French has plenty of expressions that make absolutely no sense when translated word for word. Poser un lapin means “to place a rabbit,” but nobody’s asking you to put a bunny
somewhere. It means standing someone up.
These expressions are called idioms (expressions idiomatiques). Their
meanings can’t always be worked out from the individual words, which is why translating them
literally can lead you spectacularly astray.
The good news? Many are common in everyday conversation, movies, and books. Once you recognize
them, you’ll understand a lot more of what French speakers are actually saying.
That’s why every entry below starts with its literal translation before its idiomatic meaning.
1. Getting It Right (and Wrong)
For awkward mistakes, avoiding the point, and knowing when to give up guessing.
mettre les pieds dans le plat lit. “to put your feet in the dish” to bring up a sensitive subject tactlessly — put your foot in it
tourner autour du pot lit. “to go around the pot” to avoid getting to the point — beat around the bush
faire d’une pierre deux coups lit. “to make two hits with one stone” to accomplish two things with one action — kill two birds with one stone
donner sa langue au chat lit. “to give one’s tongue to the cat” to give up trying to guess or find an answer
2. Easy, Hard, and Impossible
For when you’ve got too much work, made things unnecessarily complicated, or finally had enough.
avoir du pain sur la planche lit. “to have bread on the board” to have a lot of work to do — have your work cut out for you
chercher midi à quatorze heures lit. “to look for noon at two o’clock” to make something unnecessarily complicated — overthink things
coûter les yeux de la tête lit. “to cost the eyes of the head” to be extremely expensive — cost an arm and a leg
jeter l’éponge lit. “to throw the sponge” to give up or admit defeat — throw in the towel
For arguments, blame, and making a bad situation even worse.
payer les pots cassés lit. “to pay for the broken pots” to suffer the consequences, often of someone else’s mistakes — pay the price
mettre de l’huile sur le feu lit. “to put oil on the fire” to make a disagreement or conflict worse — add fuel to the fire
prendre la mouche lit. “to catch the fly” to become suddenly offended or angry, often over something minor — take offense
faire tout un plat de quelque chose lit. “to make a whole dish out of something” to exaggerate the importance of something — make a big deal out of it
French has some colorful ways of describing people’s character and behavior.
avoir le cœur sur la main lit. “to have one’s heart on one’s hand” to be very generous and openhearted — have a heart of gold
avoir la tête dans les nuages lit. “to have one’s head in the clouds” to be daydreaming or distracted — have your head in the clouds
mettre son grain de sel lit. “to put in one’s grain of salt” to offer an unsolicited opinion or interfere in a discussion — put in your two cents
être comme un poisson dans l’eau lit. “to be like a fish in water” to feel completely comfortable in a situation — be in one’s element
5. Mind, Mood, and Energy
French is particularly good at turning feelings into strange little pictures.
avoir le cafard lit. “to have the cockroach” to feel sad or gloomy — feel down in the dumps (informal)
avoir la pêche lit. “to have the peach” to feel energetic or in great spirits — be full of energy (informal)
tomber dans les pommes lit. “to fall into the apples” to faint or pass out (informal)
avoir un chat dans la gorge lit. “to have a cat in one’s throat” to have a hoarse or obstructed voice — have a frog in your throat
ne pas être dans son assiette lit. “not to be in one’s plate” to feel unwell, uncomfortable, or not quite oneself — feel out of sorts
For friendships, helping out, annoying people, and the occasional unexplained rabbit.
poser un lapin à quelqu’un lit. “to place a rabbit for someone” to fail to show up for an arranged meeting or date — stand someone up (informal)
donner un coup de main lit. “to give a blow of the hand” to help someone — lend a hand
mettre la main à la pâte lit. “to put one’s hand in the dough” to actively help with a task — pitch in
casser les pieds à quelqu’un lit. “to break someone’s feet” to annoy or bother someone — get on someone’s nerves (informal)
A few useful expressions for special occasions, sleepless nights, and stories that might not be entirely true.
mettre les petits plats dans les grands lit. “to put the small dishes into the big ones” to make an exceptional effort when entertaining guests — pull out all the stops
passer une nuit blanche lit. “to spend a white night” to spend the whole night without sleeping — pull an all-nighter, or have a sleepless night
raconter des salades lit. “to tell salads” to tell fabricated or misleading stories — make things up, tell lies (informal)
Some French expressions are complete sayings, called proverbes. Unlike the
verb-based idioms above, these are usually learned and repeated as whole sentences.
Mieux vaut tard que jamais. lit. “Late is better than never.” better late than never
Petit à petit, l’oiseau fait son nid. lit. “Little by little, the bird makes its nest.” steady effort brings results — little by little
L’habit ne fait pas le moine. lit. “The clothing doesn’t make the monk.” appearances can be misleading — don’t judge a book by its cover
Après la pluie, le beau temps. lit. “After the rain, good weather.” difficult times eventually give way to better ones
The goal isn’t to squeeze an idiom into every sentence. It’s to recognize these expressions when
you encounter them and gradually make the most useful ones part of your own French. The French Idioms deck will help you connect each expression to its real meaning.
