# beau gosse



## Joanne83

beau gosse

How would you translate this in English? What does it mean?

I know its not 'beautiful kid'!

It's talking about a man.

_Il se la joue beau gosse et ça marche. 
_ 
I understand the rest, but translationg beau gosse here...... hmmmm


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## anangelaway

Bonjour Joanne!

_beau gosse_ here means _hot guy_. He is sort of showing off and plays _James_ _Dean_ as if... 
_''He is playing the hot guy and it works.''_ This is not the best way to put it in English I'm afraid, but this is the idea.


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## lamarmotte71

Yeah. The closest way I can put it actually is he played the "lady killer" role. But actually in context it sounds more like we'd say in Australia someone who thinks they're a "Guiseppi" or here in Quebec "un Gino". 

ie. He played the "machoismo" (macho man) and it worked.


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## Joanne83

i think beau gosse is a word used such a lot in french but we dont have any one word in english which quite cuts it!


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## texasweed

good looking guy/kid (AE)


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## Isotta

You probably say "rogue" and convey some of it, but not always. For example, I recently heard the expression, "Si ce beau gosse venait chez moi, il ne dormirait pas dans la baignoire," which could be rendered as, "If that fine thing..." (I'm sure someone could come up with something better along those lines). "Qui est ce beau gosse?" would probably be simply, "Who is that cute boy?" 

I think we do have expressions for it, but that they would be different in different circumstances ("pretty boy," "hot guy," etc.).


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## Joanne83

thanks Isotta, I think u are right!


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## claudine75

i dont think there's necessarily a "macho" element to the term "beau gosse"
..like someone else said ,its a "hot" guy,really cute/nice looking, but it doesnt imply that he has a "macho-type attitude"..its more that he's just *really *good looking (with movie-star good looks)...and he knows it!


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## Aristartle

I always think it means "fine hunk" more or less.


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## the drop

Hi, I have an additional question for this forum... How would you say in english "beau gosse" when you're saying hello to a handsome guy or just a friend, as we could say in french "salut beau gosse!"?


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## Rageneau

Two words: Lover Boy.


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## pyan

Rageneau said:


> Two words: Lover Boy.


"Hello, lover boy," would be audacious and impudent, so be careful!


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## the drop

thanks for your replies... I've heard many times "hello gorgeous" said to a woman, there's not an equivalent for guys without being TOO audacious?


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## texasweed

the drop said:


> How would you say in english "beau gosse" when you're saying hello to a handsome guy or just a friend, as we could say in french "salut beau gosse!"?


 
*Hi Handsome!*


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## janpol

Oui, Texasweed, "handsome man", tout simplement. 
J'ai entendu, un jour, une jeune fille dire : "Je cherche les beaux gosses sur la plage, ceux qui ont des tablettes de chocolat" (les muscles abdominaux bien dessinés). La beauté du visage ne doit donc pas suffire pour être considéré comme "beau gosse", il faut aussi avoir développé sa musculature...


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## Triton_e

the drop said:


> Hi, I have an additional question for this forum... How would you say in english "beau gosse" when you're saying hello to a handsome guy or just a friend, as we could say in french "salut beau gosse!"?



"hi there good looking" or just "hi good looking" comes off a lot more natural and it's something a girl could say to either a guy or a a girl, especially amongst good friends. If you were implying that you'd say it to someone you've just met I think it would take a certain personality to pull it off but i think it word come off in a more natural way than other options.


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## Tishu

the drop said:
			
		

> "Hi, I have an additional question for this forum... How would you say in english "beau gosse" when you're saying hello to a handsome guy or just a friend, as we could say in french "salut beau gosse!"?"


 
"Hello handsome"
Or
"Hey good looking" (Made me think of the song by _Hank Williams_)

Only, it's the sort of thing you'd say, if you wanted them to know you thought they were attractive...

It's rather Hollywood in my opinion...

"Hey hotstuff" But that's just weird...and somewhat creepy...


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## kalispera

Ha yeah, definitely, "Hey good lookin'..." in the same way that the song implies.  

Un beau gosse is a guy who is conventionally hot, and he knows it.  This is probably someone who will end up successful in life (although sometimes not), and he knows he is handsome and he works it.  That's the best way I can put it.


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## garcondenyon

I was watching an internet Q&A interview with actor Melvil Poupaud where a cute girl, probably enthralled with him, asks him "Bonjour, c'est Marie. Juste une question.. beau gosse, c'est un metier... ou...?" and he smiles and says "Merci Marie, Non, c'est pas mon metier principale, mais c'est un passe-temps".

From this context, it would seem beau gosse can mean modeling?


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## kalispera

No, I don't think that beau gosse means a model.  My guess is that in this situation the girl was hitting on him with a pretty cheesy line, something like, "Just a question, is being that good looking a full-time job?"


