Itโs all very well learning French vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation, but you can never say you truly speak French or any foreign language until youโve mastered a decent number of French Idioms.
Idioms are those curious, colourful expressions that often donโt make much literal sense but that native speakers use all the time without thinking. In English, we say things like โraining cats and dogsโ, and French has its own range of similarly expressive utterances.
If you want to understand spoken French, youโll need to know what many common French idioms mean โ and if you can use them yourself, youโre sure to impress any native speakers you talk to. So hereโs my list of 38 useful French idioms to help you get started.
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38 Authentic French Idioms

All of the idioms in French on my list are ones that people really use and the kind of thing youโll hear every day when talking to native French speakers.
Note that since French idiomatic expressions are most common in informal speech, the examples Iโve given are all in colloquial French.
Thatโs why, for example, youโll find the ne missing from negative sentences, and there are contractions you wonโt find in your grammar book. This is deliberate โ because thatโs how French people really speak French!
So now, letโs jump right in and get started.
#1 SโEn Faire (To Worry)

Examples:
- Tโen fais pas ! (Donโt worry about it! Chill!)
- Il sโen fait un peu parce quโelle part en vacances toute seule pour la premiรจre fois (Heโs a bit worried because sheโs going on holiday by herself for the first time)
A simple expression that youโll hear often. It means โto worryโ, and itโs especially common when telling someone not to worry, as in the first example.
This expression, like several others here, contains the pronoun en. However, you shouldnโt try to understand it or translate it separately โ just accept it as part of the idiom and leave it at that.
As an aside, another colloquial way of saying โdonโt worryโ is tโinquรจte. This is a shortened version ne tโinquiรจte pas that drops both the ne and the pas. That doesnโt make much sense, but thatโs why itโs an idiom!
#2 En Vouloir ร Quelquโun (To Be Angry With Someone)
Examples:
- Je tโen veux parce que tโas laissรฉ mourir la plante que je tโavais offerte (Iโm upset with you because you let the plant I gave you die)
- Je suis dรฉsolรฉ. Tu mโen veux ? (Iโm sorry. Are you angry with me?)
This idiom means youโre angry or upset with someone. Notice that it includes the pronoun en. Again, donโt try to look for it literally translated; just accept it as it is as part of the expression.
#3 Cโest Pas Terrible ! (Itโs Not Great! Itโs Nothing Special!)
Example:
- Tโas vu le nouveau James Bond ? โ Ouais, cโest pas terrible (Have you seen the new James Bond? Yeah, itโs nothing special)
A curious French expression when you hear it for the first time since the meaning is the opposite of what you might expect.
It comes from โteenagerโ speak โ but speech thatโs already out of date and not used by teenagers anymore. Terrible was used to say something was great โ like โcoolโ or โwickedโ in English โ so if something is pas terrible, it means itโs not great, or itโs nothing special.
#4 Faut Pas Exagรฉrer ! (Donโt Go Too Far! Donโt Push It!)
Example:
- Donc tu veux que je tโachรจte ton billet de train, que je te cherche ร la gare et quโen plus, je te paye le dรฉjeuner ? Faut pas exagรฉrer ! (So you want me to buy your train ticket and pick you up at the station โ and I even have to pay for your lunch? Donโt push it!)
A slightly difficult expression to find English translations for.
It literally means โyou mustnโt exaggerateโ, but it expresses the sense that the person is pushing things or asking for too much.
In the example, the speaker is saying that expecting them to pay for the ticket, pick the person up at the station and pay for lunch is going too far.
Rather than the grammatically correct il ne faut pas exagรฉrer, youโre much more likely to hear this in a familiar, shortened form, as in the example.
#5 Faire La Grasse Matinรฉe (To Sleep In)

