expressions-lyonnaises-plus-ridicules

Lyonese expressions are among the most ridiculous in France according to a study

undefined undefined 18 mars 2025 undefined 09h00

The Editor

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A study published in March 2025 looked into regional expressions and their usage. According to the views of the French people interviewed about local expressions, a ranking of the different regions was established. And let's just say that the residents of the East aren't going to be thrilled with the results!

You’ve probably found yourself on a weekend getaway in Alsace, Marseille, or even Lille, and heard some curious expressions that left you scratching your head, but are super common in the area. In a recent study, Preply took a closer look at regional languages and how they’re used all across the country. With 75 of them, France boasts an incredibly rich linguistic diversity.

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By the way, among the 1500 participants surveyed, 67% are in favor of teaching regional languages in schools. The study also looked into the most ridiculous expressions. Just to be clear: we totally disagree with the results!

Alsace Tops the Ranking

The Alsatians in our editorial team were fuming when they saw this ranking. 24.4% of the respondents think that Alsatian expressions are the most ridiculous, mainly because of their sounds containing « sch » scattered everywhere and their pronunciation complexity. However, it’s hard to see the difficulty!e; à dire schmoutz (kiss), schlopps (slippers), schatz (treasure), schluck (gulp) or schlass (tired), but that all depends on us. 

The Marseilles expressions come in second place, and the Lyon expressions complete the podium. So, with 14.4% fada (crazy), dégun (no one), minot (child), emboucaner (to annoy) and tarpin (very), just ahead of pelo (dude), cher (a lot), gone (child), se la racler (to brag) or chaber (to look) which are considered ridiculous by 12.6%.

of respondents. 

Six other regions included in the ranking 

12.5% of those surveyed find the Lille expressions (drache (rain), braire (to cry), biloute (guy)) to be ridiculous, while 10.7% indicated that the Nantes expressions (pochon (plastic bag), guené (soaked), seriner (to drizzle)) are also silly. 

The Bordeaux expressions like gavé (a lot), chocolatine (chocolate croissant), or ... are also part of the mix!

400;">go to the mail (go to work) comes next with 8.5%, followed by the Côte d'Azur expressions like bordille (trash), cagade (blunder), or ficanas (curious) at 7.7%. The Toulouse expressions like bouléguer (to hurry), rouméguer (to grumble), or cagne (laziness) and the Montpellier expressions such as péger (to stick), cagnard s’enfader (to get worked up) come in at the end of the list with 5.4% and 3.7%, respectively.

A response to the eternal debate: Pain au chocolat, Chocolatine, or Petit pain?

The study also tried to find an answer to the age-old debate over the terms Pain au chocolat, Chocolatine, and Petit pain. The first is used by 46.5% of respondents, the second by 23.5%, and the last by 30%. We don’t know about you, but we’re a bit schlass from this debate when the obvious answer is Petit pain... Just saying!