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## Arioch94

My 2 cents : 

Beau Gosse would mean either 

- he's hot and he knows it
- while not so hot he acts like he is with success => people begin to think he is

in any case the man is sure of himself and of his seduction, and it works precisely because of that

the point is : it works. The "beau gosse" never makes a fool of himself, unless on purpose. if you think about somebody who would want to be hot but fails, he's no longer a Beau Gosse.

You sometimes hear "Beaugossitude" which means "Beau Gosse" attitude, it is a style, a way of behaving in life.

Alain Delon (young), Jean-Paul Belmondo (young), Jude Law and George Clooney to me represent various kinds of beaux gosses.

I don't know the equivalent in english for all that


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## garcondenyon

Thanks kalispera and Arioch94. 

She asked the question with such a straight face it threw me off (I was _assuming_ she was enthralled, but couldn't be sure.)  Maybe you can get away with a cheesy line if you do it deadpan! 

Obviously this beau gosse word is loaded with meaning.

By the way, Poupaud didn't come across as arrogant in any way. Quite humble actually. When he smiled at her question it wasn't to say "ha, I sure got you", but more like "thanks, Marie, that's sweet of you."


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## JeffPSU

"Hello, handsome."


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## mbeau003

In my opinion, a "Beau Gosse" translates well to a "Stud" in English.


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## janpol

"gosse" peut aussi désigner un enfant (garçon ou fille)


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## Wolwugo

To go back to the original sentence:
"Il se la joue beau gosse et ca marche."

Though beau gosse can mean "attractive male" in English; in which case, it would be translated by: looker (a little dated), hunk, hottie (aka "Hottie McBody"), sexy, etc.

However, I think in this context it conveys the idea that the guy is explicitly trying to act smooth; in which case, beau gosse would be better translated as: player ("playa") or pimp.

So I would translate the original sentence as:
"He plays the pimp, but it works [for him]."


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## AthaulfII

No, not OK; 

for someone "beautiful" & fair, I think "fairchild" is the most litteral, 'though not used too often with adult subjects

for someone "lascivious", in the honour of Carl Mc Coy from the Fields of the Nephilim,we could invent a new one : "rabid-raiser"?


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## DearPrudence

Wolwugo said:


> Though beau gosse can mean "attractive male" in English; in which case, it would be translated by: looker (a little dated), hunk, hottie (aka "Hottie McBody"), sexy, etc.


Not answering the question in the context offered but "beau gosse" can be used to state that a man is good-looking:
_*"Il est beau gosse !" "C'est un beau gosse".
*_In which case Wolwugo's suggestions work very well.
*"He's a hunk / a hottie / hot / sexy."*


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## Evren_ytu

Hi

My answer is kind of late but I hope I can add something for the content of "Beau Gosse". It literally means "Beautiful Boy". However , as far as I know from my French friends from France, this expression can mean a lot of things. 

First, you can use it to say "Handsome guy"
Second, you can use it to praise somebody. For instance, you have a friend who were succesfull in something. Then you can call him like "Beau Gosse!! you did it!!!"
Third, you can also use it for instance, you go to a night club with your friend, your friend hits on a girl and they kiss eachother. Then you can call him " Beau Gosse!!!! c'est ca!!! "
Forth, for example, if your friend deceives his girlfriend, then you can call him "Beau Gosse!!"

To sum up, it is all about the content and your purpose to say it. However I have never come across with a bad reaction when I used this expression. It sounds really funny as far as I understood from their reaction when I called my friends like that 

I hope this helps.


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## franc 91

He knows how to put on the charm with the good looks that he has and it works (suggestion)


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## Seeda

A possible translation that hasn't been offered on this thread is *bad ass*. Indeed, _beau gosse_ isn't all about being handsome; it has a lot to do with attitudes as well.


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## Andrew3003

I was reading the translation for the new Inbetweeners movie "Les boloss"

And beau gosse is translated as "player".

I like the translation - it fits very well.


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## Graine de Moutarde

Hi! I know a word that's often used, albeit often in a derogatory or teasing way, is 'Pretty Boy.' It's usually meant to describe people who are really attractive or maybe affluent and who know it. That is to say those who look down on people--who either aren't as rich, good-looking, or as popular as them. Or to describe people whom others think to have those characteristics.

One example I can think of is that guy berating himself to a girl he liked but who rejected him. "I should have known you would never go out with someone like me. Someone who's not a Pretty Boy."

  I hope this helps! 

~~~GdeM


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## Neuchy

Sounds more like she was being ironic ( I cheated and found the video of Marie asking the question) Mr Poupaud doesn't look happy she is taking the piss either.


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