Example:
- Demain enfin je peux faire la grasse matinรฉe ! (At last tomorrow I can sleep in!)
This is the common expression thatโs used to mean โsleep inโ or โget up lateโ โ the literal translation is โto do the greasy morningโ or have a โfat morningโ!
Sometimes, French people will shorten matinรฉe to mat, so the example above would become enfin demain je peux faire la grasse mat.
#6 Faire Une Nuit Blanche (To Stay Up All Night)
Example:
- Je suis trop vielle pour faire des nuits blanches ! (Iโm too old to stay up all night!)
- Jโai fait une nuit blanche et maintenant jโai du mal ร garder les yeux ouverts (I stayed up all night last night, and now I can hardly keep my eyes open)
Another sleep-related idiom. The literal translation is โto do a white nightโ, and it means staying up all night without sleeping.
#7 Un Coup De Foudre (Love At First Sight)
This list wouldn't be complete without some French idioms about love!
Example:
- Cโรฉtait un vrai coup de foudre quand ils se sont rencontrรฉs ! (It was really love at first sight when they met!)
The literal translation is โa lightning strikeโ, which is quite a colourful and expressive way to talk about love at first sight!
#8 Casse-Pieds (Annoying)
Example:
- Tโes vraiment casse-pieds aujourdโhui ! (Youโre (being) really annoying today!)
The literal translation of this idiom is โbreak-feetโ, so in French, if you break someoneโs feet, it means youโre annoying them โ which is understandable.
A more vulgar version of this idiom is casse-couilles. Couilles is a familiar French word for โtesticlesโ, so the meaning of this expression is easy to understand too. But this is not one to use in polite company!
#9 Ne Pas Perdre Le Nord (To Have Your Head Screwed On, To Be Single-Minded)
Example:
- Il sโest cassรฉ la jambe et il a dรป passer une semaine ร lโhรดpital, mais il a pas oubliรฉ que je lui dois de lโargent. Il perd pas le nord ! (He broke his leg and had to spend a week in hospital, but he didnโt forget I owed him money. He doesnโt forget his priorities!)
The literal translation of this expression is โto not lose the northโ and is used to say someone doesnโt forget their priorities, whatever else happens.
In the example, the idea is that even though he broke his leg and had to spend a week in hospital, he still remembered the money that was owed to him, despite having other more important things to worry about.
#10 Rendre Service (ร Quelquโun) (To do (Somebody) A Favour)

Example:
- Tu peux me rendre service sโil te plaรฎt ? (Can you do me a favour please?)
An easy one that doesnโt need much explanation โ this is how you express โto do (somebody) a favourโ in French.
#11 Donner Un Coup De Main (To Give/Lend Someone A Hand)
Example:
- Tu peux me donner un coup de main pour dรฉmรฉnager ce weekend sโil te plaรฎt ?(Can you give me a hand moving house this weekend, please?)
The word coup can be translated into English with โknockโ, โhitโ, โblowโ, โstrikeโ or several other similar words, but it often doesnโt translate well, as is the case here.
Itโs found in quite a few French sayingsโ weโve already seen it in coup de foudre โ and here, itโs best to just accept that donner un coup de main is the French expression for giving or lending someone a hand.
And after all, it doesnโt really make any less sense than the English equivalent, does it?
#12 Jeter Un Coup Dโลil (To Have A Quick Glance)
Example:
- Tu peux jeter un coup dโลil sur mon article pour me dire ce que tโen penses sโil te plaรฎt ? (Can you have a quick glance at my article and tell me what you think, please?)
Another idiomatic expression with coup that canโt be translated literally โ this one means โto have a quick glance/lookโ.
#13 Tomber Dans Les Pommes (To Faint, Pass Out)
Example :
- Il a vu du sang et il est tombรฉ dans les pommes tout de suite ! (He saw the blood and fainted straight away!)
Some idiomatic expressions make no sense at all, as tomber dans les pommes shows โ the literal translation is โto fall in the applesโ.
There are many French idioms about food, and this is a good example.
#14 Avoir La Patate/La Pรชche (To Be Full Of Energy, Full Of Beans)
Example:
- Tโas la patate ce matin ! (Youโre full of beans this morning!)
- Mon prof de gym a vraiment la pรชche aujourdโhui ! (My gym teacher is full of energy today!)
Another food-related idiom and another one that might seem a bit strange โ the literal translation is โto have the potatoโ or โto have the peachโ. However, the English idiom โfull of beansโ means the same thing, which is no better!
#15 Montagnes Russes (Up And Down In An Unpredictable Way)

