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The meaning of “flipper” in French

french vocabulary Nov 14, 2022

Tu as récemment flippé ?  Huh? Take a peek at the way to say you ‘freaked out’ in French.

‘Flipper’ is a common word in French, especially in certain films at the moment. Traditionally, Flipper is like the English - to flip something over. So there’s a little connection - Freaking out is like turning your emotions upside down and then displaying them for all to see! 

You will discover:

  • What flipper means
  • How to use flipper
  • How you can learn more effectively, and use the technique for words too. 



Flipper: the pinball game in French.

Let’s start with the noun. Remember the pinball machine game? Oui? Well, in French, this game is a “flipper” (pronounced as “flippeur”). Actually, it’s the exact pronunciation of Flipper the dolphin!

Here’s an example with the noun:

  • Tu veux jouer au flipper avec moi ? >>> Fancy playing on the pinball machine?

In case, you are not sure how to say it, here’s an 80s French song for you to help you memorise: “Boule de flipper”.

  

The French verb of Flipper.

But the common use of the word “flipper” is the verb. You would choose it when you want to say “freak out” in the familiar register. The normal register would have “avoir peur”...

You would say something like this in real life:

  • Il a flippé quand il a vu le crash boursier >>> He freaked out when he saw the financial crash.

 

Another context with the same intent:

  • J’ai complètement flippé quand j’ai laissé tomber mon téléphone portable et j’ai vu les degats >>> I totally freaked out when I dropped my phone and saw the damage.

As you can see, whenever you opt for the verb “flipper”, it involves a negative state of anguish.

 

Another meaning of Flipper: great craving.

Time to explore another version of the verb “flipper”. Contrary to the previous meaning, it doesn’t express a state of preoccupation but deep craving. Indeed, if you can’t resist something, the verb “flipper” will be the right one. 

If you are not sure how to say it, here’s an example to help:

  • Elle a flippé devant le chocolat et l’a tout bouffé ! >>> She totally freaked out in front of the chocolate and scoffed the lot!



The French expression of “faire flipper”.

Since you know more about the versions of the word “flipper”, you can deal now with an “extension” of it, an idiomatic phrase:“ faire flipper”. In this context, you still feel this emotion of anguish but you clearly indicate that it comes from another source. In other words, you are telling who or what makes you feel this way. 

Let’s see it with an example:

  • La musique dans le film d’horreur m’a fait flipper toute la nuit ! >>> The music in the horror film freaked me out all night!

 

The various meanings of the word “flipper”.

To summarize, there are different options to translate the word “flipper” whether it’s a noun or depending on the context.

The pronunciation will help you distinguish the noun from the verb.

  • flipper (flippeur like the dolphin) >>> the pinball game
  • flipper (verb) >>> to freak out / to crave for / to go crazy for
  • faire flipper >>> something that makes you freak out. 


Hopefully, you didn’t “flippé” during this lesson and learned how to use it in several contexts. Do you still have doubts or questions about the topic? If yes, simply contact me!

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