You can know every word in J'ai passé une nuit blanche and still miss the point: nobody spent a white night. It means I didn't sleep at all. Idioms (les expressions idiomatiques) are fixed phrases whose meaning comes from an image, not from the dictionary meaning of each word. English is full of them too: it costs an arm and a leg, speak of the devil. The trap works in both directions. Translate a French idiom word for word and you get nonsense; translate an English idiom word for word into French and a francophone will not understand you. The method in this lesson: learn each idiom as one block, picture the image so it sticks, learn its real meaning and its register, and then practise putting it into a sentence, because an idiom still has a verb to conjugate and possessives to adjust. Used well and sparingly, one idiom makes your French sound natural and alive.
Image versus meaning
| Expression | Literally | Meaning | English equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|
| passer une nuit blanche | to spend a white night | not to sleep at all | to pull an all-nighter; a sleepless night |
| avoir la chair de poule | to have chicken flesh | to have goosebumps (from cold, fear or emotion) | to get goosebumps |
| donner la chair de poule à quelqu'un | to give someone chicken flesh | to give someone the chills | to give someone goosebumps |
| Ce ne sont pas tes oignons. / Occupe-toi de tes oignons. | those aren't your onions / take care of your onions | it's none of your business (familiar, a bit rude) | mind your own business |
| une tempête dans un verre d'eau | a storm in a glass of water | a big fuss about something unimportant | a tempest in a teapot (a storm in a teacup) |
| poser un lapin à quelqu'un | to put down a rabbit to someone | not to show up for a meeting or date (familiar) | to stand someone up |
| avoir un chat dans la gorge | to have a cat in your throat | to be hoarse | to have a frog in your throat |
| tomber dans les pommes | to fall into the apples | to faint (familiar) | to pass out |
An idiom is still a sentence
Only the core image is fixed; the grammar around it changes. Conjugate the verb: Hier, j'ai passé une nuit blanche. Move object pronouns into place: Ce film m'a donné la chair de poule (That film gave me goosebumps). Match the possessive to the person: Occupe-toi de tes oignons (tu) but Occupez-vous de vos oignons (vous, still impolite!). Apply negation rules: une becomes de after a negative, Je n'ai pas passé de nuit blanche.
Proverbs: wisdom in a sentence
| Proverbe | Literally | English equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| La parole est d'argent, mais le silence est d'or. | Speech is (made) of silver, but silence is (made) of gold. | Speech is silver, silence is golden. |
| Quand on parle du loup, on en voit la queue. | When you talk about the wolf, you see its tail. | Speak of the devil. |
| Toute vérité n'est pas bonne à dire. | Not every truth is good to say. | Some truths are better left unsaid. |
| Il ne faut pas vendre la peau de l'ours avant de l'avoir tué. | Don't sell the bear's skin before you have killed it. | Don't count your chickens before they hatch. |
| Petit à petit, l'oiseau fait son nid. | Little by little, the bird builds its nest. | Rome wasn't built in a day. |
| Qui se ressemble s'assemble. | Those who are alike gather together. | Birds of a feather flock together. |
| Mieux vaut tard que jamais. | Better late than never. | Better late than never. |
Toute vérité n'est pas… does not mean no truth
When tout / toute comes before ne… pas, the negation applies to every, not to the noun: Toute vérité n'est pas bonne à dire = not every truth should be told (some should). It does not mean no truth is good to tell; that would be Aucune vérité n'est bonne à dire. The same pattern appears in Tout ce qui brille n'est pas or (All that glitters is not gold). And in on en voit la queue, the pronoun en stands for du loup: you see its tail.
Talking about money
| Expression | Literally | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| coûter les yeux de la tête | to cost the eyes of your head | to cost a fortune (an arm and a leg) |
| coûter un bras | to cost an arm | the same; very common in Québec and heard in France too |
| jeter l'argent par les fenêtres | to throw money out the windows | to waste money |
| être fauché (comme les blés) | to be mown down (like wheat) | to be broke (familiar) |
| être cassé | to be broken | to be broke (familiar, Québec) |
| mettre du beurre dans les épinards | to put butter in the spinach | to make life a bit more comfortable with extra income |
| payer rubis sur l'ongle | to pay ruby on the nail | to pay the full amount, right away |
| en avoir pour son argent | to have some for your money | to get your money's worth |
| L'argent ne fait pas le bonheur. | Money doesn't make happiness. | Money can't buy happiness (a proverb). |
- Lâche pas la patate! → Don't give up! Hang in there! (literally: don't let go of the potato). Familiar, Québec.
- avoir de la misère à + infinitive → to have a hard time doing something: J'ai de la misère à me lever le matin (I have a hard time getting up in the morning). Familiar Québec usage; in formal writing say avoir du mal à or avoir de la difficulté à.
- Il pleut à boire debout. → It's pouring (literally: it's raining enough to drink standing up). Québec; France says il pleut des cordes. Never translate it's raining cats and dogs word for word.
- Zoé: T'as vu le prix des billets pour le concert? Ça coûte les yeux de la tête! → Did you see the price of the concert tickets? They cost a fortune!
- Malik: Je sais. Je suis fauché depuis que j'ai acheté mon vélo. → I know. I've been broke since I bought my bike.
- Zoé: Moi, je travaille au café le samedi. Ça met du beurre dans les épinards. → I work at the café on Saturdays. It brings in a bit of extra money.
- Malik: Et Hugo? Il devait venir avec nous la dernière fois, mais il nous a posé un lapin. → And Hugo? He was supposed to come with us last time, but he stood us up.
- Zoé: Ah, quand on parle du loup… Le voilà! → Ah, speak of the devil… There he is!
Using idioms in your own writing
One well-chosen idiom in a friendly email, a blog post or a dialogue makes your French sound natural; five in one paragraph sounds like a list. In a formal text, a proverb can work as a hook in the introduction (Comme on dit, toute vérité n'est pas bonne à dire…), but avoid familiar idioms such as être fauché or tomber dans les pommes. And only use an expression you have seen used by francophones, in exactly that form: idioms do not survive creative changes.