14 French Expressions to Practice Today (with videos)

By Frederic Bibard Published: March 8, 2018

3 min read

Want to add some French idiomatic expressions into your vocabulary? Check out this list of 14 idioms with meanings and links to the original lessons.

On this page

1. s’en moquer – to not care about it (literally, to mock it)2. avoir le feu au derrière – to be in a hurry (literally, to have one’s bottom on fire)3. être de mauvais poil – to be in a bad mood (literally, to be of bad hair)4. garder la tête froide – to stay calm (literally, to keep a cool head)5. être dans de beaux draps – to be in trouble (literally, to be in beautiful bed sheets)6. être mieux que rien – to be better than nothing 7. être fastoche – to be very easy 8. ne pas être sa tasse de thé – to not be his/her thing (lit. to not be one’s cup of tea)9. à gogo – plenty/ a lot. It’s similar to saying “galore” in English 10. Jeter l’éponge – To give up (lit. to throw the sponge)11. être au courant – To be aware/to be informed (lit. to be in the current)12. être aux anges – To be ecstatic (literally, to be with angels)13. Tomber à pic – To come at the right time (literally, to fall straight down)14. Mettre quelqu’un en boîte – To tease someone (literally, to put somebody in a box)

In any language, idioms are often a source of confusion and frustration for newbie learners. French is no different. But these little expressions are very useful to learn because they not only add spice to your conversations, they also help you sound more natural and closer to a native speaker.

The French have a lot of expressions that range from the witty to the absurd. You’ll also find a number of idioms about food and animals such as dogs, cats, and even goats. You can check those in separate articles below.

Top 30 Funniest Expressions Ranked By Level of Absurdity

Mad About Food: 25 French Idioms that Show the French Obsession with Food

15 French Expressions that Feature Dogs

14 French Expressions Featuring Cats

Goat-related French Expressions

So you see, we’ve already discussed several other French idioms before. But today, we will talk about common French expressions that you could use in everyday conversations.

The original Instagram lessons are linked below. Instagram may ask you to sign in, and older posts may be unavailable. The written expressions and meanings remain available on this page. If a linked lesson opens, you can practice along with it.

If you’re ready, let’s start!

1. s’en moquer – to not care about it (literally, to mock it)

2. avoir le feu au derrière – to be in a hurry (literally, to have one’s bottom on fire)

3. être de mauvais poil – to be in a bad mood (literally, to be of bad hair)

4. garder la tête froide – to stay calm (literally, to keep a cool head)

5. être dans de beaux draps – to be in trouble (literally, to be in beautiful bed sheets)

6. être mieux que rien – to be better than nothing

7. être fastoche – to be very easy

8. ne pas être sa tasse de thé – to not be his/her thing (lit. to not be one’s cup of tea)

9. à gogo – plenty/ a lot. It’s similar to saying “galore” in English

10. Jeter l’éponge – To give up (lit. to throw the sponge)

11. être au courant – To be aware/to be informed (lit. to be in the current)

12. être aux anges – To be ecstatic (literally, to be with angels)

13. Tomber à pic – To come at the right time (literally, to fall straight down)

14. Mettre quelqu’un en boîte – To tease someone (literally, to put somebody in a box)

Want to use this in real conversations?In the French Accelerator, a coach corrects you live, every week, until speaking feels natural.

See how it works