Here are 25 useful French idioms, complete with their pronunciation in English, literal translations, and meanings. These expressions can add flair to your conversation and help you sound like a native speaker. Whether you’re learning French or just curious about the language, these idioms are essential and fun to know.
25 Useful French idioms
Here are the 25 idioms:
Coûter les yeux de la tête
- Pronunciation: koo-tay lay zyuh duh lah tet
- Literal translation: To cost the eyes of the head
- Meaning: To be very expensive
Avoir le coup de foudre
- Pronunciation: ah-vwar luh koo duh food-ruh
- Literal translation: To have a strike of lightning
- Meaning: To fall in love at first sight
Poser un lapin
- Pronunciation: po-zay uhn lah-pahn
- Literal translation: To put a rabbit
- Meaning: To stand someone up
Ça ne casse pas trois pattes à un canard
- Pronunciation: sah nuh kahs pah trwah pat ah uhn ka-nar
- Literal translation: It doesn’t break three legs of a duck
- Meaning: It’s nothing to write home about
Mettre son grain de sel
- Pronunciation: met-truh sohn grahn duh sel
- Literal translation: To put one’s grain of salt
- Meaning: To give one’s unsolicited opinion
En faire tout un fromage
- Pronunciation: ahn fair too uhn fro-mazh
- Literal translation: To make a whole cheese out of it
- Meaning: To make a big deal out of something
Tourner autour du pot
- Pronunciation: toor-nay oh-too-r duh poh
- Literal translation: To turn around the pot
- Meaning: To beat around the bush
Passer une nuit blanche
- Pronunciation: pah-say oon nwee blahnsh
- Literal translation: To spend a white night
- Meaning: To stay up all night
Être dans de beaux draps
- Pronunciation: eht-ruh dahn duh bo dra
- Literal translation: To be in beautiful sheets
- Meaning: To be in a mess
Avoir un chat dans la gorge
- Pronunciation: ah-vwar uhn shah dah lah go-ruh
- Literal translation: To have a cat in the throat
- Meaning: To have a frog in one’s throat
Jeter de l’huile sur le feu
- Pronunciation: zheh-tay duh loo-eel sir luh fur
- Literal translation: To throw oil on the fire
- Meaning: To add fuel to the fire
Tirer le diable par la queue
- Pronunciation: tee-ray luh dee-abl par lah keh
- Literal translation: To pull the devil by the tail
- Meaning: To live hand to mouth
Avoir la gueule de bois
- Pronunciation: ah-vwar lah goo-l duh bwah
- Literal translation: To have a wooden face
- Meaning: To have a hangover
Mettre la main à la pâte
- Pronunciation: met-truh lah meh ah lah pat
- Literal translation: To put the hand in the dough
- Meaning: To pitch in
Faire la grasse matinée
- Pronunciation: fair lah grahs ma-tee-nay
- Literal translation: To have a fat morning
- Meaning: To sleep in
Se mettre sur son trente-et-un
- Pronunciation: suh met-truh sir sohn trawnt ay uh(n)
- Literal translation: To put oneself on one’s thirty-one
- Meaning: To dress up nicely
Pleuvoir des cordes
- Pronunciation: pluh-vwahr day kord
- Literal translation: To rain ropes
- Meaning: To rain heavily
Coup de foudre
- Pronunciation: koo duh food-ruh
- Literal translation: Strike of lightning
- Meaning: Love at first sight (can also mean a literal lightning strike)
Tomber dans les pommes
- Pronunciation: tom-bay dahn lay pom
- Literal translation: To fall in the apples
- Meaning: To faint
Monter sur ses grands chevaux
- Pronunciation: mohn-tay sir say grahn shuh-voh
- Literal translation: To climb on one’s big horses
- Meaning: To get on one’s high horse
Casser
du sucre sur le dos de quelqu’un
- Pronunciation: cah-say doo sookr sir luh doh duh kel-kuhn
- Literal translation: To break sugar on someone’s back
- Meaning: To talk behind someone’s back
Avoir les dents longues
- Pronunciation: ah-vwar lay dahn lawn-gh
- Literal translation: To have long teeth
- Meaning: To be ambitious
L’appel du vide
- Pronunciation: la-pel doo veed
- Literal translation: The call of the void
- Meaning: The instinctive urge to jump from high places
Mettre de l’eau dans son vin
- Pronunciation: met-truh duh loh dah sohn van
- Literal translation: To put water in one’s wine
- Meaning: To tone down one’s position
Jeter l’éponge
- Pronunciation: zheh-tay lay-ponj
- Literal translation: To throw the sponge
- Meaning: To give up or throw in the towel
We hope this guide to 25 useful French idioms enhances your understanding and appreciation of the French language. These expressions not only enrich your vocabulary but also offer a glimpse into the cultural nuances that make French so unique. Happy learning!