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  • Cajun Slang Words and Phrases


    Alohrs pas: of course not
    An ahnvee: hunger; e.g. “I got an ahnvee for some boudin.”
    Boudin: a kind of sausage
    Are you getting down?: Are you getting out of the car?
    Axe: ask
    Ax: ask
    Bag daer: back there
    Bahbin: a pouting facial expression; e.g. “When I told him he couldn’t go fishing, he made a big bahbin.”
    Bebette: a bug or a critter
    Beb: sweetheart; darling
    Bigarno: a snail; what the French call an escargot

    Blow: a ceiling fan
    Bonne homme: a drawn image or object resembling a male figure, like a GI-Joe for example
    Boo: honey, sweetheart
    Boscoyo: Cypress knee
    Boude: pout, be angry; e.g. “He bouded all day for not being allowed to go fishing.”
    Bouille: pudding
    Buljoos, shtoons, and peewees: large, medium, and small marbles
    Cahbin: bathroom
    Capo: coward
    Chaoui: Racoon (Native American)
    Chat: Go away cat.
    Chee wee: a cheese stick snack that is similar to, but predates, cheetos
    Cho! Co!: an expression of astonishment; Wow!
    Choosday: Tuesday
    Chose: thing
    Chot: a little, short pony tail
    Clowzet: closet
    Co faire?: Why?
    Conson: underwear
    Coo-yon: foolish, stupid; e.g. “Stop being coo-yon!”
    Costeau: a male crab
    Cro-cros: big, clunky shoes
    Cunja: a spell put on someone
    Dat: that
    Defan: “sainted,” demised, passed away, dead; What a dead person is referred to as. Defan Papa (male version); Pauvre Maman, Poor Sainted Mom (female version).
    De’pouille: anything or anyone who is a mess
    Des: desk
    Desses: desks
    Dis: this
    Domion: a peeping Tom; someone who peeps through windows

    Drawz: underwear
    Dreegailles: junk, trinkets
    Each a one: one each
    En d’oeuil: in mourning
    Envie: a craving
    Fah-yuh: fire
    Fais do-do: go to sleep
    Faut carot: A big, black Grasshopper
    File: dried, powdered sassafras leaves
    Freesons: goosebumps
    Ga lee: an expression of astonishment
    Garde soleil: an old-fashioned sun bonnet
    Gep: a wasp
    Go to bed!: Get out of here!; I don’t believe you!
    Grand Beede: big, clumsy man
    Gree gree: A curse or spell put on someone (from the Hatian word gris gris)
    Gumbo: A soup made from a strongly-flavored stock, meat or shellfish, a thickener, and seasoning vegetables, which usually includes celery, bell peppers and onions.
    Ha!: I don’t know!
    He’s got the cabris: He’s got a wedgie (his underwear is stuck between his buttocks)
    He’s got the gumbo: His pants are too big in the seat.
    Hont: embarrassed
    Hosepipe: water hose
    Hot, hot: Very hot (many adjectives are used twice with the first one meaning very)
    J’ai gros couer: I feel like crying.

    Lee-lahs: little green balls that grow on certain trees, usually thrown at friends
    Loan mo: lawn mower
    Magazin: store
    Mais: Well (begins many French and English Sentences)
    Make a bahbin: pout
    Make a bill: buy groceries
    Make the veiller (vay-yay): spend the evening talking with friends.
    Mamere: grandmother
    Mashwarohn: a catfish
    Meenoo: cat
    Meenoo, meenoo: Here kitty
    Moochon: a knub; a stump
    Moustique, maraguin: a mosquito
    Muspeulus: A Japanese pear tree
    My eye! OR My foot!: Never!
    My-nez: mayonnaise
    Nanan, Nanny: Godmother
    Nex: next
    Noonie: a baby’s pacifier
    Oo ye yi!: Ouch! or I’m sad
    Papere: Grandfather
    Parran: Godfather
    Pass a mop: to mop
    Passe a slap: Grande Isle; I’m going to slap you.
    Passe: Go away
    Pass the vacuum: to vacuum
    Patate: potato
    Patrack: an old, run-down truck
    Peekon: a thorn
    Peeshnick: to thump something with your finger
    Peeshwank: runt, little person
    Peunez: a stink bug
    Pick up (something): put (something) away
    Pirogue: a small boat like a canoe
    Piss-au-lis: golden rod (a weed)
    Podna: friend, partner
    Pomee: to laugh or cry so hard that you cannot catch your breath
    Poo-yee-yi: That stinks!
    Porro: wart

