Yeah, there are a number of ways of telling someone how to shut up in French, (and Quebec does it differently than France). In France, this is one of the more aggressive / assertive / rude ways. But, the way he said it was a milder version, so it's more a "stfu" rather than "shut the fuck up".

There's "tais toi" which is basically like "be quiet". What you might say to kids being annoying. There's "ferme ta bouche", which is literally "shut your mouth". Or, "ferme la", which is basically "shut it". He basically picked the rudest form, but said it in the mildest way.

[–] can@sh.itjust.works 2 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

What would have been the not mild form? Full "ferme ta gueule"?

[–] merc@sh.itjust.works 4 points 9 months ago (1 children)

"Ferme ta bouche" (shut your mouth) or "ferme la" (shut it) are not mild, but not as strong as "ferme ta gueule" or "ta gueule". I don't know if there's a real difference between "ferme ta gueule" or "ta gueule", it probably depends more on how it's said than the words. Once you start using "gueule" it's a pretty strong form.

Really the two words "ta gueule" is shorthand for effectively saying "you have the mouth of an animal (a predator?) not a human, and you should shut it".

The closest English equivalent is "shut your hole".

[–] can@sh.itjust.works 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Thank you for elaborating. I think a literal English equivalent could also be "shut your trap"?

[–] merc@sh.itjust.works 2 points 9 months ago

Yeah, that's a good one. It's always hard to find exact matches though because of cultural differences.