noun General Slang

Cefran

/sefʀɑ̃/ · noun · slang

Verlan for 'francais' (French) — a French person or the French language.

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Definitions

1

Can refer to the French language itself.

“Parle en cefran. = Speak in French.”
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2

From the standard French 'francais' (French). Verlan reshapes fran-cais to ce-fran. It refers to a French person, often specifically a white/ethnic French person.

“Y'avait des cefrans et des rebeus, tout le monde mélange. = There were French and North African folks, everyone mixed.”
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3

Used in the banlieues to mark ethnic French identity in contrast to other heritages, in a descriptive rather than hostile way.

“Le quartier, c'est cefrans, rebeus, renois, tous ensemble. = The neighbourhood is French, North African, Black, all together.”
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Cefran In A Sentence

Mon pote cefran kiffe le rai.
Il ecrit ses textes en cefran et en arabe.
Dans la cite, cefrans et rebeus grandissent ensemble.

Origin & Usage

Banlieue verlan from 'francais', current since the 1990s. Often appears alongside 'rebeu' and 'renoi' (verlan of 'noir', Black) as part of a vocabulary describing the multicultural makeup of the estates.

Variants cefran
Tags #verlan#french#argot#identity#banlieue

People Also Ask

What does cefran mean?

It's verlan for 'francais' and refers to a French person or the French language.

Does cefran specify ethnicity?

Often it marks ethnic/white French identity in contrast to other heritages, usually descriptively rather than as an insult.

Where did cefran come from?

From verlan, the back-slang of the French banlieues, alongside words like 'rebeu' and 'renoi'.

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