38 Most Common French Idioms for Sounding Like a Native (+Free PDF)

French speakers love to use idioms to talk about love, life, and food – three very important aspects of their life and culture.

Idioms are interesting and creative phrases that French speakers use in daily conversation. Idioms are phrases where the meaning of the individual words doesn’t necessarily reflect the meaning of the entire phrase.

While French speakers may understand almost instinctively what an idiom really means, beginner French language learners may be a little confused. It is important, however, to learn French idioms to really understand French speakers.

Luckily, French idioms are often quite interesting and easy to learn. You just need to start learning a few phrases and adding more and more as you go along.

To start you off, here are the 38 most common French idioms to help you sound like a native.

Coup de foudre

Translation: Strike of lighting

Meaning: Love at first sight

This is one of those beautiful French idioms that talk about love. It refers to the stunning moment when you first catch sight of and fall in love with a special someone.

Avoir un cœur d’artichaut

Translation: Have a artichoke’s heart

Meaning: Fall in and out of love easily

This French idiom might sound like it’s about food, but it’s actually about love. The idea here is, that an artichoke is a vegetable that you eat by detaching the leaves. If you have a heart like an artichoke, you can “detach” from love easily. So the implication is someone who has an artichoke heart falls in love easily and often – has as many loves as an artichoke has leaves.

En pincer pour quelqu’un

Translation: To pinch on someone

Meaning: Have a crush

When you say this, you are saying that you have a crush or are attracted to someone.

Se prendre un râteau

Translation: To take a rake

Meaning: To be rejected

Sometimes French idioms about love are sweet, sometimes they hurt. This idiom refers to how love can hurt because if you use it, you are saying that you made your feelings or intentions known and were rejected 

Poser un lapin à quelqu’un

Translation: Put a rabbit on somebody

Meaning: Not show up

This funny French idiom describes a situation that can be annoying or heartbreaking. It means that you didn’t show up to meet someone when you said you would. It’s usually used when talking about getting “stood up” by someone you were interested in romantically.

Faire la grasse matinée

Translation: Have a fat morning

Meaning: Sleep in.

This French idiom refers to one of life’s great simple pleasures, sleeping in and having a lazy morning. 

Appeler un chat un chat

Translation: Calling a cat a cat

Meaning: Bluntly telling the truth

Sometimes in life, we are called on to be brutally honest and just tell the truth, even if it’s unpleasant. This is the equivalent of saying “calling a spade a spade” in English. You shatter someone’s illusions because it’s necessary.

Être dans la lune

Translation: To be in the moon

Meaning: Daydreaming

This beautiful French idiom is used to describe someone who is daydreaming. It can also be used to describe being distracted for a moment.

Après la pluie le beau temps

Translation: After the rain, nice weather

Meaning: Better days will come

This is an inspiring and beautiful French idiom that basically encourages you to not be discouraged about bad things because things will get better.

Il faut manger pour vivre et non vivre pour manger

Translation: We must eat to live and not live to eat

Meaning: Everything in moderation

This is a bit of advice on how to live a good life. It’s not only cautioning against eating too much but advising you to be mindful about not giving in to excess. 

Comme on fait son lit, on se couche

Translation: As you make your bed, you must lie

Meaning: Live with the consequences of your actions

This is basically a caution about how your past behavior or decisions will influence your present and your future. It is a reminder that your decisions brought you to where you are now and you have to live with that.

Être crevé

Translation: To be flat

Meaning: Exhausted

If you hear this French idiom, someone is saying that they are lacking in energy or are simply exhausted. 

Être bien dans sa peau

Translation: To be good in one’s skin

Meaning: Confident

This beautiful French idiom refers to someone who is confident in themselves and their abilities. They are not afraid of the opinions of others.

Coûter les yeux de la tête

Translation: Drink like a hole

Meaning: Drinks a lot

When you hear this French idiom, someone is trying to imply that someone else is a big drinker. Not necessarily an unusual thing for a French speaker as they are a culture that savors a glass of wine or more with their meals.

Arriver comme un cheveu sur la soupe

Translation: Arrive like the hair in a soup

Meaning: Entered an awkward situation

Finding a hair in one’s soup can ruin your meal, just like entering an awkward situation can ruin your day. An example of this would be if someone entered a room when the occupants were in the middle of an argument. 

Mettre son grain de sel

Translation: Put in one’s grain of salt

Meaning: Give unsolicited advice

This French idiom about food refers to the idea that sometimes an extra “ingredient” is unnecessary. In this case, your extra “opinion” is not necessary to resolve a problem or end an argument.

