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Verlan: words inside out

Verlan flips a word's syllables — the name itself is l'envers (the reverse) turned around: l'en-vers → vers-l'en → verlan. A handful of verlan words are now part of everyday spoken French, used well beyond the young:

Verlan From Meaning
relou lourd annoying, a pain
chelou louche dodgy, weird
ouf fou crazy, amazing
vénère énervé wound up, angry
meuf femme woman, girlfriend
laisse béton laisse tomber forget it (dated)

C'est ouf ! can mean it's crazy or it's amazing — the tone decides. All of these are familier: fine with friends, never in an email or an interview.