La Langue: From “pitchoun” to “papy geek” — French words (and slang) for every age, bébé → grand-âge

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If France had an Olympics for nicknames, the “ages of life” would win gold. Here’s your cheerful field guide—from babies to very wise elders—sprinkled with regional gems, current slang, and the do-not-get-yourself-in-trouble register notes.

0–2: Bébé, tout-petits & regional cuteness

  • bébé, nourrisson — neutral/standard.

  • bambin(e) — toddler-ish, affectionate.

  • bout de chou — “little cabbage,” super sweet.

  • pitchoun/pitchoune — Provence/Aix-Marseille for “little one.” You’ll hear it everywhere here. (Dico en ligne Le Robert)

  • minot/minotte — Marseille/Provence kid. (Also widely recognized beyond Marseille.) (Hellofrench)

  • gone — Lyonnais for “kid.” (Thisislyon)

  • gamin(e), môme, gosse — very common, familiar; môme is textbook “kid” in colloquial French. (Larousse)

  • lardon — argot for a (small) kid; cheeky tone. (WordReference)

Register tip: affectionate in-group words like pitchoun make locals smile; lardon can sound roguish—save it for friends who’ll get the joke.

11–17: Les ados (teens)

  • ado — the standard; also collégien / lycéen (middle/high-schooler).

  • Familiar descriptors you’ll hear around youth culture (not age labels per se): teufeur/teufeuse (party-goer), geek, etc.

18–29: Jeunes adultes, étudiants &… Tanguy?

  • jeune / jeune adulte / étudiant(e) — neutral.

  • les darons / la daronne — slang for “parents,” common in youth speech (use it about your own parents, not others). (The Local France)

  • un/une Tanguy — a young adult still living with the parents (from the hit film). It’s widely understood in France. Use with care; it’s a stereotype shorthand. (Wikipedia)

By decades: The tidy (and very French) system

  • vingtenaire, trentenaire, quadragénaire, quinquagénaire (quinqua), sexagénaire, septuagénaire, octogénaire, nonagénaire — tidy labels by decade; quinqua is especially common in media/lifestyle pages. (Reddit)

  • Handy informal add-ons: quadra, quinqua, sexagénaire (still formal-ish).

50+ to 100+: Seniors, papys & mamies (aka the nickname Olympics)

  • senior(s) — a marketing/policy catch-all for 50+; the exact cutoff varies by context. (HubSpot Blog)

  • troisième âge / quatrième âge — “senior years” vs “very advanced age.” The quatrième âge often implies loss of autonomy. (Wikipedia)

  • Family nicknames: mamie/mamé/mémé & papi/papy/pépé — the everyday, affectionate choices for grandparents across France. (The Local France)

Hipster/granfluencer corner (yes, it’s a thing)

  • Media and everyday speech play with mamie cool / mamie branchée, papy cool / papy geek for stylish, tech-savvy grands. (Think sneakers, AirPods, and better Instagram than mine.) You’ll even see celebrity-style nicknames like “Mamie Rock.” (L'Express)

Register tip: mémé/pépé can be super tender in-family, but a bit rustic if used about someone else. When in doubt, mamie/papi (or grand-mère / grand-père) is safer.

Cross-generational pop talk

  • boomer and the meme OK boomer are used in French too—recognizable but potentially snarky/ageist. Use sparingly. (Wikipedia)

  • You’ll also hear Gen X, Y (millennials), Z in workplaces and media. (France Travail)

Micro-cheat-sheet by vibe (use with care!)

  • Cute/affectionate: pitchoun, bout de chou, gamin(e), mamie/papi. (Dico en ligne Le Robert)

  • Familiar/neutral: ado, trentenaire, quadra, quinqua, senior. (Linternaute.com)

  • Regional flair: minot (Marseille/Provence), gone (Lyon). (Hellofrench)

  • Spicy/argot: lardon, daron/daronne, Tanguy, OK boomer. (Mind the tone and audience.) (Wiktionnaire)

Why it matters (a tiny etiquette PSA)

French is fabulously nuanced with age words, but tone and relationship matter more than the dictionary. If you’re new, start neutral, then mirror what people around you say. Your future self will thank you (and so will that mamie branchée at the marché).

Mini-glossary (grab-and-go)

Sources & further rabbit holes (lightly)

Regional kid words: pitchoun (Le Robert; Babbel) and minot (HelloFrench). (Dico en ligne Le Robert)
Parents slang: daron/daronne (The Local). (The Local France)
Tanguy phenomenon (Wikipedia; Le Monde feature). (Wikipedia)
Decade labels (community explainer). (Reddit)
Grandparent nicknames (The Local). (The Local France)
Senior terms & “third/fourth age” (Wikipedia; Le Robert; marketing explainers). (Wikipedia)
“Mamie Rock” in the press (L’Express, Elle). (L'Express)
“OK boomer” in French (Wikipedia FR). (Wikipedia)

Your turn (on papote 👇)

What do you hear in Aix? Are you Team pitchoun or Team minot? Any mamies branchées or papys geeks in your life? Drop your real-world examples—bonus points for regional gems we missed.

Tips for learners (A1 → Advanced):

  • A1: Learn 6 safe words: bébé, ado, jeune, adulte, senior, mamie/papi. Practice in short sentences.

  • A2: Add 4 friendly colloquials: pitchoun, gamin(e), quadra, quinqua. Note when people around you use them.

  • B1: Try one regional word (Aix: pitchoun). Ask locals if they use it: “On dit pitchoun ici, non ?”

  • B2: Navigate register: rephrase a sentence three ways (neutral → friendly → slang) and rate appropriateness.

  • C1/C2: Track discourse shifts: listen for Tanguy, boomer, Gen Z in French media; note tone and context.

(Yes, this was meticulously curated. If we missed your grandmother’s legendary nickname, I owe her a calisson.)

Location: France

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