La moutarde me/lui monte au nez

Translation: The mustard is getting to my nose

Meaning: I’m getting angry

This is one of those French idioms about food, that isn’t really talking about food. When you say this, you are saying that you are getting angry at someone or a situation. 

Avoir les yeux plus gros que le ventre

Translation: Eyes bigger than my stomach

Meaning: Have too much food

The translation of this French idiom to English is actually a common English idiom that is used in a restaurant or at the dining table. If you have eyes that are bigger than your stomach, in both French and English, you are saying that you have more food than you can finish.

C’est du gâteau

Translation: It’s cake

Meaning: It’s easy

This is basically the French equivalent to the English idiom “piece of cake”. You are saying that a task is easy or will be easy.

Se vendre comme des petits pains

Translation: To be sold like small bread

Meaning: To be in demand

This idiom means that something is in high demand or popular so they are easy to sell.

Gagner des cacahuètes

Translation: To make peanuts

Meaning: Earn very little

This is a French idiom that is used to describe a job that pays those that do it very little.

Avoir de pain sur la planche

Translation: To have bread on the board

Meaning: To have a lot to do

The literal translation of this French idiom sounds like a good problem to have, but it actually means that you’re very busy and maybe a little harassed and stressed.

Une bouchée de pain

Translation: For a mouthful of bread

Meaning: Cheap

Another French idiom that makes a bread reference, is used to say that something didn’t cost much so it was “cheap”.

Raconter des salades

Translation: To tell salads

Meaning: To tell tales

If a French speaker says this, they are doubting your story or think that you are making it up or exaggerating. 

Ça marche

Translation: It walks

Meaning: I agree

This short idiom basically is a casual way of saying that you agree to a plan. So it’s kind of like saying “okay” when someone suggests you meet for lunch at a specific café.

Coûter les yeux de la tête

Translation: Costs the eyes in your head

Meaning: It’s expensive

This is the equivalent to the English idiom, “it costs an arm and a leg”.

Ne rien savoir faire de ses dix doigts

Translation: Doesn’t know how to do anything with one’s ten fingers

Meaning: Useless

This is a rather unflattering French idiom as it implies that someone is of no use. 

Sauter du coq à l’âne

Translation: To jump from the rooster to the donkey

Meaning: Jump from topic to topic

If you are a beginner language learner, you might have a hard time following a conversation if the speaker keeps changing the topic. You can say that they are doing this and ask that they slow down.

L’avocat du diable

Translation: The devil’s lawyer

Meaning: Present a counter-argument

This is the French equivalent of “devil’s advocate”, so someone who presents a counter argument or gives a different opinion.

Être fleur bleue

Translation: To be a blue flower

Meaning: Sentimental

The idea here is that a blue flower is delicate looking and evokes a feeling of tenderness and sentiment. So, if you are a blue flower you are feeling a slightly melancholy feeling of nostalgia – sentimental. 

Être à l’ouest

Translation: To be in the West

Meaning: Spaced out

You can use this idiom to refer to someone who is a little bit “off” or “spaced out”.

Être une poule mouillée

Translation: To be a wet chicken

Meaning: To be a coward

This French idiom is basically the same as calling someone a “chicken” in English. You are saying that they are scared and cowardly.

Être canon

Translation: To be canon

Meaning: Attractive

This is an informal way to say that someone is beautiful or “hot”. It can also be used if you want to say that something is “cool”.

Jeter l’argent par les fenêtres

Translate: To throw money out the windows

Meaning: To waste money

This French idiom is used to describe wasteful behavior. Specifically, it refers to someone who is being reckless and wasteful with money.

Avoir un QI d’huître

Translation: To have the IQ of an oyster

Meaning: Stupid

This is not a flattering thing to say about someone, you are basically saying their IQ is low so they are stupid.

Rouler sur l’or

Translation: To roll in gold

Meaning: To be rich

This French idiom refers to someone who has a lot of money or who is very rich.

Casser du sucre sur le dos de quelqu’un

Translation: To break sugar on someone’s back

Meaning: To gossip

This rather long French idiom basically means to talk behind someone’s back or talk about someone who’s not there. The shortest description of this is “to gossip”.

Tourner au vinaigre

Translation: To turn to vinegar

Meaning: A situation is getting out of control

This is probably similar to the English idiom that things are going “sour”. French speakers say this when they are talking about a situation that is beginning to go badly.

 

One great way to start learning French idioms is to download this French idiom PDF file and study it. You should also discuss the list with an online native French-speaking tutor.

Working with a good online tutor can help you learn how and when to use these idioms in daily speech. 

They can also suggest some other French idioms that you should learn in order to better be able to communicate with native French speakers. 

Book an online tutor now