    Possede: a bad, mischievous kid (literally possessed)
    Rahdoht: boring, never-ending conversation
    Rocachah: beach burrs that stick to socks
    ro-day: to run the roads and never stay home; wander
    rozoe: a long thin reed used to make a buckblind (a blind used when hunting)
    Saleau: sloppy, dirty old man
    Saloppe: sloppy, dirty old woman
    Seekahsah: a wasp
    Slow the T.V.: turn down the volume
    Speed up the T.V.: turn up the volume
    Ste’pin: underwear
    Sussette: a baby’s pacifier
    Tawk: an onomatopoeia; a word that imitates the sound it stands for
    Tete dure: hard head; stubborn
    Texians: Grande Isles; All people who do not talk like us
    T: used in front of any name; “T” means petit (little); T-Sam, etc.
    The Island: Grand Isle, Louisana
    The mouse: Grande Isles; a mouse that leaves money under the pillows instead of the tooth fairy
    Tooloulou: a fiddler crab
    Vay ya: spend time talking while visiting friends; gossiping
    Vielle: an old woman
    Vieux: an old man
    Watch the slap.: I’m going to slap you
    Weh: yes (from French oui)
    What do now?: what do you want me to do now?
    What time it is?: What time is it?
    What you was doing last night?: What were you doing last night?
    Where go?: Where do you want me to go?
    Where put this?: Where do you want me to put this?
    Where you at?: Where are you?
    Ya Momma’s home?: Is your mother home?
    Zeerah: disgusting
    Zinc: kitchen sink
    Zirondelle: a dragonfly

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    43 comments
    1. Sandra Hebert Byrd

      27 May, 2018 at 12:54 am

      J’adore votre site! I am half cajun but never exposed to the culture a retired teacher who went back to college and took Parisienne French amazed at the similarities and differences your side brought back many memories of moi francaisee grand mereComing from de Ritter Louisiana now that I am retired it is difficult to hear the language spoken thank you for your great effort

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    2. David Martin

      15 October, 2017 at 3:45 pm

      Chaz T’ jet = Isn’t that cute.
      Proper spelling?

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    3. J. Rucker

      5 July, 2017 at 11:15 pm

      You are a bunch of couyons if you think any of this mess is Cajun. This list is so full of made up crap it is laughable.

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    4. Carol Hayes

      5 June, 2017 at 7:37 am

      how to correctly spell vay yay, a nite time visit with friends and/or family.

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    5. Destinee

      24 May, 2017 at 4:39 pm

      This isn’t cajun words and sayings! You can truly tell it wasn’t written by an actual cajun person. Why? Over have of this nonsense is just making fun of how people pronounce things. Also , “ha!” Means i don’t know pretty much in every language throught the world today. That is not a creole thing… Its a modern day thing. Speaking as some who is from bayou lafourche, Louisiana and raised in this culture and language…. Do not believe this article. Do not believe anything online actually. See that’s the beautiful thing about creole, we don’t care to teach the whole world our language. Why? So people like this Don’t turn around and make us look bad. We enjoy our privacy and do not care to teach others our language!! Get over it. We take extreme pride in our words, history and heritage. How was any other cultures ruined ? By outsiders coming in and trying to steal others culture. Stay away because real cajuns do not care to share anything with outsiders!

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    6. Tony

      19 February, 2017 at 7:07 am

      Thing is what the dialect differs from one side of Louisiana to the other. I have a work buddy from Unice that says things differently than we do in Cut Off. A good bit of this was close.

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      • David Martin

        15 October, 2017 at 3:47 pm

        I’m related to the Richardelle’s and Cut Off on down has their own accent and colloquialisms.

