Did you know that anger is a sign of weakness? These intense emotions bursting out of us like a raging volcano can be intimidating and mistaken for a show of strength, but they’re quite the opposite. We get angry when we’re afraid or weak, when we feel overwhelmed or outsmarted. However, properly channeled, it can be a spark, igniting you with power and purpose.

If you get upset in France, better do it with flair and panache! It’s important that you know the various words and expressions for how to say “I’m angry” in French, because in the heat of the moment, you won’t have time to think it through!

You should know that profanity is far from being as much of a taboo in France as it is in the U.S., and it’s not uncommon to hear seemingly obscene swearing in public places or even at work. The French are quite open about it and, to be honest, are often oblivious to the actual meaning of our colorful expressions.

However, in this article, we’ll focus on the family-friendly angry French phrases that you can use just about anywhere without having to carefully assess the situation.

Table of Contents

1. Angry Orders
2. Angry Questions
3. Angry Blames
4. Describing Your Frustration
5. Culture: How to Make the French Angry
6. How FrenchPod101 Can Help You Learn More French

1. Angry Orders

1- “Shut your trap!”

Whether you want the person to be quiet or you’ve lost the argument but won’t admit it, you might want to firmly ask someone to shut up. Here are a couple of ways to demand the silence you so dearly desire:

• Tais-toi ! (“Shut up!” )

The verb se taire means “to keep quiet.”

Je me tais. (“I keep quiet.” )

Used in the imperative form, it’s a common way to request someone’s silence without being too harsh.

• La ferme ! (“Shut up!” )
• Ferme-la ! (“Shut up!” )

The verb fermer means “to close” or “to shut” and this is the closest expression to the English phrase “shut up.” Literally meaning “Shut it!” it’s a shortened and slightly more polite version of “Shut your trap,” but still more rude than tais-toi.

2- “Watch your tone!”

If someone is being aggressive, offensive, or raising their voice at you, it might be time to tell them to pipe down with a sharp: “Watch your tone, buddy!”

• Surveille ton langage ! (“Watch your language!” )

This one can be used when unnecessary profanities have been put to the table. It’s a polite expression that can be used even in formal situations if you use the vous.

Surveillez votre langage. [Formal]

• Ne me parle pas sur ce ton. (“Don’t you use that tone with me.” )

This second expression is more focused on the tone than the choice of words. It’s also perfectly suitable for a formal situation when things are heating up too much and you feel like you’re owed more respect.

Ne me parlez pas sur ce ton. [Formal]

La ferme ! (“Shut up!” )

3- “Stop it!”

Whatever you want to stop, you need to be clear and articulated. Here are two variations that should get similar results:

• Ça suffit ! (“That’s enough!” )

The verb suffire means “to be sufficient” or “to be enough,” so it’s hard to find more straightforward angry French expressions than ça suffit !

• Arrête ! (“Stop!” )

Coming from arrêter (“to stop” ), this is the shortest and most explicit way to tell someone to stop whatever they’re doing. You might want to be a little more specific, depending on the context:

• Arrête de me parler. (“Stop talking to me.” )
• Arrête tes bêtises. (“Stop your nonsense.” )
• Arrête de faire ça ! (“Stop doing this!” )
• Arrête de chanter du Reggaeton. (“Stop singing Reggaeton.” )

4- “Get away from me!”

Sometimes, the best way to avoid getting even angrier at someone is to get them out of your sight. Let’s see how to handle that:

• Dégage ! (“Get away!” )

This is a simple yet quite aggressive way to ask someone to get out of your face. You can spice it up a little with:

Dégage de là. (“Get away from there.” )

• Fous le camp ! (“Get out of here!” )

Foutre le camp or Ficher le camp (the old-fashioned and more polite version) is an old expression from the XVIII century. Ficher used to mean “to take” and camp unsurprisingly translates to “camp.” The expression roughly means “to pick up your tent and leave camp.”

• Va te faire voir ! (“Get lost!” )

Literally: “Go make yourself seen.”

Va te faire voir is a greatly watered down version of another popular expression using the French F-word, but this one is much more offensive: Va te faire foutre !

Conversely, a cute alternative would be:

Va voir ailleurs si j’y suis. (“Go somewhere else and see if you can find me.” )

→ Learn more about how to express anger in French with our free list of Phrases to Use When You’re Angry.

2. Angry Questions

These French angry phrases are ALL rhetorical questions. Let’s be clear about the fact that you’re not expecting an answer. Should you receive one anyway, it’s likely to anger you even more!

• Et alors ? (“So what?” )

First of all, you should know that et alors is not always an angry phrase. It has two distinct meanings:

1- “Tell me more!”, “And then, what happened?”

– J’ai vu le dernier Tarantino hier. (“I’ve seen the latest Tarantino yesterday.” )
– Et alors ? (“Tell me more.” )

2- “So what?” is more of an exclamation than a question. It means that you don’t really care about the previous statement or objection.

