FRENCH IDIOMS & EXPRESSIONS
It’s raining cats and dogs! Break a leg! Don’t put all your eggs in one basket! Say these phrases in French, and they’ll look at you like you have a thousand heads! It’s not that they don’t use idioms… they just use different ones.
So, let’s get into it!
Love & Relationships
-Avoir un coup de foudre
*(LITERALLY) to have a struck of lightning
*Love at first sight (can also be used for objects)
-Se prendre un râteau
*(LITERALLY) to hit a rake
*when the person you like rejects you, to get knocked back
-Poser un lapin à quelqu’un
*(LITERALLY) to put a rabbit to someone
*to stand somebody up
How you feel
-Avoir le cafard
*(LITERALLY) to have the cockroach
*to feel blue, down, or depressed
-Avoir la pêche
*(LITERALLY) to have the peach
*to feel great or happy
-Avoir du pain sur la planche
*(LITERALLY) to have bread on the board
*to have a lot on your plate
-Être à l’ouest
*(LITERALLY) to be in the west
*to be spaced out or not with it
Drinks
-Boire comme un trou
*(LITERALLY) drink like a hole
*drink like a fish
-Avoir la gueule de bois
*(LITERALLY) to have the wooden face
*to be hungover
Weather
-Pleuvoir des cordes
*(LITERALLY) to be raining ropes
*raining cats and dogs
-Un froid de canard
*(LITERALLY) a cold of duck
*to be bitterly cold
Money
-Une bouchée de pain
*(LITERALLY) for a mouthful of bread
*for next to nothing
-Coûter les yeux de la tête
*(LITERALLY) to cost the eyes of the head
*to cost an arm and a leg
Action
-S’occuper de ses oignons
*(LITERALLY) to take care of one’s onions
*to mind your own business
-En faire tout un fromage
*(LITERALLY) to make a whole cheese out of it
*to make a fuss about something
-Avoir d’autres chats à fouetter
*(LITERALLY) to have other cats to whip
*to have bigger fish to fry
-Les doigts dans le nez
*(LITERALLY) fingers in the nose
*it’s easy to do, with one hand tied behind my back
Well, there you have it! Add a couple of these phrases in, and you’ll sound like a real French pro!