Work in progress! Native speakers are still checking every phrase. Spot something off? Tell us.
cursing.in curse like a local

French · Romance & Rejection

Quel lourd !

kel LOOR · /kɛl luʁ/

What a creep / What a pest

2/5 Bar-safe

coarse but friendly; fine among acquaintances

Literally

"What a heavy (one)"

Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.

How to use it

"Lourd" (heavy) is the man who can't read the room — the persistent, graceless hitter-on who keeps going long after "no." "Il est lourd" / "quel lourd" is the verdict on him. Mild, precise, and a very useful bit of social shorthand for the person you want to get away from.

Heard in the wild

Il m'a relancée dix fois, quel lourd.

He hit on me ten times, what a creep.

Where it lands

France (universal)

Quick answers

What does "Quel lourd !" mean?
In French, "Quel lourd !" means "What a creep / What a pest". Literally it's "What a heavy (one)". "Lourd" (heavy) is the man who can't read the room — the persistent, graceless hitter-on who keeps going long after "no." "Il est lourd" / "quel lourd" is the verdict on him. Mild, precise, and a very useful bit of social shorthand for the person you want to get away from.
Is "Quel lourd !" offensive?
It's on the mild end — 2/5 (Bar-safe) on the Punch-o-Meter. coarse but friendly; fine among acquaintances.
How do you pronounce "Quel lourd !"?
Say it "kel LOOR" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: kɛl luʁ.

Related in French

Casse-toi ! kass TWAH Get lost! / Beat it! / Piss off! Va te faire foutre ! va tuh fair FOOTR F*** off! / Go f*** yourself! Se prendre un râteau suh prahndr uhn rah-TOH To get shot down / rejected (romantically) Baiser bay-ZAY To f*** / screw (also: to swindle someone) Draguer dra-GAY To hit on / chat someone up C'est chaud / Elle est chaude say SHOH Dicey/risky — or, of a person, up-for-it (careful)

The same idea, elsewhere

Via concepts like "Get lost".

how to say "Get lost" →

Reviewed by native speakers. Rate it differently? Tell us what we got wrong.