– Ma mère est très malade. (“My mother is very ill.” )
– Et alors ? (“So what?” )
– T’es vraiment un con. (“You’re such an ass.” )
– Et alors? (“So what?” )

• Qu’est-ce qui te prend ? (“What’s gotten into you?” )

Literally: “What is taking you?”

• Qu’est-ce que tu fous ? (“What the hell are you doing?” )

F-word is back with a vengeance. You can soften it with Qu’est-ce que tu fiches ? or Qu’est-ce que tu fabriques ? However, this last variation is so innocuous that it should be said with a sharp tongue to convey your exasperation.

• Et puis quoi encore ? (“And what’s next?” )

Literally: “And then, what again?”

I couldn’t find a satisfying English equivalent, but we use this phrase to express disapproval or exasperation. You can also use it when you feel like the other person is asking too much.

– Est-ce que je peux emprunter ta voiture, coucher avec ta femme et terminer ta bière ? (“Can I borrow your car, sleep with your wife, and finish your beer?” )
– Et puis quoi encore ? ( [Ironically] “And what’s next?” )

• Tu veux ma photo ? (“What are you looking at?” )

Literally: “Do you want my picture?”

Use this when someone is staring at you to the point where it makes you upset.

Women might want to remember this one when they go out and attract unwanted stares from creepy weirdos.

• Qu’est-ce que c’est que cette histoire ? (“What on earth are you talking about?” )

Literally: “What is this story?”

This can be said when someone tells you something crazy, difficult to understand, hard to believe, or tough to swallow.

– On m’a dit que je n’avais pas été recrutée à cause de ma coupe de cheveux. (“I’ve been told I wasn’t hired because of my haircut.” )
– Qu’est-ce que c’est que cette histoire ? (“Wait, what?” )

• Tu te fous de moi ? (“Are you kidding me?” )

Softer versions are available: Tu te fiches de moi ? or Tu te moques de moi ?

They all express the same level of incredulity.

• Ça va pas ? (“What’s wrong with you?” )

Literally: “Are you unwell?”

We use this phrase to express disbelief over what a person is doing or saying.

• T’es malade ou quoi ? (“Are you crazy or what?” )

Literally: “Are you sick or what?”

You talkin’ to me? Well I’m the only one here.

3. Angry Blames

Weakness or not, la coupe est pleine (“enough is enough” ). You’re officially angry and ready to come down on someone like a ton of bricks. Heads will roll!

• C’est n’importe quoi ! (“That’s bullsh*t!” )

Literally: “That’s anything!”

You can also shorten it to N’importe quoi ! (“Bullsh*t!” )

Note that you can use this n’importe quoi in other sentences like:

• Tu fais n’importe quoi. (“You’re acting stupid.” )
• Tu dis n’importe quoi. (“You’re talking nonsense.” )

• Il ne manquait plus que ça. (“Just what we needed!” )

Literally: “We were only missing this.”

You’d say this when sh*t just keeps piling up, one annoyance after another.

• Tu ne m’écoutes pas. (“You’re not listening to me.” )
• C’est une honte. (“It’s a disgrace.” )
• C’est inacceptable. (“It’s unacceptable.” )
• Ce ne sont pas tes affaires. (“It’s none of your business.” )
• T’occupes ! (“Not your business!” )

T’occupe is short for T’occupe pas, which comes from the imperative sentence: Ne t’occupe pas de ça. (“Do not worry about this.” or “Do not deal with this.” )

This isn’t necessarily an angry sentence. You could use it to refrain someone from helping you if you feel like you have everything under control, or when you don’t want to answer questions on something that you want to keep secret or private.

• Tu es sûre que tu n’as pas besoin d’aide ? (“Are you sure you don’t need help?” )
• T’occupe ! (“Stay out of it!” )

• Tu me saoules ! (“I’m sick of you!” )

Literally: “You’re making me drunk!” (But in a bad way! )

We have many words in French for “to get drunk,” and se saouler is more often used in the context of being fed up and exasperated.

This is one of those angry things to say in French when someone has been pissing in your ear for a while and you just can’t take it anymore, or when a task is really tedious or unpleasant.

• Ce mec m’a saoulée toute la matinée. (“This guy annoyed me all morning.” )
• Ça me saoule, ce boulot ! (“I’m sick of this job!” )

• Tu me gonfles ! (“You’re getting on my nerves!” )

Literally: “You are inflating me!”

The origin of this slang expression is unclear. Some see a sexual reference, but the most probable interpretation is that you feel like you’re slowly inflating with anger, close to the point of figurative explosion.

• Tu me prends la tête ! (“You’re driving me crazy!” )

Literally: “You’re taking my head!”

I use this every time someone (or something) is busting my chops. IE: makes my life miserable, with useless complication or just plain nonsense.

• Ce formulaire me prend la tête. (“This form is driving me crazy.” )
• Cette fille me prend la tête. (“This girl is driving me crazy.” )

You can also do it to yourself:

• Je me prends la tête sur ma compta depuis ce matin. (“I’ve been driving myself crazy on my accounting since this morning.” )

And finally, it can be used when people are complicating their lives for no reason, or spending too much time brooding over something.

