What Does '19 In French' Mean? The Don't Google Joke Explained

Some language jokes have existed way before the internet was a thing. There are, however, some jokes that were born as meme culture was turning into a more global entity, like the 19 in French meme.

If you are curious about the translation of 19 in French, look no further because we're here to explain this joke to you.

What Does '19 In French' Mean?

To put it simply, 19 translated into the French language will sound like Deez Nuts ((dix-neuf) in English. The earliest mention of the 19 in French joke was posted by Urban Dictionary user E.W. Doom on December 1st, 2009. The post explains that the French word for the number nineteen (Dix-Neuf) can be "used as (and sounds similar to) Deez Nuts."

How '19 In French' Is Being Memed On Social Media?

The joke appeared in a series of YouTube videos showing a Google Translate screen recording showing the translation. For example, on March 2nd, 2016, YouTube user @kmlkmljkl posted a video explaining the joke (shown below), which amassed over 37,000 views and 480 likes in seven years. On June 25th, 2021, Vtuber @EliraPendora was asked to google 19 in French during a live stream, which was later posted on YouTube by @zhewenteh (shown below, right), garnering more than 124,000 views and 4,100 likes in two years.

On September 24th, 2023, the joke resurfaced on Twitter (X), after X user @PicturesFoIder posted the Shocked Miles Morales meme with the overlay text "Don't say 19 in French. Worst mistake of my life." The post (shown below, left) amassed more than 109,000 likes and 4,200 retweets in a day. Reddit users have also been posting memes about the joke, like in an "Uncle Ben, what happened?" meme, receiving over 200 upvotes in roughly eight months (shown below, right).

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For more information, check out 19 in French' on Know Your Meme.