SPEAK A LITTLE NIÇOIS

The mini-lexicon

We keep using the words, pichoun. Fair enough. Here is what they mean, plus the ones on the menu and in the street.

The words we slip into our pages

The ones you will meet on Mametas. Further down: the menu, the street and the street signs.

Mèfi: watch out

Watch out. Be careful. The one to learn first.

Pichoun

Little one, kid. Usually affectionate. Context still applies.

Cagade

An avoidable cock-up. Precisely the kind of thing Mametas is trying to save you from.

Dégun

Nobody. “Y a dégun” means there is nobody there. A fairly ambitious request on the Riviera in August.

Ficanas

Nosy gossips. A local skill which, used properly, can produce excellent recommendations.

Empégué

Someone looking distinctly out of it. Including behind the wheel, unfortunately.

Hu!

Wow! Oh my! The cry at something grand or unexpected. In everyday Niçois, it also comes with a tease when someone has just made a small cagade or been had. On Mametas, that someone is often you.

Issa

Come on! Forward! Nice’s cry of encouragement, best known from “Issa Nissa!”. Useful before any staircase in Old Nice.

Calu

Crazy, nuts. “Comme un calu”: like a madman. Said of an idea, it is the verdict that ends the conversation.

Ratchou

Stingy, tight-fisted. Turning ratchou means haggling over every euro. On the Riviera, a sport that takes practice.

At the table: menu words

In Nice, the menu still speaks Niçois. The Cuisine Nissarde label in a restaurant window marks places that respect the traditional recipes.

SoccaA thin chickpea-flour pancake baked in a wood oven, peppered and eaten scalding hot with your fingers. Say “SOH-ka”.

PissaladièreSlow-cooked onion tart with anchovies and olives, named after pissalat, the salted anchovy paste.

Pan bagnat“Bathed bread”: a round bun soaked in olive oil, filled with tuna and raw vegetables. Say “pan ban-YA”.

Tourta de bleaSwiss chard pie, often sweet, with pine nuts and raisins. Yes, for dessert.

TrouchiaA flat chard omelette. In Nice, chard goes everywhere.

EstocaficadaA stew of estocafic, dried fish, cooked with tomatoes, potatoes and olives. A winter dish with a bold flavour.

PoutineTiny newly hatched fish caught for a few weeks in winter, often in an omelette. Nothing to do with Québec.

PanisseFried chickpea-flour sticks. Socca’s cousin, shared with Marseille.

GansesSmall fried Carnival pastries dusted with sugar.

MesclunMixed young salad leaves, from the Provençal mesclar, “to mix”.

BarbajuanFried pastry stuffed with chard and ricotta. More Monaco than Nice: that is where you will mostly find it.

In the street

What you hear at the market, at the bar or on a bench along the Promenade.

AdieuHello… and goodbye. Do not take it personally if someone greets you with it.

BouònjourHello in Niçois. To leave: a si reveire, see you again.

FadaA bit mad. “C’est un fada” is often said with affection.

Boulègue!Get a move on! From bouléguer, to stir.

Zou!Off we go. The local “right then”.

CagnardBlazing sun. “En plein cagnard”: best avoided around 2pm in summer.

EnsuquéDazed, usually by the heat. See cagnard.

On street signs and around town

In Old Nice the street signs speak Niçois too. Here is how to read them.

Nissa la bella“Nice the beautiful”, the city’s unofficial anthem, by Menica Rondelly. Nissa is Nice.

BabazoukThe nickname for Old Nice. Its proper Niçois name: the Vielha Vila, the old town.

Carriera, plaçaStreet and square. You will see them under the French names.

GravaThe beach. Pebbles, obviously.

PounchuThe pointu, Nice’s brightly painted traditional fishing boat.

MercatThe market. The Cours Saleya one closes on Mondays, when the antiques dealers take over.

THE RULE

Do not force the accent. Dégun asked for that.

Checked 13 October 2026