bêtise
/bɛ.tiz/feminine
In French, the English phrase 'nonsense' is translated as bêtise. Wiktionary also lists absurdité.
Meaning: meaningless words (noun)
Ways to say it
| French | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| bêtise | /bɛ.tiz/ /be.tiz/ |
feminine |
| absurdité | /ap.syʁ.di.te/ | feminine |
The term refers to meaningless words. The word charabia refers to confused or incomprehensible speech used to express nonsense in a playful way. In a biological context, the related term non-sens refers to resulting from the substitution of a nucleotide in a sense codon, causing it to become a stop codon.
Which one should you use?
While absurdité refers to the philosophical or logical quality of being absurd, bêtise is the common way to refer to silly, foolish or nonsensical talk/actions.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
When referring to a collection of silly actions or repeated nonsense, the plural form bêtises is much more common than the singular bêtise.
How do you pronounce it?
/bɛ.tiz/
Did you know?
- The word bêtise shares its root with the word 'beast', as it derives from bête, meaning 'stupid' or 'animal-like'.
- While bêtise means 'nonsense' in a conversation, it is also the standard word for a 'prank' or a 'mischievous act' committed by a child.
- The word charabia is often used specifically to describe legal or administrative jargon that is so complex it becomes nonsense.
Examples in context
- Cesse tes bêtises !Stop your nonsense!This sentence is useful for telling someone to stop their nonsense using bêtise.Tatoeba #10464205 by Julien_PDC, translation #35485 by CK
- Ne dis pas de bêtises.Don't spout nonsense.This sentence is useful for telling someone not to spout bêtise.Tatoeba #7610047 by Micsmithel, translation #13067156 by rul
- Les bêtises, ça le connaît!He knows all about nonsense!This sentence is useful for saying someone knows all about bêtise.Tatoeba #5307258 by Scorpionvenin14, translation #13307150 by Lebensfreude
- Cessez de raconter des bêtises !Stop talking nonsense!
- Je ne peux pas écouter tes absurdités plus longtempsI can't listen to your nonsense any longer
- Ses propos sont pleins d'incohérencesHis statements are full of nonsense
- Il raconte toujours un charabia sans finHe always babbles nonsense endlessly
- Tu racontes vraiment des cornichonneries !You're talking real nonsense!
- 20 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Nathan and Emma are discussing a strange news article.
- NathanTu as lu cet article ?Did you read this article?
- EmmaOui, c'est une bêtise totale.Yes, it is total nonsense.
- NathanJe suis d'accord avec toi.I agree with you.
- EmmaPersonne ne devrait croire ça.Nobody should believe that.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “nonsense” translations and entries bêtise, absurdité, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries absurdité, bêtise, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
