https://www.proz.com/kudoz/french-to-english/other/117885-chiant.html?
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  2. French to English

chiant

English translation: pisses me off

11:25 Dec 2, 2001
French to English translations [Non-PRO]
French term or phrase: chiant
A letter!
LP
English translation:pisses me off
Explanation:
To stay within the register ... the other suggestions are polite language whereas this is more than just colloquial :)

So if you have qqch est chiant, then "it pisses me off".


Have fun!

Dee
Selected response from:

Hermeneutica
Switzerland
Local time: 03:31
Grading comment
Graded automatically based on peer agreement. KudoZ.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5 +3pisses me off
Hermeneutica
5 +3the translation is too offensive for the site. I am having my answer filtered away
Carole Muller
5 +1annoying; bothersome; irritating
Sylvie Brideau
4 +2a pain in the neck
Sheila Hardie
5 +1annoying/ boring/ a pain
Brigitte Gendebien
5a pain in the ass
5really boring/annoying
mckinnc
4boring
Serge L
4nerve-racking
4nerve-racking
Evert DELOOF-SYS


  

Answers


3 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
boring


Explanation:
to keep it polite ;-)

HTH,

Serge L.


    experience
Serge L
Local time: 03:31
PRO pts in pair: 227
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7 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +1
annoying; bothersome; irritating


Explanation:
you get the gist...

Sylvie

Reference: French Canadian native speaker

Sylvie Brideau
Canada
Local time: 21:31
PRO pts in pair: 37

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Sheila Hardie
4 mins
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9 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
nerve-racking


Explanation:
'chiant = lit.: 'shitty'

Think of what you say when you don't like something and apply these things to your letter.

No references needed here.

HTH


Native speaker of:

9 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
nerve-racking


Explanation:
'chiant = lit.: 'shitty'

Think of what you say when you don't like something and apply these things to your letter.

No references needed here.

HTH

Evert DELOOF-SYS
Belgium
Local time: 03:31
Native speaker of: Native in DutchDutch, Native in FlemishFlemish
PRO pts in pair: 287
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10 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +3
pisses me off


Explanation:
To stay within the register ... the other suggestions are polite language whereas this is more than just colloquial :)

So if you have qqch est chiant, then "it pisses me off".


Have fun!

Dee


    known common usage
Hermeneutica
Switzerland
Local time: 03:31
Native speaker of: Native in SpanishSpanish, Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in pair: 109
Grading comment
Graded automatically based on peer agreement. KudoZ.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Sylvie Brideau: I disagree that the expression is always used in such a strong sense.
10 mins
agree  Carole Muller: Agree with Dee. It's definitely a very literal adjective as Evert also remarks.
54 mins
agree  sujata
9 hrs
agree  Nikki Scott-Despaigne: "chaint" is used sometimes strongly, sometimes not, just as in GB English "be pissed off by/at/with sthg" can be used strongly or not. In either case, this is an acurate rendering of register!
15 hrs
agree  Attila Piróth: Close enough
1 day 2 hrs
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12 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
a pain in the neck


Explanation:
Someone who is a real pain in the neck might be described this way.

HTH


Sheila

Sheila Hardie
Spain
Local time: 03:31
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in pair: 683

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Linda Young (X): My dictionnary had a different last word but this is fine
3 hrs
  -> thanks, Linda:)
agree  Carole Muller: but then I went all the way
15 hrs
neutral  Nikki Scott-Despaigne: True, but not the most explicit exposé of how the word can be applied - insufficient context provided by the asker
15 hrs
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +1
annoying/ boring/ a pain


Explanation:
Chiant: annoying/ boring/ a pain
C'est chiant: it's a pain in the ass



    Reference: http://www.mahousu.f2s.com/dict.html
    Reference: http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Hall/7293/SILLYMOTS/fun.html
Brigitte Gendebien
Belgium
Local time: 03:31
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in pair: 192

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  sjpereira
12 hrs
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +3
the translation is too offensive for the site. I am having my answer filtered away


Explanation:
Fucking boring/ a pain in the arse to stay loyal to the original voicing and..ahmph,hm and the reference is (and I am not joking the good,old:

Robert et Collins, dictionary.
The example given is:

\\\"his lectures are fucking boring\\\" for \\\" ses cours sont chiant\\\"

with the remark that \\\"fucking boring should even be very British, while \\\"a pain in the arse/a pain in the butt\\\" is another suggestion considered more universally English as according to the respectable source mentioned above and more applicable in the context of people who are annoying rather than boring.

Your pick.

They all seem to convey the profound sense of annoyance and the register to which \\\"chiant\\\" truly belongs



    Robert et Collins and..ahmm native French speaker: it is a strong wording definitely linked to the middle body zones
Carole Muller
Denmark
Local time: 03:31
PRO pts in pair: 75

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Marc Schumacher: Grand! :-)))))))))))))))
2 hrs
  -> I'm glad you like it. I was personally quite satisfied to find it referenced.
agree  Thijs van Dorssen: Such an answer simply deserves an 'agree'. Cheers!
9 hrs
  -> yeah. I was a police interpreter for many years, and both client and police always expected me to remain in the register. So I've heard and said many things...also in court, haha. Anyway isn'it so, the client deserves we stay loyal to the register ?
agree  Mary Lalevee: Yes definitely,very strong word in my experience from living in France. Used by teenagers and angry adults..
11 hrs
  -> Yes. + those in all languages who always need to underline any statement with a middle body zone word. Precisely as in Eng. when using "fucking" before just anything: "fucking" hungry, "fucking" rich, etc.
neutral  mckinnc: I wouldn't agree it is necessarily as strong as you suggest
15 hrs
  -> I'm native:) It is tOTALLY banned in some circles. Language follows socio-economic patterns too. It is the nature of this type of words to be "very strong" in "uptown" circles and to become gradually more casual as the socio-economic strata move downwards
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11 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
a pain in the ass


Explanation:
Rude, I'm afraid!


Native speaker of:

13 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
really boring/annoying


Explanation:
It's not necesssarily as strong as suggested above (f***ing boring). Also, different translations could apply depending on the exact context.

Il est chiant, ce mec - he's a pain in the arse; he's really annoying. If a letter is chaint(e), it probably means it's something that's really annoying to deal with.

Depending on the force and tone with which something is said, it could be boring, really boring or f***ing boring).



mckinnc
Local time: 03:31
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in pair: 922

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Carole Muller: No,no chiant is always chiant. It's just being used by some people so often, you get the impression it has a gradient. Putain, putain de merde, merde, emmerdeur, son/sa XXX de merde, se faire chier are all powerful middle body zone words.
2 hrs
  -> I totally disagree with your assessment - like I said the strength of such expression is related to the context and tone
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