# Do any other languages use the "F" word? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 7, 2013, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-other-languages-use-the-f-word/660382 "2013-06-07T14:17:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-other-languages-use-the-f-word/660382/21 "2013-06-07T18:25:47Z")
I thought French _foutre_ was the equivalent of _fuck_, not sure if it has quite the same cachet about it but it’s certainly seen as vulgar in French. ---
**Author:** ![Pasta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@Pasta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pasta)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-other-languages-use-the-f-word/660382/22 "2013-06-07T18:59:10Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > but never,never in the office. (They are as unacceptable as the word “nigger”, for example) You should visit more offices. “Fuck” is certainly used in office and business-type settings. It depends on the dynamics and the situation, but it is used. Your other examples, though – never, never in the office. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-other-languages-use-the-f-word/660382/23 "2013-06-07T18:59:46Z")
> [@arnesw](#): > > Norwegians, especially the younger crowd, will use a lot of English slang and expressions in casual talk. The F-word included, as described in the OP. The Norwegian equivalent is rarely used like that - maybe it just doesn’t have the same punch to it. > > I suspect this goes for the other Scandinavian languages as well. Just confirming this - I teach teenagers and they use the English f-word as though it was a Norwegian word. Norwegian has lots of words for sexual intercourse and for having sex, and some are crude, but none of them are nearly as shocking. Coincidentally, the naughtiest word in Norwegian also starts with an f and is also four letters long - but the meaning is completely different. It’s a very rude word for the devil. (Please note: If you are speaking to someone from _Northern_ Norway, they may well have swear words that we in Greater Oslo cannot even conceive of.) ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-other-languages-use-the-f-word/660382/24 "2013-06-07T20:13:03Z")
I forgot the band [_Ffa Coffi Pawb_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ffa_Coffi_Pawb)— “Ffa coffi” means “coffee beans,” but it’s a homonym of “fuck off to”. Thus “Everybody’s coffee beans” / “Fuck off, everyone.” ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-other-languages-use-the-f-word/660382/25 "2013-06-07T20:37:25Z")
Israelis use the English word “Fuck”, but it means something a bit different - closer to “mess-up” or “mistake” as in “OK, team, we found a number of fucks in the software design.” Back in Basic Training, the LT and NCOs would hold a _Misdar Fuckim_ - “Fuck Formation” - at the end of each week, where they’d go over all the mistakes and infractions, professional and disciplinary, that recruits had made that week and dole out punishments. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-other-languages-use-the-f-word/660382/26 "2013-06-07T20:38:12Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Israelis use the English word “Fuck”, but it means something a bit different - closer to “mess-up” or “mistake”. Or “fuck-up.” ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-other-languages-use-the-f-word/660382/27 "2013-06-07T20:39:27Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Or “fuck-up.” That’s probably the origin of the term. It refers only to actions, through, not people - you wouldn’t call a person a fuck. It’s also pronounced closer to “Fahk”. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-other-languages-use-the-f-word/660382/28 "2013-06-07T21:00:02Z")
What is the status of לך תזדיין in Hebrew? (Lech tizdayen; Go fuck yourself). Is it commonly used in Israel? And how insulting is it? BTW, I came across [this site](http://www.myinsults.com/all-insults/hebrew-insults/), with a long list of Hebrew insults (given only with English transliterations, though). ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-other-languages-use-the-f-word/660382/29 "2013-06-07T21:22:37Z")
[quote=“chappachula, post:15, topic:660382”] … and calling a woman a “cunt.” These 2 words are off-limits in polite company…/QUOTE] You speak of American English, spoken by men. In Britain, it appears that “cunt” has much less impact, and “twat”, which is not very acceptable in American, is just a slightly stronger version of “twit”. American women, though, are at liberty to call each other “cunts”, and sometimes do. ---
