An idiom is a phrase you cannot translate word for word. Here are the 25 most common French idioms, ranked by how often you will actually meet them, each with its literal translation, real meaning, the closest English idiom where one exists, and an example sentence with an English translation, so you know what natives actually mean.
Common French idioms are everyday expressions whose meaning cannot be guessed from the individual words. For example, en avoir marre literally means "to have enough of it" but is used to mean to be sick of something you have put up with for too long. This free page ranks the 25 most common French idioms by how often you meet them, each with its literal translation, meaning, the closest English idiom where one exists, and an example sentence with an English translation.
All 25 idioms, most common first.
Guess the meaning, then tap a card to check.
Idiom list verified as of August 2026.
en avoir marre
Literally to have enough of it
Means to be sick of something you have put up with for too long
English idiom be fed up with something
Example J'en ai marre de faire la vaisselle tous les soirs.
I'm fed up with doing the dishes every evening.
Note Informal, fine with friends and family but too casual for formal writing.
avoir la flemme
Literally to have the laziness
Means to not feel like doing something because it takes too much effort
English idiom can't be bothered
Example J'ai la flemme de sortir ce soir.
I can't be bothered to go out tonight.
Note Very informal, and one of the most common phrases in everyday spoken French.
donner un coup de main
Literally to give a stroke of the hand
Means to help someone with a task
English idiom give someone a hand
Example Tu peux me donner un coup de main pour le déménagement ?
Can you give me a hand with the move?
coûter les yeux de la tête
Literally to cost the eyes of the head
Means to be extremely expensive
English idiom cost an arm and a leg
Example Cette montre coûte les yeux de la tête.
That watch costs an arm and a leg.
faire la tête
Literally to make the head
Means to sulk and go quiet to show that you are upset
Example Il fait la tête depuis que je lui ai dit non.
He's been sulking since I told him no.
tomber dans les pommes
Literally to fall in the apples
Means to faint
English idiom pass out
Example Elle est tombée dans les pommes en voyant le sang.
She passed out at the sight of blood.
Note Everyday spoken French; in a medical context people say s'évanouir instead.
avoir du pain sur la planche
Literally to have bread on the board
Means to have a lot of work waiting to be done
English idiom have one's work cut out
Example Avec ce nouveau projet, on a du pain sur la planche.
With this new project, we've got our work cut out for us.
faire la grasse matinée
Literally to do the fat morning
Means to stay in bed late in the morning
English idiom sleep in
Example Le dimanche, j'aime faire la grasse matinée.
On Sundays I like to sleep in.
poser un lapin
Literally to put down a rabbit
Means to fail to show up for an arranged meeting, leaving the other person waiting
English idiom stand someone up
Example Il m'a posé un lapin hier soir.
He stood me up last night.
Note Used for any missed appointment, not only for dates.
tomber à l'eau
Literally to fall in the water
Means to come to nothing, said about plans or projects
English idiom fall through
Example Notre projet de vacances est tombé à l'eau.
Our holiday plans fell through.
il pleut des cordes
Literally it is raining ropes
Means it is raining very heavily
English idiom it's raining cats and dogs
Example Prends un parapluie, il pleut des cordes.
Take an umbrella, it's pouring down.
avoir le coup de foudre
Literally to have the lightning strike
Means to fall in love with someone the moment you see them
English idiom love at first sight
Example Ils ont eu le coup de foudre au premier regard.
They fell in love at first sight.
être dans la lune
Literally to be in the moon
Means to be lost in your own thoughts instead of paying attention
English idiom have one's head in the clouds
Example Tu n'écoutes pas, tu es encore dans la lune.
You're not listening, your head is in the clouds again.
avoir un chat dans la gorge
Literally to have a cat in the throat
Means to be briefly hoarse and unable to speak clearly
English idiom have a frog in one's throat
Example Excuse-moi, j'ai un chat dans la gorge.
Sorry, I've got a frog in my throat.
être à côté de la plaque
Literally to be beside the plate
Means to be completely wrong or to miss the point
English idiom be wide of the mark
Example Ta réponse est complètement à côté de la plaque.
Your answer is completely wide of the mark.
Note Informal; it can also describe someone who is not following what is going on around them.
casser les pieds
Literally to break someone's feet
Means to annoy or pester someone
English idiom get on someone's nerves
Example Arrête de me casser les pieds avec tes questions.
Stop pestering me with your questions.
