Dictionary of French Expressions - I
Idiomatic French expressions, phrasal verbs, and French formulas
More than 2,000 French expressions, including idiomatic expressions, proverbs, phrasal verbs, and French formulas.
Expressions are arranged alphabetically by the first word in the French expression, not including articles.
| Abbreviations | |||
| (fam) | familiar | (inf) | informal |
| qqun | quelqu'un | qqch | quelque chose |
| s.o. | someone | s.t. | something |
Dictionary of French Expressions
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
| ignorer tout de | to know nothing about | |
| Il a pris son temps ! | He took his time (about it)! | |
| il est | it is | |
| Il est 3 heures sonnantes. | It's 3 o'clock on the dot. | |
| Il est 3 heures sonnées. | It's past 3 o'clock. | |
| Il est à souhaiter | It's to be hoped | |
| Il est bizarre | It's odd | |
| Il est bon | It's good | |
| Il est certain | It's certain | |
| Il est clair | It's clear/obvious | |
| Il est convenable | It's proper/fitting | |
| Il est difficile | It's difficult | |
| Il est dommage | It's too bad | |
| Il est douteux | It's doubtful | |
| Il est essentiel | It's essential | |
| Il est étonnant | It's amazing | |
| Il est étrange | It's strange | |
| Il est évident | It's clear/obvious | |
| Il est facile | It's easy | |
| Il est faux | It's false | |
| Il est heureux | It's fortunate | |
| Il est honteux | It's shameful | |
| Il est important | It's important | |
| Il est impossible | It's impossible | |
| Il est improbable | It's improbable | |
| Il est indispensable | It's essential | |
| Il est injuste | It's unfair | |
| Il est inutile | It's useless | |
| Il est juste | It's right/fair | |
| Il est meilleur que moi. | He's a better man than I. | |
| Il est naturel | It's natural | |
| Il est nécessaire | It's necessary | |
| Il est normal | It's normal | |
| Il est obligatoire | It's obligatory | |
| Il est passé beaucoup d'eau sous le pont. | A lot of water has passed under the bridge. | |
| Il est peu probable | It's not likely | |
| Il est possible | It's possible | |
| Il est probable | It's probable | |
| Il est rare | It's rare | |
| Il est regrettable | It's regrettable | |
| Il est sûr | It's sure/certain | |
| Il est surprenant | It's surprising | |
| Il est temps | It's time | |
| Il est temps de | It's time to | |
| Il est (grand) temps que + subjunctive | It's (high) time that | |
| Il est triste | It's sad | |
| Il est urgent | It's urgent | |
| Il est utile | It's useful | |
| Il est vrai | It's true | |
| Il était temps ! | About time! In the nick of time! | |
| Il faut bien passer le temps | You've got to pass the time somehow | |
| Il faut être de son temps | You have to move with the times | |
| Il faut donner/laisser du temps au temps | You have to give these things time | |
| Il faut | It's necessary to | |
| Il faut casser le noyau pour avoir l'amande. | No pain no gain. | |
| Il faut laisser faire le temps. | Let things take/follow their (natural) course. | |
| Il faut le détruire dans l'oeuf. | We've got to nip this in the bud. | |
| Il faut le tirer de là. | We have to rescue him, help him out. | |
| Il faut le voir pour le croire. | It has to be seen to be believed. | |
| Il faut que | It is necessary that | |
| Il faut qu'une porte soit ouverte ou fermée. | There can be no middle course. | |
| Il faut rebrousser chemin. | We have to turn back. | |
| Il faut réfléchir avant d'agir. | Look before you leap. | |
| Il faut savoir donner un oeuf pour avoir un boeuf. | Give a little to get a lot. | |
| Il faut toujours qu'il ramène sa fraise. | (familiar) | He always has to put his two cents in. |
| Il faut voir. | We'll (have to wait and) see. | |
| Il l'a fait en dépit du bon sens. | He did it anyway. | |
| Il me faut | I need | |
| Il me le paiera ! | He'll pay for this! | |
| Il me reviendra. | It'll come back to me. | |
| Il me tape sur les nerfs. | He gets on my nerves. | |
| Il m'est impossible de donner un avis (définitif) sur | I can't express a (definite) opinion on | |
| Il m'incombe de | It falls to me to | |
| Il n'a pas la main douce. | He doesn't wear kid gloves. | |
| Il n'a que ... à la bouche. | ... is all he ever talks about. | |
