Today we’ll have a look at one of my all time favorite French words: “bof!”. This is actually more of a sound or interjection and means”meh” and “nah”. It is used to describe mediocrity and suggest that something is just so-so.
bof
meh
Bof meaning: meh, nah
Word origin
Bof is an acronym for beurre, œufs, fromage (butter, eggs, cheese), dating back to the early 20th century. A French definition for bof is: “Interjection of indifference, inenthusiasm, dissatisfaction, inevitability, evasive response”.
Example sentences
This first example sentence is based on a real-life experience. In 2022, I went to Douai, France to visit my former host father from when I was an exchange student in 1991. After coming out of the movies he was asked whether he liked the movie we’d just watched. This example sentence is based on his reply.
Tu as aimé le film Avatar? – Bof, pas vraiment. C’était bruyant !
Did you like the movie, Avatar? – Meh, not really. It was noisy!
This next example sentence plays into how the French often stereotype American cooking. I don’t want to admit it but sometimes I feel that the French are right!
Tu aimes la cuisine américaine ? – Bof, pas vraiment. Ils ne savent pas cuisiner, les américains.
Do you like American cooking? – Meh, not really. The Americans don’t know how to cook.
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