• @merc
    link
    214 months ago

    Effectively “shut the fuck up”.

    “Gueule” is a mouth, but that of an animal, mostly a carnivore like a dog or a reptile.

      • @merc
        link
        54 months ago

        Yeah, there are a number of ways of telling someone how to shut up in French, (and Quebec does it differently than France). In France, this is one of the more aggressive / assertive / rude ways. But, the way he said it was a milder version, so it’s more a “stfu” rather than “shut the fuck up”.

        There’s “tais toi” which is basically like “be quiet”. What you might say to kids being annoying. There’s “ferme ta bouche”, which is literally “shut your mouth”. Or, “ferme la”, which is basically “shut it”. He basically picked the rudest form, but said it in the mildest way.

        • @can
          link
          2
          edit-2
          4 months ago

          What would have been the not mild form? Full “ferme ta gueule”?

          • @merc
            link
            44 months ago

            “Ferme ta bouche” (shut your mouth) or “ferme la” (shut it) are not mild, but not as strong as “ferme ta gueule” or “ta gueule”. I don’t know if there’s a real difference between “ferme ta gueule” or “ta gueule”, it probably depends more on how it’s said than the words. Once you start using “gueule” it’s a pretty strong form.

            Really the two words “ta gueule” is shorthand for effectively saying “you have the mouth of an animal (a predator?) not a human, and you should shut it”.

            The closest English equivalent is “shut your hole”.

            • @can
              link
              14 months ago

              Thank you for elaborating. I think a literal English equivalent could also be “shut your trap”?

              • @merc
                link
                24 months ago

                Yeah, that’s a good one. It’s always hard to find exact matches though because of cultural differences.