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    7. PJ

      15 February, 2017 at 7:33 pm

      Great list. How about adding these?…
      Make Groceries = buy groceries
      Save the Groceries, or Save the Dishes = put the groceries or dishes in the cupboards.

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    8. A.M. Bookdragon

      2 December, 2015 at 12:58 am

      gree gree is actually gris gris

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    9. Angie Robinson

      4 June, 2015 at 7:19 am

      Great list!

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    10. Christopher Daigle

      25 February, 2015 at 9:54 pm

      Most of these are completely false. I live in the heart of cajun country. I did get a good laugh out of this however.

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      • Samantha Cheramie

        19 March, 2015 at 2:15 pm

        What bayou are you from? Because most of these are pretty accurate. I’m kinda thinking your not really Cajun.

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        • Christopher Daigle

          20 March, 2015 at 12:49 pm

          First off. The vermillion is a river which you know doesn’t start and end within the town or parish. Second, how exactly do you want to update a dieing language? It’s not done. That’s like trying to update sumarian to fit today’s butchering of the English language. Third, Lafourche has a complete different dialect due to the native American influence of the area. My final rebuttal is this. The area in which you reside is VERY influenced by creole due to its proximity to New Orleans. I’m willing to wager that you don’t speak the language as much as attempt to mimic it’s complex word structure.

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          • Clarissa Porche

            30 March, 2017 at 6:47 pm

            Good point Chris!

            Reply Edit
        • Kimberly Jackson

          17 September, 2015 at 10:59 pm

          Spanish creole is black and spanish. French creole is black and french. They are very different. French creoles from Louisiana have a similar distant history to the Cajuns of southern Louisiana.

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          • TheKnowerseeker

            9 December, 2016 at 4:33 pm

            I guess if you’re talking about both groups being oppressed by those around them, then yes, the Cajuns and the *Black* French Creoles have “similar” histories; otherwise, they had very little to do with each other. Now, the *White* French Creoles, on the other hand, were involved with both groups, generally in a negative way, being the progenitors of the black Creoles and the first to oppress Cajuns before Les Americans appeared on the scene to oppress them all. (The white Creoles no longer exist as a separate group: First, they started calling themselves “gentile Acadians”, then they intermarried with Americans so much that they simply became American, or they falsely call themselves Cajuns now.)

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            • Retro Thibideaux

              19 March, 2017 at 5:51 pm

              Know seeker you got to quit saying we are oppressed. My family 2 generations ago lived in the bayou with no electric and no plumbing. Both my grandparents never had a social security number and a lot of the people from that time didn’t get them till later in life.
              We (my family) were looked down on as low class, uneducated, poor back the bayou trash, you name it. But we never thought we were poor. We never felt sorry or felt oppressed. We just worked hard. My grandpa sent my dad to school on a little boat he built out of a carved out tree till he was in the 4th grade. By then roads were available but they still had to travel almost 4 miles each way through the swamp to meet the bus. My dad graduated high school and got a job in the oil field where he prospered and raised my and siblings.
              We have achieved more than him with professional degrees and fantastic lives in comparison to them. He always told us to stay honest, work hard, and always act like someone is looking and you will have character and integrity. That can’t be bought or taken from you. That was it.
              IF anyone should feel oppressed it is me. My family had all things against them. We are not white either if that is where you are headed in your victim oriented mind.
              Get on with your life, quit whining and blaming, work hard, love your family hard, invest in your children’s future. Thats the secret to happiness and prosperity. You will never get what you are looking for by complaining or protesting.
              Thank you for reading.

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          • Rae

            29 November, 2017 at 5:46 pm

            Creole people are of french and Spanish descent before the La purchase, my ancestors are listed as creole in NOLA in late16-1700’s,people of color or just that, mulattoes or mixed race. But a TRUE creole is French and Spanish descent.

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        • sangsue

          24 January, 2016 at 12:35 am

          I bought that book maybe 15 years ago, I love it.

          Reply Edit
        • Janis Vizier Nihart

          19 February, 2017 at 5:36 pm

          About 95% of it came from my website. I grew up in Grand Isle in the 1950’s . Many of the words are no longer in use. That’s why I made my site, but 3 years ago, I got tired of people taking my work, so I just made hard copies of everything and closed it down.