Example:
- Cโest vraiment les montagnes russes avec lui depuis son divorce. Un jour il est super heureux et le lendemain, il est en pleine dรฉpression. (Itโs completely up and down with him since his divorce. One day heโs super-happy and the next, heโs totally depressed.)
Modern rollercoasters are descended from Russian winter slides that were constructed in mountains from around the 17th century onwards.
When something similar was built in Paris in the 19th century, montagnes russes (Russian mountains), passed into French sayings and is used to describe something thatโs always up and down and hard to predict.
And an interesting bit of trivia: when modern rollercoasters first appeared in Russia in the 19th century, the Russians themselves called them ะฐะผะตัะธะบะฐะฝัะบะธะต ะณะพัะบะธ (amerikanskie gorki), meaning โAmerican mountainsโ!
#16 Faire La Tรชte (To Sulk)
Example:
- Il fait la tรชte parce que son รฉquipe a perdu (Heโs sulking because his team lost)
French idioms can be curious, as can their English counterpart. The literal translation for this one is โto do/make the headโ and is used to say that someone is in a sulk.
#17 Prendre La Tรชte (ร Quelquโun) (To Annoy Somebody, Drive Somebody Crazy)
Examples:
- รa me prend vraiment la tรชte mon travail aujourdโhui ! (My work is driving me nuts today!)
- Il me prend la tรชte avec ses excuses ridicules ! (Heโs driving me crazy with his ridiculous excuses!)
A similar expression to #16 but with quite a different meaning. The literal translation of this French idiom is โto take the headโ; it shows how changing one small word in French expressions can make a big difference.
#18 En Avoir Marre (De) (To Be Fed Up (With))
Example:
- Jโen ai marre de ce mauvais temps ! (Iโm fed up with this bad weather!)
Another extremely common expression with en. This French idiom means you are fed up with something or someone.
#19 En Avoir Ras-Le-Bol (To Be Really Fed Up, Be Sick And Tired)
Example:
- Jโen ai ras-le-bol de rester ร la maison tout seul tout le temps ! (Iโm sick and tired of staying at home alone all the time!)
This expression is a more idiomatic version of the one in #18 above. Ras-le-bol by itself means something like โgloominessโ or โdespairโ.
#20 รtre Crevรฉ (To Be Exhausted)

Example:
- Jโai fait du jardinage toute la journรฉe et maintenant je suis complรจtement crevรฉ (I did the gardening all day and now Iโm completely exhausted)
Crevรฉ normally means โburstโ or โpuncturedโ, as in un pneu crevรฉ (a punctured tyre). However, when used like this about a person, the literal meaning is that they are exhausted or worn out.
#21 Avoir La Flemme De (To Be Lazy/Not Feel Like It)
Example:
- Jโai la flemme dโaller promener le chien (I am not in the mood to go and walk the dog)
This expression is used when you canโt be bothered or feel too lazy to do something. La flemme is a familiar word for โlazinessโ.
#22 Avoir La Gueule De Bois (To Have A Hangover)
Example:
- Quelle soirรฉe ! Mais jโai la gueule de bois ce matin ! (What a night! But Iโm hungover this morning!)
This is an interesting French idiom.
The first word, gueule, means โmouthโ, but it is usually used when referring to animals like dogs. However, when used to refer to people, it can mean โfaceโ or โmouthโ but is considered vulgar โ or at least not very polite.
The second word, bois, means โwoodโ, so when you use this expression, you are literally saying you have a โmouth of woodโ โ which anyone who has ever had a little too much alcohol will probably find quite accurate!
#23 Ta Gueule ! (Shut Your Gob!)
Wondering how to say shut your mouth in French? Well now you know!
Example:
- Ta gueule ! Quโest-ce que tu racontes ? (Shut your mouth! What are you talking about ?)
- Ferme ta gueule ! Tu sais vraiment pas de quoi tu parles ! (Shut your mouth ! You really have no idea what youโre talking about!)
Most people probably know tais-toi ! โ the French for โshut up!โ โ or perhaps you might recall your teacher screaming taisez-vous ! (the plural version) at the whole class during French lessons at school (I do, anyway!).
However, if you want to be even more forceful, you can say ta gueule ! which is short for ferme ta gueule ! We just saw the meaning of gueule in #22 above, and here, the literal translation is โshut your gob!โ or โshut your trap!โ.
Be aware, though, that this is obviously quite rude and aggressive, so itโs the kind of thing you should be very careful about using.
#24 Faire Gaffe (Be Careful)
Example:
- Fais gaffe ! La rampe est cassรฉe (Be careful! The bannister is broken)
This is simply a more idiomatic version of faire attention (to be careful). The word gaffe in French has the same meaning as โgaffeโ in English, meaning a โblunderโ.
#25 En Avoir Rien ร Faire/Foutre (Couldnโt Care Less)

