French idioms & expressions vocabulary
30 words at level C1, with English translations and example sentences. Nouns are given with their article so you learn the gender too.
| French | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| avoir le cafard | to feel down | J'ai le cafard aujourd'hui. |
| poser un lapin à qqn | to stand someone up | |
| coûter les yeux de la tête | to cost an arm and a leg | |
| avoir un poil dans la main | to be bone idle | |
| casser les pieds à qqn | to annoy someone | |
| tomber dans les pommes | to faint | |
| mettre son grain de sel | to put one's two cents in | |
| avoir la flemme | to not be bothered | J'ai la flemme de sortir. |
| en avoir marre | to be fed up | J'en ai marre ! |
| avoir du pain sur la planche | to have a lot on one's plate | |
| ce n'est pas la mer à boire | it's not that hard | |
| tirer les vers du nez à qqn | to worm information out of someone | |
| se creuser la tête | to rack one's brains | |
| raconter des salades | to tell tall stories | |
| être dans la lune | to be daydreaming | |
| faire la grasse matinée | to have a lie-in | |
| il pleut des cordes | it's raining cats and dogs | |
| avoir le coup de foudre | to fall in love at first sight | |
| mettre les pieds dans le plat | to put one's foot in it | |
| avoir la pêche | to be full of energy | |
| revenir à ses moutons | to get back to the subject | |
| tourner autour du pot | to beat around the bush | |
| donner sa langue au chat | to give up guessing | |
| faire d'une pierre deux coups | to kill two birds with one stone | |
| avoir l'esprit de l'escalier | to think of a comeback too late | |
| se mettre sur son trente et un | to get dressed up | |
| c'est la goutte d'eau qui fait déborder le vase | it's the last straw | |
| passer un savon à qqn | to give someone a telling-off | |
| les doigts dans le nez | easily, with no effort | |
| ça ne casse pas trois pattes à un canard | it's nothing special |
Learn them so they stick. SparkAI turns this list into flashcards that come back just before you'd forget each word, with audio and example sentences.