What is behind the craze for nonsense made-up words in French?

Younger generations use more and more made-up words from trends on social media or rap songs, often leaving older generations who denounce their silliness or stupidity befuddled.

The best example is quoicoubeh, a made-up word shouted by students from Generation Z (people born after 1995) that has taken most of France’s classrooms and playgrounds by storm in 2023.

Read more: Seven alternative French words to make you sound more native

Joke used to defy teachers, parents and even the president

It was popularised by TikToker @camskolavache in late 2022. It consists of asking someone a question by mumbling words to make it incomprehensible, forcing the person being asked to say ‘quoi’ (what?) before replying back quoicoubeh.

It is only a newer version of a joke past generations did with coiffeur (hairdresser) with the person saying ‘quoi’ before replying back ‘ffeur’, the only difference being that quoicoubeh does not mean anything.

Quoicoubeh has been interpreted as both a joke to poke fun but also as a way to defy teachers, parents and authority figures – going right up to the Elysée Palace since YouTuber Fililala did it to President Emmanuel Macron.

The gag has also thrown up other words such as apanyae, the word shouted after someone says ‘hein’? (eh? or what?).

Read more: ‘Jourbon!’: What is France’s backwards slang Verlan?

Made-up words can make their way into the dictionary

While quoicoubeh has not been listed in any French dictionary yet, ‘made-up words’ can make their way to dictionaries – such as for ‘nooice’ which was included in Urban dictionary, a crowdsourced English-language online dictionary for slang words and phrases.

‘Nooice’ was popularised by popular American comic duo Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, known under the stage name Key and Peele.

“Nooice just simply means something that is incredible beyond words. What we have done is given a word to that which cannot be expressed. If you see something that is too amazing for words, you just go ‘nooice’,” said Keegan-Michael Key on American talk show Conan in 2018.

Help rappers get noticed

Made-up words are also being used as a marketing tactic by rappers in the hope that they get noticed nationwide, increasing their visibility.

Last September, the youth started picking up on the words ‘skeu skeu’ and ‘la grint’ from two relatively unknown rappers who released songs.

The first one has had people argue on X (formerly Twitter) about its significance.

“It came out of my head just like that. It can mean anything,” said rapper Jogga to Le Parisien, who has included a dance move to start a trend on TikTok and maximise visibility.

The second comes from the same observation and was popularised by rapper Nono La Grinta in his song Délit.

Mister V, one of France’s most followed Youtubers, has poked fun at these particular rappers making up words in a satirical clip that features several rappers.

One of them is called Invento, a rapper that only speaks with made-up words that he and his crew understand.

Invento’s song could, however, be linked to a modern Jabberwocky, a nonsense poem by Lewis Carroll composed in 1871, which demonstrates that the skeleton of a story can be drawn out despite the constant alignment of made-up words.

Read more: 10 French songs that have sparked debate over the years

Most listened-to francophone artist uses made-up words

Made-up words have proven very rewarding in the case of Aya Nakamura, the most listened-to francophone artist in the world.

Part of Ms Nakamura’s success was built on words from her very own vocabulary such as pookie (someone who can’t be trusted), djadja (a man who lies), tu dead ça (doing something very well) and catchana (a sex position).

Last July, teenager YouTuber Pink Lily turned the quoicoubeh phenomenon into a song, reaching almost 10million views in six months.

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