The Alternative Breton Dictionary

Boulc'hurun ! Good Lord ! note Other translations : "Jesus !", etc. Lit: "Thunder bowl !", the equivalent of th French "Tonnerre de Brest !" or the German "Donnerwetter !".

bramm (noun, masc.) † flatulence (noisy) note Breton proverb : "Bramm hep trouz na c'hwezh, a zo labour difrouezh" : "A flatulence which is neither noisy nor stinky is a useless job".

brammañ † to make a flatulence (noisily), to fart note Example : "Te eo 'n deus brammet, loen flaerius ?": "Is that you that farted, you stinky beast ?". No comment.

brammer (noun) † sb. who spends his time hanging around, doing nothing special. note Example : "Sell 'ta ouzh ar brammer kozh, o vont da lippañ ur banne" : "Look at that old fart, he's going to the pub"

brammig (noun) ☺ kid note Frequently used talking to very youg children (3 to 6 years old). "Pe oad out, brammig ?" : "How old are you, sonny ?"

c'hoari koukou (verbal phrase) fornicate, make love note Barely a slang phrase, rather weak and old-fashioned. More gentle, though, than the verb "fouzhañ".

droug-blev (noun) hangover note Also see "mezv", "reorad", "foñsad". Example : "Ma 'vefes ket bet mezv-dall derc'h, 'vefes ket o klemm gant an droug blev hiziv" "If you had'nt been pissed like a newt yesterday, you would'n be complaining about your hangover today"

foñsad (noun, masc.) inebriation, piss note See "reorad".

fouzhañ to copulate, to make love note non-transitive verb. "Fouzhañ gant unan bennak", to copulate with sb., to make love to sb.

gast (noun, f; plural 'gisti') † bitch note As in English, it both means a female dog and a prostitute, although the first sense has now faded away. "E Lannbaeron, n'eus ken met gisti ha laeron !"(notice the rime in "-aeron"): "In Landebaeron, there's nobody but whores and thieves !". Also used as an interjection : "Gast !" which can be translated as "Gee !" or "Blimey !" or "Bloody heck !", etc. Derivatives : "Gast ar c'hast":"Gosh, golly !","Gast a gurun": "Bloody hell !" (lit. "thunder bitch!") Of course, it is also used as an insult : "Gast kozh !":"You old bitch !"; "Mab ar c'hast !":"You son of a bitch!".

kaoc'h faeces note also used when cursing : "kaoc'h !"=shit! ; "kaoc'h ki du !"= "a black dog's shit"

karc'hat to shit note verb; cf. "kerzh da garc'hat"

kerzh da garc'hat † get lost / leave me alone note As a strong insult, it could be translated as "Fuck off !", "Kiss my arse" or "Go fuck a duck !"

louf (noun, masc.) † flatulence (smelly) note Example : "Hemañ 'n deus graet ul louf flaerius !": "This guy made a stinky flatulence !"

Ma reor d'al laboused ! † litt : My arse to the birds ! note An expressive curse, the equivalent of "Kaoc'h ki du !" ~ "Shit !" Bigouden dialect.

mezv (adj.) drunk note Also spelled : Meo, meze, mezo. Several comparisons can be made to reinforce the strength of this adjective, depending on the degree of ethylism. Examples : "Mezv 'vel ur person", litt.:pissed as a vicar (completely drunk); "mezv 'vel ur porc'hell" : drunk as a pig, etc.

mezv-dall (& others : adj.) completely drunk note Based on the adjective "mezv", some other compounds can be made. Here are some of them with their literal translation : "Mezv-dall", drunken to blindness, "Mezv-marv", drunken to death, "Mezv-mik" or "mezv-poch"=completely drunk.

Peoc'h da ma benn, pe ma reor 'ray un tenn ! † litt. : Be silent to my head or my arse will shoot ! note An expressive curse that means : "Shut up !"

Preg d'am reor, ma benn 'zo klañv ! † litt. : Talk to my arse, my head is sick ! note refers to the french "Parle à mon cul, ma tête est malade"="Cause toujours, tu m'intéresses". Usually means : "I don't care what you say"

reor arse note masc. noun of common use. Also referred to in several phrases.

reorad (noun, masc.) inebriation, piss note Based on the noun "reor" (arse), this noun literally means "a full bottom of booze". "An deiz-all 'm eus paket ur reorad e fest-noz Plouvagor", "I got drunken at the breton céilidh the other day in Ploumagoar". Also used with some nouns to reinforce the meaning : "ur reorad spe'ed, ur reorad ludu, ur reorad teilh"

Serr da veg, ha lak da reor da breg ! Shut up ! note Lit. "Shut your mouth and let your arse talk !". An interesting phrase because of the rime ("veg" & "preg"). Lots of phrases in Breton include rimes, see : "Peoc'h d'am fenn, pe ma reor 'ray un tenn !" for the "-enn" rime.

sevel da unan bennak (phrase) † to have an erection (for sb.) note Mainly used as follows : "Sevel a ra din, sevel a ra dezhañ", etc. Example : "Sevel a rae dezhañ pa wele he bronnoù lemm" : "He would have a hard-on whenever he saw her breasts"

stot (noun, masc.) urine note Of common use when decribing a beverage : "Gast, n'eo ket ur banne kafe, met stot marc'h eo !" "Gee, that's not coffee, that's horse urine !" i.e. that coffee is not strong enough.

stotañ (verb) to urinate note Other spelling : staotañ. Example : "Bewech ma 'vezon mezv e stotan en ma bragou" "Whenever I get drunk, I piss my trousers "

Tripledie ! Gosh ! note Lit: "Triple God !". Mainly used in Leon.

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