• Tu te prends encore la tête là-dessus ? (“Are you still losing your head over this?” )

→ Make sure to visit our vocabulary list about Curse Words, with audio recordings to practice your pronunciation. It’s freely available on FrenchPod101.

Ça me prend la tête ! (“It’s driving me crazy!” )

4. Describing Your Frustration

Now that you’ve let off some steam with angry French sayings, it’s time to tell people how you feel. Are you fed up? Sick and tired? Dazed and confused or violently furious?

• J’en ai marre ! (“I’m tired of it!” )

Literally: ..?

The literal meaning is hard to tell because the very origin of this expression is still debated. Does it come from old French’s marrir (“to afflict” ), from the Spanish “mareo” (“sea-sickness,” but also “boredom” ), or from the 17th century expression avoir son mar (“to have enough” )?

• J’en ai ras-le-bol ! (“I’ve had enough of this!” )

Literally: “I have my bowl full!”

What about the origin of this wildly popular expression? To be honest, I had to look it up and I believe most French have no idea that the bol (“bowl” ) is a slangy analogy for the butt.

Short of knowing about this, I’ve heard this expression in all kinds of circles, including professional contexts where people complain about their filled butt without second thought.

• J’en ai assez ! (“I’ve had enough!” )
• J’en peux plus ! (“I can’t take it anymore!” )
• J’en ai jusque là ! (“I’ve had enough!” )

Literally: “I have it up to here!”

Once again, it’s difficult to trace the exact origin of this expression, but it implies that you’re full of whatever is upsetting you and you can’t take any more of it.

• Ça me fait une belle jambe. (“A fat lot of good it does me.” )

Literally: “It makes me a beautiful leg.”

With this ironic expression, you’re answering to something that’s supposed to give you some comfort or satisfaction but really doesn’t. This “something” is useless, worthless, and doesn’t have the intended effect.

– Je sais que tu as perdu ton travail, mais au moins, il fait beau ! (“I know you’ve lost your job, but at least it’s a sunny day!” )
– Ça me fait une belle jambe. (“A lot of good it does me.” )

In the 12th century, French men started wearing tights. Yes, just like our modern-day superheroes, except that we didn’t wear our underwear over it. Then, in the 17th century, displaying muscular and elegant male leg became increasingly fashionable. You had to wear stylish tights on well-shaped legs, and this is where the expression faire la belle jambe (“to do the beautiful leg” ) appeared.

Fast-forward to the 19th century. After 200 years of evolution, we get to today’s ironic version of the original expression: Ça me fait une belle jambe.

J’en peux plus… (“I can’t take it anymore…” )

5. Culture: How to Make the French Angry

“You’re making me angry. You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.” (Bruce Banner)

1- “French are lazy!”

If you know something about the French working culture, you might have this mental image of us working five hours a day and enjoying months of vacations while being showered with social benefits and perks all year round.

It’s true that France is doing very well in the field of social welfare and that French workers benefit from a neat package of bonuses and protection. In many other countries, if you lose your job, you’re in serious life-threatening trouble.

That being said, generations of French fought hard for these rights throughout several social revolutions, and we’re keeping the fight alive today. French workers are often considered by foreign employers to be hard and dedicated workers, and there are few things they hate more than being called lazy!

2- “Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ?”

French women have a reputation for being easy. Where this is coming from is beyond me. Maybe because the French are comfortable with nudity, or not too prudish about public displays of affection. However, the fact that French women speak openly about sex and seem confident about what they want doesn’t make them any easier to seduce. In fact, the French dating scene is likely to feel very confusing for North Americans.

So please, don’t go quoting Lady Marmelade with a bold Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir ? (“Do you want to sleep with me tonight?” ) and expect French girls to fall in your arms like butter melts in the hot pan. They might find it funny or lame, but they hate when foreigners assume they’re just waiting to jump in their bed.

No, one drink is not enough. You also have to be charming!

6. How FrenchPod101 Can Help You Learn More French

In this guide, you’ve learned everything about how to say “I am angry” in French, from bitter words and expressions to furious questions and outraged blames.

Did we forget any important expressions that you know? Do you feel ready to burst out in anger using everything you’ve learned today?

Besides getting angry yourself, which I wouldn’t wish for you, knowing how people express their anger in French may be useful when you’re taking the blame for something you did or didn’t do. Better prepared than sorry!

Make sure to explore FrenchPod101, as it has plenty of free resources for you to practice your grammar and learn new words. Our vocabulary lists are also a great way to review these words and learn their pronunciation.

Remember that you can also use our premium service, MyTeacher, to get personal one-on-one coaching. Practice talking and listening in French with your private teacher so they can give you personalized feedback and advice, and help you with pronunciation.

Happy French learning!

About the Author: Born and bred in the rainy north of France, Cyril Danon has been bouncing off various jobs before he left everything behind to wander around the wonders of the World. Now, after quenching his wanderlust for the last few years, he’s eager to share his passion for languages.