French Proverbs with Animals

À bon chat bon rat.
Tit for tat.
"To good cat good rat."

Bon chien chasse de race.
Like breeds like.
"Good dog hunts [thanks to] its ancestry."

La caque sent toujours le hareng.
What's bred in the bone will come out in the flesh.
"The herring barrel always smells like herring."

Ce n'est pas à un vieux singe qu'on apprend à faire la grimace.
There's no substitute for experience.
"It's not an old monkey that one teaches to make faces."

Ce n'est pas la vache qui crie le plus fort qui fait le plus de lait.
Talkers are not doers.
"It's not the cow that moos the loudest who gives the most milk."

C'est la poule qui chante qui a fait l'œuf.
The guilty dog barks the loudest.
"It's the chicken that sings who laid the egg."

Chat échaudé craint l'eau froide.
Once bitten, twice shy.
"Scalded cat fears cold water."

Le chat parti, les souris dansent.
When the cat's away, the mice will play.
"The cat gone, the mice dance."

Chien qui aboie ne mord pas.
A barking dog does not bite.

Un chien regarde bien un évêque.
A cat may look at a king.
"A dog looks well at a bishop."

Un chien vivant vaut mieux qu'un lion mort.
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
"A live dog is worth more than a dead lion."

Les chiens aboient, la caravane passe.
to each his own.
"The dogs bark, the caravan goes by."

Les chiens ne font pas des chats.
The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
"Dogs don't make cats."

Donne au chien l'os pour qu'il ne convoite pas ta viande.
Give some and keep the rest.
"Give the dog the bone so that he doesn't go after your meat."

Faire d'une pierre deux coups
to kill two birds with one stone.
"To strike twice with one stone."

Faute de grives, on mange des merles.
Beggars can't be choosers.
"Lack of thrushes, one eats blackbirds."

Les gros poissons mangent les petits.
Big fish eat little fish.

Il faut savoir donner un œuf pour avoir un bœuf.
Give a little to get a lot.
"You have to know how to give an egg to get an ox."

Il ne faut jamais courir deux lièvres à la fois.
Don't try to do two things at once.
"One should never run after two hares at the same time."

Il ne faut jamais mettre la charrue avant les bœufs.
Don't put the cart before the horse.
"One should never put the plow before the oxen."

Il ne faut pas vendre la peau de l'ours avant de l'avoir tué.
Don't count your chickens before they're hatched.
"You shouldn't sell the bearskin before killing the bear."

Il vaut mieux s'adresser à Dieu qu'à ses saints.
It's better to talk to the organ-grinder than the monkey.
"It's better to address God than his saints."

Il y a plus d'un âne à la foire qui s'appelle Martin.
Don't jump to conclusions.
"There's more than one donkey named Martin at the fair."

Le loup retourne toujours au bois.
One always goes back to one's roots.
"The wolf always goes back to the woods."

Ne réveillez pas le chat qui dort.
Let sleeping dogs lie.
"Don't wake the sleeping cat."

La nuit, tous les chats sont gris.
All cats are grey in the dark.
"At night, all the cats are grey."

On ne marie pas les poules avec les renards.
Different strokes for different folks.
"One does not wed hens with foxes."

Petit à petit, l'oiseau fait son nid.
Every little bit helps.
"Little by little, the bird builds its nest."

Quand on parle du loup (on en voit la queue).
Speak of the devil (and he appears).
"When you talk about the wolf (you see its tail)."

Qui a bu boira.
A leopard can't change his spots.
"He who has drunk will drink."

Qui m'aime aime mon chien.
Love me love my dog.
"He who loves me loves my dog."

Qui naît poule aime à caqueter.
A leopard can't change his spots.
"He who was born a hen likes to cackle. "

Qui se couche avec les chiens se lève avec des puces.
If you lie down with dogs you get up with fleas.

Qui se fait brebis le loup le mange.
Nice guys finish last.
"He who makes himself a ewe the wolf eats."

Qui se ressemble s'assemble
Birds of a feather flock together
"Those who resemble assemble."

Qui vole un œuf vole un bœuf.
Give an inch and he'll take a mile.
"He who steals an egg will steal an ox."

Souris qui n'a qu'un trou est bientôt prise.
Better safe than sorry.
"A mouse that has only one hole is soon caught."

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