French · Sports & the Stands
Il joue comme une merde !
eel zhoo kom oon MEHRD · /il ʒu kɔm yn mɛʁd/
He's playing like garbage!
3/5 Watch your audience
genuinely rude; friends only, never at work
Literally
"He plays like a shit"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
Terrace verdict on a player having a shocker — "comme une merde" (like a shit) slots onto any verb to mean "terribly." "Il conduit comme une merde" = he drives like garbage. Coarse, everyday, more contemptuous than aggressive.
Heard in the wild
Sors-le, il joue comme une merde depuis le début !
Sub him off, he's played like garbage from the start!
Where it lands
France (universal)
Quick answers
- What does "Il joue comme une merde !" mean?
- In French, "Il joue comme une merde !" means "He's playing like garbage!". Literally it's "He plays like a shit". Terrace verdict on a player having a shocker — "comme une merde" (like a shit) slots onto any verb to mean "terribly." "Il conduit comme une merde" = he drives like garbage. Coarse, everyday, more contemptuous than aggressive.
- Is "Il joue comme une merde !" 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 "Il joue comme une merde !"?
- Say it "eel zhoo kom oon MEHRD" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: il ʒu kɔm yn mɛʁd.
Related in French
L'arbitre, enculé ! lar-BEETR ahn-koo-LAY The ref's a f***ing bastard! (stadium chant) On les a niqués ! ohn lay za nee-KAY We destroyed them! / We smashed them! Hors-jeu, mon cul ! or-ZHUH mohn KOO Offside, my ass! Allez les Bleus ! a-LAY lay BLUH Go France! / Come on France! Putain ! poo-TAN Damn! / F***! / The all-purpose intensifier — punctuation, really Merde ! MEHRD Shit! / Damn! — and, bizarrely, 'good luck'
The same idea, elsewhere
Via concepts like "Disgusting".
- German Drecksau Filthy pig / dirty swine
- Greek αηδία Gross / disgusting / yuck.
- Italian Che schifo! How gross! / Yuck!
- Japanese キモい Gross / creepy / disgusting
- Korean 극혐 So gross / absolutely revolting — maximum disgust in two syllables.
- Polish syf Filth / grime / a dump — squalor as a one-syllable verdict.
- Portuguese Bosta! Crap! / (a) piece of garbage
- Russian Фу! Yuck! / Ew! / Gross!
Reviewed by native speakers. Rate it differently? Tell us what we got wrong.