# 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:** 16\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-other-languages-use-the-f-word/660382/41 "2013-06-09T16:34:58Z")
Aren’t most swear words used in Israel from Arabic? Interestingly, it adds a sense of distance. More to the point, Israeli Hebrew is unique in being re-formed from a single lexicon almost entirely built from a holy book. Perhaps the collators of the canon tolerated the curses–that is, we’re aware of the difference, shock, and power of the words–and let them stay, and _other_ people treated them with so much respect that they lost their intended meaning. The Jewish commentators, at least, were well aware of the distinctions of appropriate language. So much so that it is adumbrated (starting from Maimonides?) as one of the reasons Moses himself is denied one the greatest glories and honors of the Jewish people since the Exodus, the plot, one might say, of the bulk of the Torah. He never enters the Promised Land because in [Numbers 20:10](http://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/9948/jewish/Chapter-20.htm#v10) he disrespects the grumbling crowd. ---
**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 9, 2013, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-other-languages-use-the-f-word/660382/42 "2013-06-09T17:22:48Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Aren’t most swear words used in Israel from Arabic?d. Arabic, Yiddish, Russian, English, Ladino… we’re eclectic. For instance, the phrase “_Lech kibinimat, ya manyak_” (go to hell, asshole), is, in order: Hebrew, Russian, Arabic and English. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-other-languages-use-the-f-word/660382/43 "2013-06-09T17:28:03Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > 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 used that way all the time, although usually with an adjective in front: He’s a dumb fuck. Maybe that should be considered one word, though. “Dumbfuck” or “dumb-fuck”. I’m sure the Germans would do that. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-other-languages-use-the-f-word/660382/44 "2013-06-09T17:40:19Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Arabic, Yiddish, Russian, English, Ladino… we’re eclectic. For instance, the phrase “_Lech kibinimat, ya manyak_” (go to hell, asshole), is, in order: Hebrew, Russian, Arabic and English. The “ya” means (if my sense of Arabic is correct, a big if) that the full sentence takes redundant Hebrew and Arabic grammar: “Lech…” (command, “go..”) and “ya?” Or would there be a comma after “ya” in speech? Or did you mean “ya” as English “you?” ] My thinking is based on what I’ve heard most often in Israel spoken by everybody, “yaalah,” “get a move on.” It took me a while to realize that Hebraized “maniac” is a strong vulgar word. ---
**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 9, 2013, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-other-languages-use-the-f-word/660382/45 "2013-06-09T17:46:08Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > The “ya” means (if my sense of Arabic is correct, a big if) that the full sentence takes redundant Hebrew and Arabic grammar: “Lech…” (command, “go..”) and “ya?” > > Or would there be a comma after “ya” in speech? > > My thinking is based on what I’ve heard most often in Israel spoken by everybody, “yaalah,” “get a move on.” “Ya” in Arabic (and now in Hebrew) basically means “you” or “O”. Ya Allah means “O God”; “Ya idiot” means “you idiot”. In Hebrew it’s mostly used with insults. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-other-languages-use-the-f-word/660382/46 "2013-06-09T17:55:21Z")
[quick hijack] I always thought that “ya’alah” had “Allah” in it. Literal translation often is useless, I know, but isnt the expression used all the time for “get a move on?” Or am I thinking of “ya aleh?” (Hebrew “go up??”). Actually, strike that. I think I’m thinking of Arabic grammar with the the French “allez,” which only makes sense in Finnegans Wake. [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-other-languages-use-the-f-word/660382/47 "2013-06-09T18:28:12Z")
> [@bardos](#): > > 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. > > […] > > 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?” A very good Brazilian friend of mine would refuse to say “beach” and “sheet” when we were speaking English because he couldn’t tell if he was saying “bitch” and “shit”! He would carefully ask if I would be going to the seaside that day 😃 ---
**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 9, 2013, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-other-languages-use-the-f-word/660382/48 "2013-06-09T19:54:31Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > [quick hijack] > I always thought that “ya’alah” had “Allah” in it. Literal translation often is useless, I know, but isnt the expression used all the time for “get a move on?” Yalla - or Ya Allah - can have various meanings in Hebrew, depending on intonation and context. It can mean “come on” or “c’mon” or “com ON!” or “gimme a break” or “holy shit”. It’s a very versatile term. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2013, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-other-languages-use-the-f-word/660382/49 "2013-06-10T17:16:03Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > … > The Jewish commentators, at least, were well aware of the distinctions of appropriate language. So much so that it is adumbrated (starting from Maimonides?) … I would like to thank the Board and Directors of _The Chicago Tribune_, Cecil, and the administrators and moderators of SDMB for the opportunity to use the word “adumbrate,” something which to the best of my knowledge I have never done before in speech or writing. Even in grad school I never would’ve had the chutzpah, where you get higher marks for bigger words. Within the gazillion posts of SD the word has been used (not counting quotes) exactly six times; half of those use it only to make fun of it. The spooky thing is I used it just like nothing and simply typed it out. I think I might post that fact to MPSIMS. I wanted to get this in before the thread completely gave up the ghost. ---
