Usage Note
Bordel is a vulgar but extremely common informal word for disorder or chaos, as in 'quel bordel ici!' ('what a mess here!'). It literally means 'brothel' but in everyday speech it overwhelmingly means a shambles or total confusion. Use it only in very casual contexts — it is considered crude.
Examples
"Quel bordel dans ta chambre !"
Natural Translation
What a mess in your room!

Free starter pack
Building your French vocabulary?
Get the 100 most common French words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.
Related Words
Explore French by topic