French word

vaurien

Pronunciation

IPA/voʁjɛ̃/

Meaning

  • masculine noungood-for-nothing

Example

C'est un vaurien.

He is a good-for-nothing.

Illustration for vaurien (good-for-nothing)

More examples

La police a arrêté le vaurien.

The police arrested the scoundrel.

Core concept

A person seen as useless and troublesome, fit for nothing and a source of trouble.

Common phrases

  • espèce de vaurien

    you scoundrel

  • sale vaurien

    dirty scoundrel

Similar words

fainéant: A person who avoids work and is habitually lazy.
profiteur: A person who exploits others' kindness or effort for personal gain.
parasite: An unreliable person who lives off others without contributing.

Definition in French

Désigne quelqu'un jugé inutile ou nuisible, équivalent à « bon à rien ».

Word origin

Vaurien comes from the phrase vaut rien, literally "is worth nothing", whose words fused into a noun.

Usage tips

  • Vaurien is a strong pejorative insult, so it is not a neutral synonym for an unproductive person.

Other meanings

  • rascalnoun
  • scoundrelnoun
  • roguenoun

Word lists with this word