Your Guide to Popular French Idioms- Speak Like a Local!

Traveling to the wonderful country of France is always an appealing idea; yet people often forget about the potential for a huge language barrier. One can get away with knowing little French in the big cities such as Paris, however if you’re in a smaller town you might be in trouble. Not everyone has the time to take an extensive course in French though, hopefully these few, but useful, French idioms can help next time you are in a jam.

French Idioms for a Food Setting

• Mangez bien, riez souvent, aimez beaucoup means: “Eat well, laugh often, love abundantly.”

• La vie est trop courte pour boire du mauvais vin, meaning: “Life is too short to drink bad wine”.

• À la mode: In French this means ‘in style’; in English it refers to serving pie with ice cream on top

• Au gratin: In English this means that the dish is topped with cheese, which is then melted in the oven

• Crème de la crème: Meaning ‘the best of the best’, this phrase literally translates to: ‘the cream of the cream’ (‘cream of the crop’)

• Haute cuisine: ‘High cooking,’ this is a compliment to the food and the chef who made it

French Idioms for Cultural Settings

• Bon voyage: ‘Have a good trip;’

• C’est la vie: Meaning ‘that’s life,’ this phrase indicates an acceptance of circumstances as they happen to be

• Entre-nous: Something that is ‘between us’

• Faux pas: A ‘false step’, this expression is used when someone deviates from the norm

• Je ne sais quoi: Signaling an essential, although un-nameable, characteristic

• Joie de vivre: Joy/happiness derived from life

Hopefully the next time you travel to France these few French Idioms and saying can help you navigate such a wonderful city a little easier!