couilles
What does “couilles” mean in English?
This refers to testicles, but it's also used to mean courage or to describe trouble in certain phrases. It's a casual, bodily term with some versatility.
Literally “testicles”
You might hear it like 'avoir des couilles' to mean 'to have guts' or 'to be brave.' It's informal and can be a bit stronger than just saying 'balls' in English, often used among friends or in a humorous context.
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Related French words
couillon
2/5 · CoarseIt refers to a fool or someone who is easily deceived. The literal sense comes from a term related to testicles, adding a bit of edge to the insult.
couillonner
2/5 · CoarseTo trick or make a fool of someone. It's an informal way to describe someone being duped.
avoir des couilles
3/5 · VulgarIt means to have courage or nerve. The literal translation refers to having testicles, but it's not about anatomy here.
de mes couilles
3/5 · VulgarThis phrase is used to dismiss something as worthless or insignificant. Literally, it translates to 'of my testicles.'
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 LDNOOBW, Viddexa SafeText (CC-BY-4.0, MIT). Editorial content © Swear Atlas.