**Author:** ![Redfishhunter930](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Redfishhunter930](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Redfishhunter930)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-other-languages-use-the-f-word/660382/30 "2013-06-07T21:27:37Z")
In Quebec it’s the T word Tabernac, Unless they spoke English fairly well then they might say fuck. But even then most would say Tabernac. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-other-languages-use-the-f-word/660382/31 "2013-06-07T21:32:29Z")
> [@D18](#): > > Quebecois Francophones (that may or may not be redundant, depending on your politics) frequently use the word “fuck” or “fucked” as a mild expletive - along the lines that a native English speaker would used the word “screwed”. It has been Frenched as the verb fucke’ (don’t know how to do an acute accent), meaning messed up. I have a Francophone friend who tells me his pure-wool grandma frequently refers to things as being “fucke’” and it makes him laugh every time. > > … Agreed. I hear it pretty often here. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-other-languages-use-the-f-word/660382/32 "2013-06-07T22:04:31Z")
> [@flodnak](#): > > Coincidentally, the naughtiest word in Norwegian also starts with an f and is also four letters long - but the meaning is completely different. It’s a very rude word for the devil. (Please note: If you are speaking to someone from _Northern_ Norway, they may well have swear words that we in Greater Oslo cannot even conceive of.) That is so not the naughtiest word in Norwegian. It may be the most used and versatile of Norwegian naughty words, but on the naughtiness level it ranks well below that four letter word starting with f that’s the Norwegian equivalent of the c-word. ---
**Author:** ![Redfishhunter930](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Redfishhunter930](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Redfishhunter930)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-other-languages-use-the-f-word/660382/33 "2013-06-08T14:06:09Z")
> [@EmilyG](#): > > Agreed. I hear it pretty often here. Agree that it’s a mild expletive. But, Montreal and Quebec City are on opposite ends of the spectrum. Here fuck not used so much. But neither is English :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![grama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@grama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grama)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-other-languages-use-the-f-word/660382/34 "2013-06-08T19:34:40Z")
I think it’s not a matter of a language using the word fuck, but people in a specific location, age group, socioeconomic class etc…, here in Chile, (if you are well educated and know English), several words have permeated the language, and this includes both swear and “regular” words, such as fuck, shit, bullshit, sorry (in simple apologies, like if you bump into someone for example), mouse (computer mouse, nobody calls it “raton” here), update, upgrade, and many more in the technology area, weed (as in marijuana), miss (in a lot of schools kids call their female teachers “miss”), and many more that I can’t think of right now. ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-other-languages-use-the-f-word/660382/35 "2013-06-09T13:07:02Z")
> [@Redfishhunter930](#): > > In Quebec it’s the T word Tabernac, Unless they spoke English fairly well then they might say fuck. But even then most would say Tabernac. That and about twelve other common religious swear words, and as **D18** mentioned, _fuck_ is very much part of the Canadian French lexicon. > [@aldiboronti](#): > > I thought French foutre was the equivalent of fuck, not sure if it has quite the same cachet about it but it’s certainly seen as vulgar in French. It is equivalent only in the strict sense that it is a coarse way to refer to sexual intercourse. It’s not used as an interjection, though we do have the adjective _foutu_, which is surprisingly mild for its etymology. Another fairly mild usage is in the sense of “do something,” for instance: _mais qu’est-ce qu’il fout?_ -\> “what in the hell is he doing?” Really, the only usage that’s close to the English f-word is _va te faire foutre_ -\> “go fuck yourself.” ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-other-languages-use-the-f-word/660382/36 "2013-06-09T13:18:38Z")
> [@D18](#): > > Quebecois Francophones (that may or may not be redundant, depending on your politics) frequently use the word “fuck” or “fucked” as a mild expletive - along the lines that a native English speaker would used the word “screwed”. It has been Frenched as the verb fucke’ (don’t know how to do an acute accent), meaning messed up. I have a Francophone friend who tells me his pure-wool grandma frequently refers to things as being “fucke’” and it makes him laugh every time. > > I can’t find it now, but I was once on the official health website of the French government, and they were cautioning people about the risks of having a “fuck friend” (or “fuck buddy”, I forget which), and even though the rest of the site was French, they used the English for that term. I read in The Gazette yesterday that what was written as f–ker (pronounced fuckay) is regularly used in Quebec French in the sense of “screw up”. But I don’t think “Fuck toi-meme” is used. They incline to religious terms like “tabernack”, “chalice”, and “hostie” (host) to swear. ---
