Meaning
In contemporary informal French, meuf means a woman or young woman and can also refer to a girlfriend or female partner. It is a well-known verlan form of femme.
How it is used
Le Robert defines meuf as a familiar noun for a woman or young woman and also for a wife or partner. Sociolinguistic writing on French youth language documents meuf among verlan forms that became widely recognizable and moved beyond narrowly local peer-group use.
Examples
- “C'est une meuf super sympa.”
- “J'ai vu une meuf attendre devant le café.”
- “Il est venu avec sa meuf.”
Pronunciation
/mœf/ · MUHF
Tone and register
Casual and highly context-dependent. Among peers it may be neutral or routine, while in formal settings or when used to reduce a woman to an anonymous category it can sound dismissive, coarse, or objectifying.
Visitor guidance
Visitors should recognize meuf without assuming it is a neutral substitute for femme in every situation. Use depends on age, relationship, formality, and how the person being described would receive the label; femme, fille, copine, or compagne may be more appropriate depending on meaning.
Cultural context
Meuf is one of the best-known examples of verlan entering mainstream familiar French. Its history is often associated with urban youth speech and the Paris banlieues, but its modern reach is national enough that hearing it does not identify a speaker as Parisian or from a particular social or ethnic background.
Places represented
Open the reviewed place guide for each regional sense carried by this canonical entry.