Clé France

If you really want to learn French, you need to know a few French expressions...

Si tu veux vraiment apprendre le Français, il faut connaître quelques expressions Françaises!

You aren’t going to find these in formal language books but equipping yourself with some of these idioms, colloquialisms and tournures de phrases (turns of phrase) will endear you to the French even if your accent betrays you.

Let’s discover some more French expressions, some of which may be completely foreign to you.

*Phrase in parentheses (brackets) is the literal translation, or as close to it as possible.*

1. Il fait un temps de chien! (It a dog time!) – It’s very bad weather!

2. Coincer le bulle (Trapping the bubble) – Not doing anything, relaxing.

3. Par monts et par vaux (By mountains and valleys) – On the move.

4. Avoir les dents longues (Having long teeth) – Being very ambitious.

5. Casser sa pipe (Breaking one’s pipe) – Dying.

6. Tuer la poule aux œufs d’or (Killing the chicken with the golden eggs) – To trade long term benefits  for immediate profits.

7. Avoir le nez creux (Having a hollow nose) – Having good intuition.

8. Être un as (Being an ace) – Being the best at something.

9. Boire du petit lait (Drinking little milk) – To feel satisfied upon receiving compliments.

10. Pot aux roses (Pot of roses) – A secret or a mystery.

11. À tombeau ouvert (At open tomb) – Going way too fast.

12. Mettre le feu aux poudres (Putting the fire to the powder) – Stirring up trouble or aggravating a situation.

13. S’ennuyer comme un rat mort (Bored like a dead rat) – Being very bored.

14. Clouer le bec (Nailing the beak) – Silencing someone.

15. Garder son sang-froid (Keeping one’s blood cold) – Remaining calm or maintaining self-control.

16. Avoir bon dos (Having good back) – Being easy to blame.

17. Le roi n’est pas son cousin (The king is not his/her cousin) – He/She is happier than a king.

18. Sucrer les fraises (Sweetening the strawberries ) – To have shaky hands (referring to the action of sprinkling sugar on strawberries).

19. Il n’y a pas un chat (There isn’t a cat) – The place is empty or there’s no one here.

20. Donner carte blanche (Giving the white card) – Giving someone authority to do anything..

Blog submitted by: David at The French Property Network - Cle France.

This blog was originally posted on The French Language Blog pages.