**Author:** ![Zeke\_N.Destroi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/4af34b/32.png) [@Zeke\_N.Destroi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeke_N.Destroi)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-other-languages-use-the-f-word/660382/37 "2013-06-09T13:44:54Z")
Quote: Originally Posted by flodnak View Post Coincidentally, the naughtiest word in Norwegian also starts with an f and is also four letters long - but the meaning is completely different. It’s a very rude word for the devil. (Please note: If you are speaking to someone from Northern Norway, they may well have swear words that we in Greater Oslo cannot even conceive of.) **naita** That is so not the naughtiest word in Norwegian. It may be the most used and versatile of Norwegian naughty words, but on the naughtiness level it ranks well below that four letter word starting with f that’s the Norwegian equivalent of the c-word. [/quote] So what are the words and what do they mean? I’m interested particularly in the “rude word for the devil”. Is it translatable? ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-other-languages-use-the-f-word/660382/38 "2013-06-09T14:33:14Z")
> [@Zeke\_N.Destroi](#): > > So what are the words and what do they mean? I’m interested particularly in the “rude word for the devil”. Is it translatable? “Faen” is a contracted form of “fanden” and literally means “The Devil”. It can be used in phrases such as “faen ta X”, (May) the devil take X, but also as a general expletive. You stub your toe and your mother isn’t around, you shout “faen”. Someone annoys you by being a total blockhead, you call him a “dum (dumb/stupid) faen”. ETA: Just remembered I once made wavs for the most common Norwegian swear words, including those mentioned here. You’ll find them [here](http://www.tuftin.net/~bjornar/Here/Land/lyd.html) ---
**Author:** ![Chilliwack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e79b87/32.png) [@Chilliwack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chilliwack)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-other-languages-use-the-f-word/660382/39 "2013-06-09T14:42:22Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > you wouldn’t call a person a fuck. Officially it is more a verb than a noun, but I have been called a fuck before. Tangent: The french word for seal (marine mammal) is ‘phoque’ pronounced identically. As anglophones in the french immersion system (english kids going to school in french) we thought this was hilarious, and many childish jokes were made - continuing into adulthood. ---
**Author:** ![bardos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bardos/32/1069_2.png) [@bardos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bardos)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-other-languages-use-the-f-word/660382/40 "2013-06-09T15:51:06Z")
Way back in the 1980’s when I began teaching English in Andalucía, Spain, English swearwords were mostly unknown. I had a bilingual dictionary in my teaching space and every so often the pre-teens and early teens would have a go at looking up the dirtiest words they could think of. Looking up mierda (shit), they would shout with glee: “sheet, sheet”, because an Andalucian youth, unless he or she has begun leaning English fairly young AND has the ability to pronounce the phonetic “I”, their I sound will sound like two e’s. The word “sheet” means sábana in Spanish, so I would be like: “Sábana? Sábana” Why are you repeating the word sábana over and over? Much to their chagrin. The same thing happened with the word “puta”, a Spanish favourite, which is oft times translated as “whore”, which would give rise to hysterical pronunciations of “wor-ay, wor-ay”. I never acknowledged nor gave instruction as to how to pronounce these words. Another popular one was “bitch”… which always came out sounding like “beach” which means “playa” in Spanish. “Playa, playa?” I would say. “Why are you repeating playa?” Now it is 2013, we have the internet. Slowly but surely, over the past 10 years in my pueblo, the word fuck has become popular among adolescent boys trying to prove manhood and mastery of English. So I will now hear “fuck” and even “motherfucker” in class. It’s becoming more and more popular. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-other-languages-use-the-f-word/660382.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-other-languages-use-the-f-word/660382.md?page=3)