avoir des couilles
What does “avoir des couilles” mean in English?
It means to have courage or nerve. The literal translation refers to having testicles, but it's not about anatomy here.
Literally “have testicles”
It's used informally, similar to saying someone has 'guts' or 'balls' in English. The tone can be coarse, and it's generally aimed at encouraging someone to be bold.
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Related French words
avoir de la merde dans les yeux
3/5 · VulgarIt means to fail to see something obvious or to judge a situation poorly. The literal translation refers to having shit in your eyes, which emphasizes a lack of clarity or awareness.
avoir du cul
3/5 · VulgarIt means to be very lucky or to have good fortune. Literally, it translates to 'have arse.'
avoir la tête dans le cul
3/5 · VulgarIt means to feel groggy, exhausted, or hungover. The literal translation is 'have one's head in one's arse.'
avoir le cul bordé de nouilles
3/5 · VulgarThis phrase means to be exceptionally lucky. The literal translation about having an arse edged with noodles is just for humor, not meant to be taken seriously.
About this data
Swear Atlas is a source-attested, AI-curated reference — not a native-speaker-certified dictionary. Meanings and the 1–5 Burn Rating are approximate editorial assessments that vary with context, region, tone and speaker. Inclusion of a word does not constitute endorsement of its use.
The literal gloss is a short editorial translation to show word-for-word sense, not an etymological claim.
“Sounds like” is an English-friendly approximation of how the word sounds, not an authoritative pronunciation. Where shown, the romanisation is a conventional Latin-script transliteration of the original spelling.
Term attested via Viddexa SafeText (MIT). Editorial content © Swear Atlas.