ne rien foutre
What does “ne rien foutre” mean in English?
It means to do nothing or to avoid working altogether. It's a colorful way to express laziness or idleness.
You'll hear it in casual conversations, often as a jab at someone's lack of effort, similar to saying 'fucking around' in English. It's informal and carries a bit of a cheeky tone.
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Related French words
ne rien branler
3/5 · VulgarIt means to do absolutely nothing or to laze around. The literal translation is 'not shake anything.'
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.
baiser comme des lapins
3/5 · VulgarThis phrase means to have sex very frequently, drawing a comparison to rabbits known for their high reproductive rates.
casser les couilles
3/5 · VulgarIt means to annoy or bother someone intensely. The literal translation refers to breaking testicles, but it's typically used figuratively.
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.
“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.