dire at C1 — refined & idiomatic
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Home truths, shared sighs and easy answers.
Four home truths
« Dire ses quatre vérités à quelqu’un » is the big confrontation: you finally say everything you have been holding back, and it stings. The four is old and fixed — never « trois », never « cinq ». It works in speech and in writing alike, but it always implies the other person deserved it, so it carries a small note of satisfaction.
« À qui le dis-tu ! » is not a question: it means you know that better than anyone — I have lived it too. Reserve it for complaints you share. « C’est vite dit » pushes back gently on an easy solution: fine in theory, harder in life. And « il ne se l’est pas fait dire deux fois » praises someone who jumped at the chance.
💡 Focus at this level: Idiomatic — dire ses quatre vérités, à qui le dis-tu, c’est vite dit
👨🏫 How to use « dire » at this level
1. « Dire ses quatre vérités » = to give someone a piece of your mind.
2. « À qui le dis-tu ! » = you’re telling me! Shared exasperation.
3. « C’est vite dit » = easier said than done. Politely sceptical.
🔊 Example sentences
✍️ Practice
Finish the idiom: she told him exactly what she thought — « elle lui a dit ses quatre… »
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« …vérités » — the number is frozen, and dire ses quatre vérités means a full confrontation.
A colleague sighs about the workload. Which fits: « à qui le dis-tu ! » or « c’est vite dit » ?
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« À qui le dis-tu ! » — it signals you share the complaint rather than doubting it.
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🧩 Sentence builder put the words in the right order