / Shoot!
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