Note Informal but not rude; it stands in for a much cruder phrase with the same meaning.
faire le pont
Literally to make the bridge
Means to take the working day between a public holiday and the weekend off
Example Jeudi est férié, on fait le pont vendredi.
Thursday is a public holiday, so we're taking Friday off as well.
Note A French workplace habit tied to the many May public holidays, so the phrase comes up every spring.
joindre les deux bouts
Literally to join the two ends
Means to have just enough money to get to the end of the month
English idiom make ends meet
Example Avec ce salaire, elle a du mal à joindre les deux bouts.
On that salary she struggles to make ends meet.
en faire tout un fromage
Literally to make a whole cheese out of it
Means to treat something minor as a huge problem
English idiom make a mountain out of a molehill
Example Ce n'est pas grave, n'en fais pas tout un fromage.
It's not a big deal, don't make a mountain out of a molehill.
avoir d'autres chats à fouetter
Literally to have other cats to whip
Means to have more important things to deal with
English idiom have bigger fish to fry
Example Je n'ai pas le temps, j'ai d'autres chats à fouetter.
I don't have time, I've got bigger fish to fry.
avoir le cafard
Literally to have the cockroach
Means to feel low and gloomy for a while
English idiom have the blues
Example Depuis qu'il est parti, elle a le cafard.
She's had the blues ever since he left.
mettre son grain de sel
Literally to put in one's grain of salt
Means to add an opinion that nobody asked for
English idiom put in one's two cents
Example Il faut toujours qu'il mette son grain de sel.
He always has to put in his two cents.
Note Almost always said with irritation, unlike the neutral English version.
donner sa langue au chat
Literally to give one's tongue to the cat
Means to give up trying to guess the answer
Example Je ne trouve pas la réponse, je donne ma langue au chat.
I can't work out the answer, I give up.
Note Said about riddles and guessing games, not about abandoning a real task.
mettre la charrue avant les bœufs
Literally to put the plough before the oxen
Means to do things in the wrong order, starting with what should come last
English idiom put the cart before the horse
Example Ne mets pas la charrue avant les bœufs, finis d'abord tes études.
Don't put the cart before the horse, finish your studies first.
appeler un chat un chat
Literally to call a cat a cat
Means to say things plainly, without softening them
English idiom call a spade a spade
Example Soyons honnêtes, appelons un chat un chat.
Let's be honest and call a spade a spade.
An idiom is a phrase whose meaning is fixed by convention, not built from its words. That is why a word-for-word translation fails: En avoir marre comes out as "to have enough of it", which makes no sense until you know it means to be sick of something you have put up with for too long.
Learn a few at a time, not a whole list. Pick the ones you keep running into, say them out loud in a real sentence, and you will remember them far longer than by drilling flashcards.
The most reliable way to absorb idioms is to meet them in context, again and again, in things you actually read. Parallel text and audio let you catch an idiom in a real French sentence and check what it means without breaking your reading. That is what reading in Lingo7 is built for.
Start reading French with Lingo7 →
Find French books at your level (A1 to C1) →
Not sure of your level? Take the CEFR test (A1-C2) →
The most common French idioms, ranked by everyday frequency, start with en avoir marre, avoir la flemme, donner un coup de main, coûter les yeux de la tête, faire la tête. Each one means something you could not guess from the words alone, which is exactly why learners have to meet them in context. This page lists 25 of them with meanings and example sentences.
In French, "en avoir marre" translates literally as "to have enough of it", but it actually means to be sick of something you have put up with for too long. The closest English idiom is "be fed up with something". Example: J'en ai marre de faire la vaisselle tous les soirs. ("I'm fed up with doing the dishes every evening.")
The French equivalent is "en avoir marre", literally "to have enough of it". Example: J'en ai marre de faire la vaisselle tous les soirs. ("I'm fed up with doing the dishes every evening.")
In French, an idiom is called expression idiomatique, and a proverb is proverbe. Une expression idiomatique (often shortened to expression) is a figurative phrase you fit into your own sentence, while a proverbe is a complete sentence that states a piece of traditional wisdom.
Idioms are non-compositional: their meaning is fixed by convention, not built from the individual words. En avoir marre translates literally as "to have enough of it", yet it means to be sick of something you have put up with for too long. Translate word for word and you get nonsense, so idioms have to be learned as whole units.
The fastest way is to meet them in context and reuse them, not to memorize a list. Learn a handful at a time, notice them while reading and listening, and try them in your own sentences. Reading real French with tap-to-translate, the way Lingo7 works, turns every page into idiom practice.