Example:
- Il vient pas ? Jโen ai rien ร faire/rien ร foutre (Heโs not coming? I couldnโt care less/I donโt give a [insert expletive])
Hereโs another expression with en. The first version is an idiom thatโs equivalent to something like โI couldnโt care lessโ โ the second version is stronger and much less polite, so be very careful about who you use it with.
#26 La Vache ! (Wow! Bloody Hell!)
Examples:
- Oh la vache ! รa doit faire mal ! (Ooooh! That must hurt!)
- La vache ! Impressionant ! (Wow! Impressive!)
A general-purpose word to express surprise, astonishment, or admiration โ the literal translation is โthe cow!โ but the English translation could also be โholy cow!โ
Another related word is the adverb vachement, which is hard to translate directly but is used to mean โveryโ or โextremelyโ: il est vachement bon, ce gรขteau (this cake is very good!)
#27 Pรฉter Un Plomb/Les Plombs (To Lose It, Blow A Fuse, Have A Meltdown)
Example:
- Il va pรฉter un plomb quand il verra ce quโil sโest passรฉ (Heโs going to lose it/go mad when he sees whatโs happened)
This basically means to become extremely angry, to lose control, or to have a meltdown.
Pรฉter means โto fartโ, but itโs also a familiar word meaning โto breakโ something. Un plomb is โa fuseโ, so the expression literally means โto blow a fuseโ โ which is one of the French idioms in English that works too.
#28 Yโa Pas ร Dire (What Can You Say? You Canโt Argue)
Example :
- Yโa pas ร dire, on a de la chance de vivre dans un si joli village ร cรดtรฉ de la mer ! (What can you say? Weโre lucky to live in such a pretty village by the sea!)
- Yโa pas ร dire, tu sais faire vraiment des gรขteaux dรฉlicieux ! (I canโt argue, you really know how to make delicious cakes!)
The literal translation of this expression is something like โthereโs nothing to sayโ, and itโs used to express the idea of something being inarguably true, possibly when you realise it for the first time.
Youโre more likely to hear the familiar version, as in the examples above, rather than the grammatically correct il nโy a pas ร dire.
#29 Poser Un Lapin (To Stand Someone Up)
Example:
- รa sโest bien passรฉ, ton rendez-vous avec cette fille ? Pas du tout, elle mโa posรฉ un lapin ! (Did your date with that girl go well? Not at all, she stood me up!)
Literally, this expression means โto put a rabbitโ, and itโs used to express standing someone up โ as in not turning up for a date. Interestingly, in Chinese, they say almost the same thing โ but with โpigeonโ instead of โrabbitโ.

