If you are new to the French language, then you might sometimes feel that learning French is like taking a walk in the park, but only if it is Jurassic Park! Kidding aside, French is tricky not only because of its complex grammar but also because of its expressions and idioms!
Learning these idiomatic expressions is important for following and entertaining conversations with your fellow French native speakers. Here are ten French expressions or idioms with their explanations, sample usage, and how they originated. Enjoy!
Have you ever been asked to complete a task that so easy that it didn’t feel like a task at all? Here’s the perfect French phrase for you: “c’est du gâteau!”
Meaning: This literally translates to “it is cake”. Closely related to the English idiom, describing something as a “piece of cake,” “c’est du gâteau” can be said for describing a task easy to be executed.
Example: J’ai fini mon projet ! C’était du gâteau ! (I finished my project! It was so easy!)
Origin: The idiom is believed to originate from Marie Antoinette’s era, which is marked by famine in the low-income households. The Queen came up with a simple solution to this complex problem, to which she said: “Let them eat cake!”
Tired of simply saying that something doesn’t meet your expectations? Try saying it the French way: “au ras des pâquerettes”.
Meaning: This literally means “at the level of daisies”, which implies low in quality.
Example: Il a un humour au ras des pâquerettes. (He has a very dry, low-level humor.)
Origin: The French correlate low quality with the low lying height of daisies flowers.
Want to ask someone to help out? Try saying “mettre la main à la pâte”.
Literal Meaning: This French idiom means “to put the hand in the dough”, which figuratively means helping out or actively participating.
Example: Nous devons tous mettre la main à la pâte. (We all have to contribute)
Origin: The idea is that by helping to knead a bread dough; you are offering a helping hand.
Want to provide a broad estimation? Try using this French idiom “grosso modo”.
Meaning: “Grosso modo” means “roughly” or “approximately”.
Example: Dis-moi grosso modo ce que tu en penses. (Tell me roughly what you think.)
Origin: “Grosso modo” is a Latin expression that signifies an approximation.
Want to convey that we can’t really judge people’s feelings and judgments because they are up to them? Here’s the phrase for you: “Chacun voit midi à sa porte”.
Meaning: Literally translating to “everyone sees noon at his door”, this expression means that people tend to see things in their own ways, and thus you can’t enforce your opinion on them.
Example: Inutile de discuter, chacun voit midi à sa porte. (It’s pointless to argue, everyone sees things in their own way.)
Origin: This expression refers back to early days, when people would personally judge the time by seeing the sunbeam shine through their doors or windows.
Want to describe feeling sad and blue? Try learning “avoir le cafard”.
Meaning: The phrase literally means “to have the cockroach” but is used to express “feeling low” or “feeling depressed”.
Example: Je ne sais pas pourquoi, mais j’ai le cafard. (I don’t know why, but I’m feeling low.)
Origin: The phrase is credited to the poet Charles Baudelaire, who correlates cockroaches with a state of depression and a sense of pointlessness in his poem collection “Les Fleurs du mal” in 1857.
Would you like to describe someone as cheerful and entertaining? “Être un boute-en-train” will be perfect for you.
Meaning: This literally translates “to be the end-in-the-train”, and figuratively means “being the life of the party”. You can use it to describe a cheerful, upbeat person who has good humor.
Example: “Elle a toujours été une boute-en-train”. (She was always the life of the party.)
Origin: The suggestion is that the end of the train is seen as the more cheerful end.
Want to describe people who keep telling lies? Use the idiom “Raconter des salades”.
Meaning: “Raconter des salades” literally means “to tell salads”, which figuratively means making things up to create lies.
Example: “Si elle s’est plantée c’est parce qu’elle n’arrêtait pas de raconter des salades”. (If she messed up it’s because she kept telling lies.)
Origin: Making a salad involves mixing around many elements and creating a harmonious dish to eat. This is similar to when you lie: you make up a beautiful story that others will want to consume.
Worried about getting scolded? Then your worry is all about getting “un savon”.
Meaning: This French expression literally means “to pass soap”, and figuratively means “giving someone a sermon” or “argue with someone strictly”.
Example: “L’écolier savait qu’il allait se faire passer un savon pour ses notes”. (The schoolboy knew he was going to get yelled at for his grades.)
Origin: Back in the days, doing laundry meant using soap and rigorously beating up clothes. Hence, the expression “passer un savon” took on the meaning “to give a sermon to someone”. People will “passer un savon” when they intend to improve someone’s moral values and to make him or her “cleaner” (like clothes).
Has someone ever given you a first impression so wonderful that you fell in love? Then the French would say you experienced “un coup de foudre”.
Meaning: “Avoir un coup de foudre” literally translates “to have a stroke of lightning”, and figuratively this phrase means “to fall in love at first sight”.
Example: La première fois que je l’ai vu, j’ai eu un coup de foudre. (The first time I saw her, I fell in love.)
Origin: Just like how lightning strikes very quickly and without warning, falling in love can also happen to anyone at any time.
Here are a few more French expressions for everyday use to help you sound more like a native French speaker:
Literal translation of this phrase is “to have a cat in the throat” which is the equivalent of English expression “to have a frog in your throat”.
Meaning: Used when someone is hoarse or having trouble speaking.
Example: Désolé, je ne peux pas chanter ce matin — j’ai un chat dans la gorge. (Sorry, I can’t sing this morning — I have a frog in my throat.)
Literal meaning: To do the fat morning
English equivalent or Meaning: To sleep in or have a lie-in.
Example: Le dimanche, j’adore faire la grasse matinée. (On Sundays, I love to sleep in.)
Literal meaning: To fall in the apples
Actual Meaning: To faint or pass out.
Example: Il faisait si chaud qu’elle est tombée dans les pommes. (It was so hot she fainted.)
Literal meaning: To take care of one’s own onions
Meaning: Mind your own business.
Example: Occupe-toi de tes oignons ! (Mind your own business!)
Literal meaning: It’s not the sea to drink
Meaning: It’s not that difficult / It’s not the end of the world.
Example: Allez, fais tes devoirs, ce n’est pas la mer à boire. (Come on, do your homework — it’s not that hard.)
Literal meaning: To leave English-style
Meaning: To leave without saying goodbye (equivalent to “an Irish goodbye”).
Example: Il a filé à l’anglaise avant la fin de la fête. (He slipped out without saying goodbye before the party ended.)
Literal meaning: To a good cat, a good rat
Meaning: Tit for tat / Evenly matched.
Example: Ce match de tennis ? À bon chat, bon rat. (That tennis match? It was a fair fight.)
Literal meaning: The carrots are cooked
Meaning: The situation can’t be changed anymore / It’s too late.
Example: Les policiers ont encerclé la maison — les carottes sont cuites. (The police have surrounded the house — it’s over.)
Literal meaning of this French saying is “to lose the ball”. But the figurative meaning is “to lose one’s head/mind” or “to go crazy”.
Example: Il a complètement perdu la boule après cette nouvelle. (He completely lost his mind after the news.)
Hope you enjoyed these French expressions! If you want to learn more about French culture and language, check out these blogs too:
