There are lots of useful things to do with your time, and it certainly does not involve combing a giraffe. It's as expected, then, that a lot of French idioms revolve around food. English counterpart: to be spaced out, to not be with it. Your brother is always acting the fool, it’s exhausting after a while. Meaning: When you aren’t in your plate, it means you’re not feeling very well, be it emotionally or physically. Cockchafers or May Beetles are awful pests, so not being bitten by one is a great thing, right? Oh, French idioms. Related Articles. English counterpart: to spice up one’s life. Meaning: You “have eyes bigger than your belly” when you want to eat more than you can. Yes indeed “le petit coin” is an indirect way of saying “going to the toilet” (rather than bathroom). It’s the second time I lose my keys this week, I am really stupid. It was not quite “Je suis belle comme je suis”…; it was longer and had something about effortlessness. AS Level French Essay Writing Phrases 2. Meaning: In France, we often say that “Les absents ont toujours tort”, which means that people who aren’t there are always wrong. I did not know about the origins of “avoir le cafard”, interesting fact. On peut aller boire un coup si tu veux. Meaning: When something “makes a tobacco”, it means it’s extremely successful. Qu’est-ce que vous êtes en train de faire ? It can be a building that is destroyed, someone who is sick…, English counterpart: to be in a bad state, Il est mal en point depuis que sa copine l’a largué. Answer in the comments below! Meaning: “Clocher” is a French verb meaning “to be wrong” as well as the French word for “bell”. Browse below to find the idiom you need, or just explore the many ways you can express yourself in French. He looked/became very embarrassed when he heard the news. A bit like the American expression of surprise or amazement, “holy cow!” except this cow’s not holy. Merci encore, Ann :}. English counterpart: to line your pockets. To be on your 31 therefore means that you are wearing your most beautiful clothes, that you are elegant.“Se mettre sur son 31′′ is also used sometimes. Crosswise talking. So “un froid de canard” is an extremely cold and hostile weather. Bonne chance ! Raphael, arrête de casser du sucre sur le dos de ta soeur, ça ne se fait pas. English, français (French) This French expression is the opposite of “to be a piece of cake”. You can contact him on Twitter and Google +, French Marketing Vocabulary: 30 Words Every Marketer Should Know, French Football Vocabulary: 200 Words Every Fan Should Know, 40 Common French Acronyms and Abbreviations, Facebook (+153 000 Fans) It is, however, nowhere near as good as le Robert d'expressions et locutions (In French). Meaning: You know that feeling when the person you’re interested in rejects you? Now this expression is straightforward enough and quite similar to “smoke like a chimney”. Newsletter (+ 21 000 Happy Subscribers), Email: contact@talkinfrench.com Literally: to break sugar on someone’s back. You just discovered the wonderful world of French idioms. “to raise a thorny issue” would be “lever un lievre”, litteraly meaning “flushing out a hare” (for hunting dogs) . Meaning: This expression comes from the latin “cum grano salis“. I called him, but he turned a deaf ear/ pretended he didn’t hear me. People can’t spend lots of money because of the economic crisis. Monsieur, pouvez-vous décrire le visage de la personne qui vous a attaqué ? En été de nombreux passagers tombent dans les pommes dans le métro parisien à cause de la chaleur. A cause de la crise économique, les gens doivent se serrer la ceinture. Je ne suis pas dans mon assiette aujourd’hui, je ne sais pas pourquoi. C’est du n’importe quoi, ça! PLUS -- for an entire year of French expressions arranged in daily, easy-to-digest bites, check out my e-book 365 days of French Expressions (with audiobook) in the box below: Frederic Bibard is the founder of Talk in French, a company that helps french learners to practice and improve their french. Oh non, Facebook ne fonctionne plus, c’est la fin des haricots. Kinda far-fetched, don’t you think? Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Am I right? You could also use “ne pas y aller avec le dos de la cuillère” (lit: to not go with the back of the spoon). Literally, it says: "Not to go there with the back of the spoon”. Literally: to be red like a tomato/crawfish/peony. While the literal translation of this idiom is to be “like a chicken who has found a knife”, what it really means is to be at a complete loss. English counterpart; to stand somebody up. Depuis qu’il a appris la nouvelle, il a le cafard. Twitter (+ 40 000 followers) Ça va tourner au vinaigre si personne n’intervient. “Train” means “a train”, but it also means “action” in old French. T’as l’air triste. I don’t feel well today, I don’t know why. I just wanted to let you know that “avoir les yeux plus gros que le ventre” is the same in English (“Your eyes are bigger than your stomach”). Allez viens, on va boire un coup pour fêter ça. Meaning: Americans whiten their teeth, the French whiten money. He is always nitpicking, it’s irritating. Meaning: This idiom means that you don’t notice something obvious. After teaching French and English in South Korea for 7 months as part of a French government program, he created French Together™ to help English speakers learn the 20% of French that truly matters. Would you believe that this is actually similar to the American expression, 'you have a screw loose' or you’re kind of not right in the head? English counterpart: to fall in love at first sight, to fall madly in love. This idiom is a little bit quirky and nerdy in a somewhat romantic way. French A Level – useful phrases + vocab. It’s a bit of an insult, this one. Meaning: This violent idiom means that someone is annoying someone else. What if you started minding your own business instead of bothering her? What do we do tonight? Note: “Le weekend” is one of many English words used in French. This idiom is actually dark and poetic. Meaning: Ah pine trees, Christmas, happiness…and hum coffins. Microsoft Word Document 24.5 KB. La vue de son ex suffit pour que la moutarde lui monte au nez. I will go take a look to see what’s not working (lit: going). When you can do something “les doigts dans le nez”, it means it’s easy to do. English counterpart: to be well and truly in it, to not be out of the woods. J’en avais marre de ce fromager, donc j’ai changé de crémerie. I decided to spice up my life, I go to Africa tomorrow. Note: “clique” isn’t used anymore, and “claque” now means “slap”. Beginner: A1: Can recognise and use familiar words and simple phrases for concrete purposes. Meaning: when you do something “sur un coup de tête”, you do it impulsively, without planning it. Ça va/je vais bien – I’m well (the first version is the same as the question but with different … But this idiom actually means that someone leaves suddenly and unexpectedly. Meaning: When you ask someone to take care of his onions, you actually politely (or not depending on the tone) ask them to stop bothering you and to mind their own business. Meaning: You use this idiom to warn someone about something and ask the person to be careful. On se voit où demain ? English counterpart: to be all dressed up. I updated the article accordingly. Can introduce himself or someone else. Literally: to take one’s courage with two hands. Ready to meet some French idioms? All forms of the language, from the highly colloquial to the utterly erudite use idioms. Very practical :). It first appeared in 1889 but its origin remains uncertain. This idiom means someone has decided to face a risk or overcome a fear. 1. Thanks for your help, I would say, “to raise a thorny issue” or “to bring up a prickly subject.”, no. level (one's) locks. Literally: to have the peach/banana/potato/shape. Download. Meaning: In French, “raconter des salades” means you’re inventing a story hoping people will believe you. It’s an idiom you can use to say you are starving. It actually means someone is running for his life and leaving as quickly as possible. Think about a smiley face in the shape of a banana. mon vieux/ma vieille = (literally) my old one [my old friend/my buddy, or maybe something like the US …brother/sister, my man/my girl]
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