#30 Pleuvoir/Tomber Des Cordes (To Rain Cats And Dogs)
Example:
- Je pense pas quโon va aller ร la plage aujourdโhui, tโas vu le temps quโil fait ? Il pleut/tombe des cordes ! (I donโt think weโre going to go to the beach today, have you seen the weather? Itโs raining cats and dogs!)
With this expression, you can use either pleuvoir (to rain) or tomber (to fall), but the meaning is the same.
#31 Avoir La Moutarde Qui Monte Au Nez (To Be Angry)
Example:
- Arrรชte de me raconter toutes ces mensonges ! Jโai la moutarde qui me monte au nez (Stop telling me all these lies! Iโm really angry/itโs making me really angry)
This colourful idiom is used to express a feeling of anger โ it means โto have mustard going up your noseโ, which is a perfect description of how you feel when you lose your temper.
#32 Appeler Un Chat Un Chat (To Call A Spade A Spade)
Example:
- On peut appeler un chat un chat sโil vous plaรฎt ? Ce nโest pas un cadeau, cโest un pot-de-vin ! (Can we call a spade a spade, please? Itโs not a gift, itโs a bribe!)
The literal meaning of this French idiom is โto call a cat a catโ, which is not so different from the English version.
#33 Avoir Un Poil Dans La Main (To Be Lazy, Workshy, Never Lift A Finger)
Example:
- Il a vraiment un poil dans la main, celui-lร . Cโest quโun gros fainรฉant qui fait jamais rien! (He never lifts a finger, that one. Heโs just a big loafer who never does a thing!)
This French saying literally means โto have a hair in the handโ, and the idea is that the person youโre talking about is so lazy that a hair has grown in their palm because they never do any work.
#34 Coรปter Un Bras (To Cost An Arm And A Leg)
- Tโas vu sa nouvelle bagnole ? รa a dรป lui coรปter un bras ! (Have you seen his new wheels/ride? It must have cost him an arm and a leg!)
The coรปter un bras literal translation is โto cost an armโ and is similar to the English expression about costing an arm and leg when something is expensive.
Another possibility is coรปter les yeux de la tรชte, meaning โto cost the eyes from the headโ.
Bagnole is a colloquial word for voiture (car).
#35 Boire Comme Un Trou (To Drink Like A Fish)
Example:
- Je comprends vraiment pas. Il boit comme un trou mais il est jamais bourrรฉ ! (I really canโt understand it. He drinks like a fish, but he never gets drunk!)
In English, if someone drinks a lot, we say they โdrink like a fishโ โ but in French, they say he โdrinks like a holeโ.
#36 Chercher Midi ร 14h (To Complicate Things)
The literal translation of this French idiom is to โsearch for noon at 2pmโ which essentially means to overcomplicate things.
Example:
- Tu cherches toujours midi ร quatorze heures!
The English counterpart for this one would be, โYou're always overcomplicating things!โ

#37 Avoir un Chat Dans la Gorge (To Have Something Stuck In Your Throat)
Example:
- J'ai un chat dans la gorge. (I've got a frog in my throat)
The idiom means to have something stuck in your throat โ either you are nervous and can't speak or genuinely have a cough or sore throat.
#38 S'occuper de Ses Oignons (Mind Your Own Business)
This is a funny way of saying mind your own business, as the literal translation is to take care of your onions! But you use it in the same context as the English counterpart:
- Thรฉo, occupe-toi de tes oignons!
Mind your own business Thรฉo.
Real Idioms That People Use In Day-To-Day Life
In this list, Iโve tried to give you some of the most common French idioms that people really use, along with examples that show you how to use them.
Start by listening out for idiomatic French expressions whenever you hear native speakers talk, and before you know it, youโll be sprinkling them into your spoken French just like a native and impressing your French friends.
You can also use the StoryLearningยฎ method to pick up these essential idioms easily. As you read stories, especially ones with dialogue like my 101 French Conversations book, you'll start to absorb and use French idioms without having to study or memorise them.
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Olly Richards
Creator of the StoryLearningยฎ Method
Olly Richards is a renowned polyglot and language learning expert with over 15 years of experience teaching millions through his innovative StoryLearningยฎ method. He is the creator of StoryLearning, one of the world's largest language learning blogs with 500,000+ monthly readers.
Olly has authored 30+ language learning books and courses, including the bestselling "Short Stories" series published by Teach Yourself.
When not developing new teaching methods, Richards practices what he preachesโhe speaks 8 languages fluently and continues learning new ones through his own methodology.