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          • Janis Vizier Nihart

            19 February, 2017 at 5:37 pm

            yeah, and whoever rewrote my words misspelled some and put the wrong definition.

            Reply Edit
      • Erica Disotell Gremillion

        27 April, 2015 at 5:19 pm

        These are phrases that i grew up with and many I still use.

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      • Tony

        19 February, 2017 at 7:03 am

        I live on Bayou Lafourche just about as south as you can go. I’d say 75% of these are somewhat accurate.

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      • DHartis

        6 September, 2017 at 3:52 am

        Most are true!

        Reply Edit
    11. Kenneth Morrogh

      22 February, 2015 at 4:16 pm

      Cajun for coward is capon (a castrated rooster) not capo.

      Reply Edit
    12. cajuncutie1978

      6 February, 2014 at 5:26 pm

      neg means boy. it has nothing to do with girls. it simply means “boy”

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      • Christopher Daigle

        25 February, 2015 at 9:57 pm

        Neg is actually a derogatory term for black males Negress is for black females

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        • Samantha Cheramie

          19 March, 2015 at 1:59 pm

          That is the older meaning. The meaning has changed over the years to mean boy..
          When you down the bayou and someone says “neg”, they say it to all boys. Black or white.

          Reply Edit
    13. Mijaelle

      20 January, 2014 at 2:18 pm

      how do you say cho co? is the cho similiar to chore?

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      • cajuncutie1978

        6 February, 2014 at 5:26 pm

        cho is the same as saying “wow”

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    14. coonass 45

      1 December, 2013 at 11:27 pm

      Some of these are not Cajun words or slang, at all….just regular English words or phrases with a coonass accent.

      Reply Edit
      • WillSpencer

        5 December, 2013 at 6:10 pm

        Ahh… but to the simple computer program those are different words.

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        • Samantha Cheramie

          20 March, 2015 at 9:36 am

          What’s that got to do with the true meaning of a word? You can’t take an English word and make it cajun.

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    15. Coon ass cajun

      23 August, 2013 at 9:27 pm

      Boudin is not a sausage
      Boudin is rice dressing, (or if your from up north- Dirty Rice)
      Stuffed in pig instestion, for a casing
      Ingredients are onion, bell pepper, celery, rice, ground beef or pork or both, and sometimes liver

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      • WillSpencer

        28 August, 2013 at 11:07 am

        This is a difficult decision, because almost all references I check refer to boudin as a sausage. For example, Wikipedia says:

        “Boudin (French pronunciation: ​[budɛ̃], from Middle French boud—cold cut) describes a number of different types of sausage used in French, Belgian, German, Quebec, Acadian, Creole, Austrian and Cajun cuisine.”

        Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boudin

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        • rob

          23 October, 2013 at 7:50 am

          It is a sausage!its a rice dressing stuffed in the intestine so that makes it a sausage.

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      • cajuncutie1978

        6 February, 2014 at 5:26 pm

        when you put the rice in the casing, it becomes a sausage… lol. are you sure you’re cajun.

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    16. ct

      8 August, 2013 at 3:41 pm

      Definition of Gumbo does not mean okra, Gumbo is a soup that contains Okra Chicken or seafood, Boudin, File, Water, Onions made with roux

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      • WillSpencer

        8 August, 2013 at 5:32 pm

        True! Fixed! Thanks for the error report!

        Reply Edit
    17. new2la

      6 October, 2012 at 10:23 pm

      Had a guy say, mo be feet be 10. What does that mean?

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      • cy migues

        1 October, 2013 at 3:54 am

        cursing in Cajun French…spelling off though lol

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      • mrboudreaux

        25 April, 2014 at 2:34 am

        Its “fils putain” it means ” son of a bitch pronounced like “fee pee tehn” with the ‘n’ at the back of your throat

        Reply Edit
    18. Jonas Antley

      27 May, 2012 at 6:08 pm

      Come see – come here for a second

      Reply Edit
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