25 Beautiful French Idioms Explained (+ Pronunciation And Literal Translation)

French idioms add charm and wit to the language. Here are 25 beautiful expressions, each with its pronunciation, literal translation, and meaning, to help you understand and appreciate the nuances of French conversation.

25 Beautiful French idioms

Here are the 25 idioms:

Poser un lapin

  1. Pronunciation: Poh-zay un lah-pan
  2. Literal translation: To place a rabbit
  3. Meaning: To stand someone up

Avoir le coup de foudre

  1. Pronunciation: Ah-vwar le koo de food-ruh
  2. Literal translation: To have a lightning strike
  3. Meaning: To fall in love at first sight

Tomber dans les pommes

  1. Pronunciation: Tom-bay dahn lay pohm
  2. Literal translation: To fall in the apples
  3. Meaning: To faint or pass out

Se mettre le doigt dans l’œil

  1. Pronunciation: Suh met-truh luh dwah dahn l’œil
  2. Literal translation: To put one’s finger in the eye
  3. Meaning: To be completely wrong

Passer du coq à l’âne

  1. Pronunciation: Pah-say doo kohk ah lah-nuh
  2. Literal translation: To go from the rooster to the donkey
  3. Meaning: To jump from one subject to another

Être haut comme trois pommes

  1. Pronunciation: Etr oh komm twah pohm
  2. Literal translation: To be as tall as three apples
  3. Meaning: To be very short (usually said of a child)

Couper la poire en deux

  1. Pronunciation: Koo-pay lah pwar ah duh
  2. Literal translation: To cut the pear in half
  3. Meaning: To split something in half; to meet halfway

Avoir un chat dans la gorge

  1. Pronunciation: Ah-vwar un shah dahn lah gorzh
  2. Literal translation: To have a cat in the throat
  3. Meaning: To have a frog in one’s throat; to be hoarse

Mettre son grain de sel

  1. Pronunciation: Met-truh sohn grahn duh sel
  2. Literal translation: To put one’s grain of salt
  3. Meaning: To give an unsolicited opinion

Faire la grasse matinée

  1. Pronunciation: Fair lah grass ma-teen-ay
  2. Literal translation: To have a fat morning
  3. Meaning: To sleep in

Avoir les yeux plus gros que le ventre

  1. Pronunciation: Ah-vwar lay zuh ploo gro ke luh von-truh
  2. Literal translation: To have eyes bigger than the stomach
  3. Meaning: To bite off more than one can chew; to overestimate one’s capacity

Tourner autour du pot

  1. Pronunciation: Tour-nay oh-toor doo poh
  2. Literal translation: To turn around the pot
  3. Meaning: To beat around the bush

Jeter de l’huile sur le feu

  1. Pronunciation: Zhuh-tay duh loo-eel sir luh fuh
  2. Literal translation: To throw oil on the fire
  3. Meaning: To add fuel to the fire

C’est la fin des haricots

  1. Pronunciation: Say lah fan day ah-ree-koh
  2. Literal translation: It’s the end of the beans
  3. Meaning: It’s all over; there’s no hope left

Avoir un poil dans la main

  1. Pronunciation: Ah-vwar un pwal dahn lah man
  2. Literal translation: To have a hair in the hand
  3. Meaning: To be very lazy

Tirer les vers du nez

  1. Pronunciation: Tee-ray lay vair doo nay
  2. Literal translation: To pull worms from the nose
  3. Meaning: To get information out of someone

Vendre la peau de l’ours avant de l’avoir tué

  1. Pronunciation: Von-druh lah poh duh loors ah-van duh lah-vwar too-ay
  2. Literal translation: To sell the bear’s skin before having killed it
  3. Meaning: To count one’s chickens before they hatch

Mettre la charrue avant les bœufs

  1. Pronunciation: Met-truh lah shah-roo ah-vahn lay bœf
  2. Literal translation: To put the plow before theoxen
  3. Meaning: To put the cart before the horse

Ne pas mettre tous ses œufs dans le même panier

  1. Pronunciation: Nuh pah met-truh too say zuh dahn luh mem pah-nyay
  2. Literal translation: Not to put all one’s eggs in the same basket
  3. Meaning: Don’t put all your eggs in one basket

Être soupe au lait

  1. Pronunciation: Etr soop oh lay
  2. Literal translation: To be milk soup
  3. Meaning: To have a quick temper

Faire l’autruche

  1. Pronunciation: Fair low-troosh
  2. Literal translation: To do the ostrich
  3. Meaning: To bury one’s head in the sand

Donner sa langue au chat

  1. Pronunciation: Do-nay sah lahng oh shah
  2. Literal translation: To give one’s tongue to the cat
  3. Meaning: To give up guessing

Pleuvoir des cordes

  1. Pronunciation: Pluh-vwar day kor-duh
  2. Literal translation: To rain ropes
  3. Meaning: It’s raining cats and dogs (heavy rain)

Revenons à nos moutons

  1. Pronunciation: Ruh-vuh-non ah no moo-tawn
  2. Literal translation: Let’s return to our sheep
  3. Meaning: Let’s get back to the subject

Casser du sucre sur le dos de quelqu’un

  1. Pronunciation: Kah-say doo soo-kruh sir luh doh duh kel-kuhn
  2. Literal translation: To break sugar on someone’s back
  3. Meaning: To talk behind someone’s back

We hope you enjoyed exploring these 25 French idioms and their colorful expressions. Use them to add a touch of French flair to your conversations!

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