coûter les yeux de la tête
Literally to cost the eyes of the head
Means to be very expensive
Example Cette montre coûte les yeux de la tête.
An idiom is a phrase you cannot translate word for word. Here are 15 of the most common French idioms, each with its literal translation, real meaning, and an example sentence, so you know what natives actually mean.
Common French idioms are everyday expressions whose meaning cannot be guessed from the individual words. For example, coûter les yeux de la tête literally means "to cost the eyes of the head" but is used to mean to be very expensive. This free tool lists 15 real French idioms, each with its literal translation, meaning, and an example sentence.
All 15 French idioms, with meanings and examples.
Guess the meaning, then tap a card to check.
Idiom list verified as of July 2026.
coûter les yeux de la tête
Literally to cost the eyes of the head
Means to be very expensive
Example Cette montre coûte les yeux de la tête.
avoir le cafard
Literally to have the cockroach
Means to feel down or gloomy
Example Depuis qu'il est parti, elle a le cafard.
poser un lapin
Literally to put down a rabbit
Means to stand someone up
Example Il m'a posé un lapin hier soir.
avoir un chat dans la gorge
Literally to have a cat in the throat
Means to have a frog in one's throat
Example Excuse-moi, j'ai un chat dans la gorge.
tomber dans les pommes
Literally to fall in the apples
Means to faint
Example Elle est tombée dans les pommes en voyant le sang.
donner sa langue au chat
Literally to give one's tongue to the cat
Means to give up trying to guess
Example Je ne trouve pas la réponse, je donne ma langue au chat.
mettre son grain de sel
Literally to put in one's grain of salt
Means to give an unwanted opinion
Example Il faut toujours qu'il mette son grain de sel.
il pleut des cordes
Literally it is raining ropes
Means it is raining heavily
Example Prends un parapluie, il pleut des cordes.
avoir le coup de foudre
Literally to have the lightning strike
Means to fall in love at first sight
Example Ils ont eu le coup de foudre au premier regard.
en faire tout un fromage
Literally to make a whole cheese out of it
Means to make a big deal out of nothing
Example Ce n'est pas grave, n'en fais pas tout un fromage.
casser les pieds
Literally to break someone's feet
Means to annoy someone
Example Arrête de me casser les pieds avec tes questions.
avoir d'autres chats à fouetter
Literally to have other cats to whip
Means to have more important things to deal with
Example Je n'ai pas le temps, j'ai d'autres chats à fouetter.
mettre la charrue avant les bœufs
Literally to put the plough before the oxen
Means to do things in the wrong order
Example Ne mets pas la charrue avant les bœufs, finis d'abord tes études.
être dans la lune
Literally to be in the moon
Means to be daydreaming
Example Tu n'écoutes pas, tu es encore dans la lune.
appeler un chat un chat
Literally to call a cat a cat
Means to call things by their real name, to speak plainly
Example Soyons honnêtes, appelons un chat un chat.
Idioms stick when you see them in context, not on a list. Lingo7 lets you read real French books with sentence-aligned translation and native-narrated audio, so you meet idioms in the wild and tap any line you do not get. Save them and review later. Free to start.
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: Coûter les yeux de la tête comes out as "to cost the eyes of the head", which makes no sense until you know it means to be very expensive.
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) →
Some of the most common French idioms are coûter les yeux de la tête, avoir le cafard, poser un lapin, avoir un chat dans la gorge. Each one means something you could not guess from the words alone, which is exactly why learners have to meet them in context. This tool lists 15 of them with their meaning and an example sentence.
In French, "coûter les yeux de la tête" translates literally as "to cost the eyes of the head", but it actually means to be very expensive. You would use it like this: Cette montre coûte les yeux de la tête.
Idioms are non-compositional: their meaning is fixed by convention, not built from the individual words. Coûter les yeux de la tête translates literally as "to cost the eyes of the head", yet it means to be very expensive. 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.