How to say “cooties” in French?

Question

Cooties (occasionally spelled coodies) is an imaginary disease that little boys say little girls have.

And what's the subtle difference between Cootie and Coodies? — Stamm, Mar 12 '12 at 19:30
@Stamm I'm fairly sure it's just a variant spelling because the /t/ becomes a flap in that word. — Circeus, Mar 12 '12 at 23:06
Imaginary? Little girls only? Damn! And I've been applying anti-cootie lotion every day for decades. — Drew, Mar 04 '16 at 17:36
@Drew Si un jeune enfant est infesté de poux et donc infecté de cette grave maladie, est-il destiné à devenir infect plus tard (comme le lien entre la varicelle et le zona)? Punaise, ça expliquerait pas mal de chose, quand même! — Papa Poule, Mar 04 '16 at 23:58
I'm older and from the southern USA . This word has been around all my life. Refers to imaginary bugs. Think head lice. Connotes uncleanliness. Usually uttered in jest referring to girl or boy. — Dan Marsengill, Jul 08 '17 at 22:37

score 13 · Accepted Answer · edited Jul 11 '13 at 18:19

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To the best of my knowledge, there is no such thing as an equivalent to "cooties" in French "childhood culture", either in Europe or North America. You might find references to the other sex being icky, but I have never seen it "formalized" as something like it is in English.

edited Jul 11 '13 at 18:19

indoxica

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answered Mar 12 '12 at 22:52

Circeus

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score 12 · Answer 2 · edited Jul 12 '17 at 15:20

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I'm French. The best translation I can think of is (as, apparently, "cooties" is an insult boys use against girls) "les filles c'est nul" or "les filles ça craint" (not "ça craint = it scares" but "ça craint = it's the shame of being with, it's boring". Literary translation would be "les filles c'est des pouilleuses", "the girls are dirty / verminous persons", but it is not something children say in real life. This is too "nasty" and saying that would probably result in the children being scolded by their parents; saying "les filles c'est nul" might make parents smile.

edited Jul 12 '17 at 15:20

Alexandre d'Entraigues

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answered May 26 '13 at 22:21

Sharo

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The local variant I heard is des pisseuses, it refers to little girls, but it's not used by little boys, mostly grown-ups, and it's pejorative also. – Romain Valeri May 27 '13 at 00:48
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Cooties (Wikipedia) do not apply only to girls. – Drew Mar 04 '16 at 17:39

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Jan 20 '18 at 18:37

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A possible translation for “cooties” (which works for speakers from Québec or Europe) would be « des microbes de fille ».

answered Jan 20 '18 at 18:37

Alain Omer Duranceau

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score -1 · Answer 4 · edited Mar 08 '16 at 16:15

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In French, we would use something like "la touche pas, elle a des poux" (don't touch her, she has lice).

edited Mar 08 '16 at 16:15

Patrick Sebastien

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answered Mar 04 '16 at 13:03

user9611

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I've never heard anything of the sort... – Eusebius Mar 04 '16 at 16:57
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louses -> lice – Drew Mar 04 '16 at 17:37
Mais tu comprends bien que les "cooties" en anglais, ils ne indiquent pas une vraie infestation en ce moment? – Patrick Sebastien Mar 08 '16 at 16:13

score -1 · Answer 5 · answered Jul 12 '17 at 09:38

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Je ne connais pas l'expression anglaise, mais en France quand j'étais gamin j'entendais souvent les garçons moquer les filles en les qualifiant de pisseuses.

answered Jul 12 '17 at 09:38

mouviciel

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How to say “cooties” in French?

5 Answers5