**Author:** ![sweat209](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@sweat209](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweat209)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2013, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-other-languages-use-the-f-word/660382/50 "2013-06-11T08:29:11Z")
> [@CheeseDonkey](#): > > I know ‘we’re all adults here’, but I’m going to call it the ‘f’ word in case any young eyes might pry into this forum. > > My question is, do any other languages use the English ‘F’ word with any regularity? Like, does a French person ever say, “mon Dieu, f\*\*k vous-même?” I’m not convinced I got that French right, by the way. In middle east no way. They normally very picking when comes to things like that. But other countries would have bad words that you can’t translate .If I say hay dude come over here !! In the US it is well normal but the word dude in other country could be really bad. If I say hay man you look like dork there probably no word to translate it. The US will have slangs and dialects other countries don’t have . Even in US there are dialects in southern US state with no word to translate. In the south true southern people use words and dialects like Fixin and Reckon where no word can translate it . You have explain what the word means .⭕o:oNow words like Howdy is other story .If you not from the State of Texas you probably don’t know what Howdy means. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2013, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-other-languages-use-the-f-word/660382/51 "2013-06-11T10:21:15Z")
Oh, but you can translate reckon… at least to Spanish, you can, and at least within my dialect and for my best understanding of reckon vs similar words, keeping the subtleties. Only because a word is dialectal in a language doesn’t mean it’s untranslatable to another - the best translation may be dialectal as well, or completely mainstream. ---
**Author:** ![sweat209](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@sweat209](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweat209)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-other-languages-use-the-f-word/660382/52 "2013-06-18T01:44:13Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Oh, but you can translate reckon… at least to Spanish, you can, and at least within my dialect and for my best understanding of reckon vs similar words, keeping the subtleties. > > Only because a word is dialectal in a language doesn’t mean it’s untranslatable to another - the best translation may be dialectal as well, or completely mainstream. Why would Spanish but not other forms of English? I thought reckon ,fixin and ain’t was of set of the Scottish English. ---
**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 18, 2013, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-other-languages-use-the-f-word/660382/53 "2013-06-18T01:55:46Z")
> [@sweat209](#): > > Why would Spanish but not other forms of English? I thought reckon ,fixin and ain’t was of set of the Scottish English. I don’t really understand what you are saying, but what **Nava** is saying is that you can translate any Language A (for example, English) into any Language B (for example, Spanish), and ideally you translate both the meanings of individual words and also their register (informal, dialectal, etc.) into something roughly equivalent in the target language. It’s not an exact science, but it is an art. ---
**Author:** ![sweat209](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@sweat209](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweat209)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-other-languages-use-the-f-word/660382/54 "2013-06-18T02:22:10Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > I don’t really understand what you are saying, but what **Nava** is saying is that you can translate any Language A (for example, English) into any Language B (for example, Spanish), and ideally you translate both the meanings of individual words and also their register (informal, dialectal, etc.) into something roughly equivalent in the target language. It’s not an exact science, but it is an art. Not always. Some one from the UK ,Canada or non south that goes to south and hears people say reckon or fixin and say what is that ??? Can you use other word .You can’t use other word people in UK or Canada use . Now the word yankee can be translated easy to other forms of English. People in south call people in north yankee well people in north call people in north New Englanders. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-other-languages-use-the-f-word/660382/55 "2013-06-18T03:33:07Z")
> [@CheeseDonkey](#): > > My question is, do any other languages use the English ‘F’ word with any regularity? Like, does a French person ever say, “mon Dieu, f\*\*k vous-même?” I’m not convinced I got that French right, by the way. Not with any regularity, but I’ve indeed heard people who spend a lot of time on the interwebs and/or watching US TV replace “merde” by “fuck” in some instances, notably when you’re not swearing \*at \*someone but simply swearing because something bad is happening, you’re late or something like that. A general cry of dismay, if you will. I’m guilty of it myself. I’ll also admit that “Fuck it” is a godsend from across the channel - we have an equivalent saying (“oh, et puis merde.”, in case you’re curious), but it’s not quite as pithy IMO. But no, we don’t call each other “fuck” or say “fuck vous-même !”. > [@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. > > ``` Depends whether you use it as a noun or a verb. As a verb, it’s most often used in the sentence “va/allez te/vous faire foutre”, indeed meaning “go get fucked” or “go fuck yourself”. But it can also simply vulgarly mean “doing something”, as in “qu’est-ce que tu fous ?” (“The fuck are you doing ?”), in which case it’s less vulgar than using it in the coitus sense. As a noun however, \*foutre \*means semen. It’s a versatile word 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-other-languages-use-the-f-word/660382/56 "2013-06-18T03:51:02Z")
> [@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. [Topical recent front page from the magazine section of Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten.](http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/9076/2dtp.jpg) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-other-languages-use-the-f-word/660382.md?page=2)