| Il ne casse pas des briques (inf) | That's no great shakes. | |
| Il ne casse pas trois pattes à un canard. | He's, It's nothing special, nothing to get excited about | |
| Il ne casse rien. | He's, It's nothing special, nothing to get excited about | |
| Il ne faut jamais courir deux lièvres à la fois. | Don't try to do two things at once. | |
| Il ne faut jamais dire « Fontaine, je ne boirai pas de ton eau ! » | Never say never. | |
| Il ne faut jamais jeter le manche après la cognée. | Never say die. | |
| Il ne faut jamais mettre la charrue avant les boeufs. | Don't put the cart before the horse. | |
| Il ne faut pas juger les gens sur la mine. | Don't judge a book by its cover. | |
| Il ne faut pas vendre la peau de l'ours avant de l'avoir tué. | Don't count your chickens before they're hatched. | |
| Il ne faut rien laisser au hasard. | Leave nothing to chance. | |
| Il ne m'a pas quitté des yeux. | He never took his eyes off me. | |
| Il ne sert à rien de déshabiller Pierre pour habiller Paul. | Robbing Peter to pay Paul. | |
| Il ne s'est jamais mieux porté. | He's never been better. | |
| Il ne s'est pas cassé la nénette (fam) | He didn't do much, try very hard. | |
| Il ne s'est pas cassé la tête (inf) | He didn't overtax himself, put any effort into it.. | |
| Il ne s'est pas cassé le cul (slang) | He didn't bust his butt. | |
| Il ne s'est pas cassé le tronc (fam) | He didn't do much, try very hard. | |
| Il n'est pas donné à tout le monde de... | Not everyone in the world is lucky enough to... | |
| Il n'est pas mal ! | He's not bad looking! | |
| Il n'est plus temps de | The time for ___ is over | |
| Il n'est que les os et la peau. | He's nothing but skin and bones. | |
| Il n'est que temps de | It's high time to | |
| Il n'est si méchant pot qui ne trouve son couvercle. | Every Jack has his Jill. | |
| Il nous les casse ! (fam) | He's a pain in the neck! | |
| Il n'y a pas à dire | There's no doubt about it. | |
| Il n'y a pas de fumée sans feu. | Where there's smoke, there's fire. | |
| Il n'y a pas de quoi fouetter un chat. | It's nothing to make a fuss about. | |
| Il n'y a pas de temps à perdre | There's no time to lose | |
| Il n'y a que les montagnes qui ne se rencontrent jamais. | There are none so distant that fate cannot bring together. | |
| Il n'y a rien à faire. | It's hopeless, no use insisting | |
| Il peut faire mieux. | He can do better. | |
| Il n'y avait pas un chat ! | There wasn't a soul! | |
| Il revient à moi de | It falls to me to | |
| Il se fit jour dans mon esprit | The light dawned on me | |
| Il serait (grand) temps que + subjunctive | It's (high) time that | |
| Ils m'ont ri au nez. | They laughed in my face. | |
| Ils ne peuvent pas se voir | They can't stand each other. | |
| Ils ne valent pas mieux l'un que l'autre. | They're two of a kind / One's as bad as the other. | |
| il tient que | it depends on | |
| Il vaut mieux aller au moulin qu'au médecin. | An apple a day keeps the doctor away. | |
| Il vaut mieux être marteau qu'enclume. | It's better to be a hammer than a nail. | |
| Il vaut mieux s'adresser à Dieu qu'à ses saints. | It's better to talk to the organ-grinder than the monkey. | |
| il y a beau temps | for a long time | |
| il y a combien de temps ? | how long ago? | |
| Il y a du mieux. | There's been some improvement. | |
| Il y a du monde ici | There are a lot of people here | |
| Il y a mis le temps ! | He's taken his sweet time doing it! | |
| Il y a plus d'un âne à la foire qui s'appelle Martin. | Don't jump to conclusions. | |
| Il y a qqch qui cloche. | Something's not quite right. | |
| Il y a un ange qui passe. | There's an awkward pause in the conversation. | |
| Il y a un mieux. | There's been some improvement. | |
| Il y a un temps pour tout | (proverb) | There's a right time for everything |
| Impossible n'est pas français. | There is no such word as "can't." | |
| interdire à | to forbid | |
| interroger qqun sur qqch | to question s.o. about s.t. | |
| inviter (qqun) à | to invite (s.o.) to | |
Dictionary of French Expressions
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
French Dictionaries Expressions Index Verbs with Prepositions
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