Les Expressions Imagées — French idioms | Vocabulary
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The most common French idioms — colourful expressions natives use daily, each explained with audio. Everyday French idioms — sound like a native. This French everyday idioms sound like a native vocabulary list gives you 12 essential words — from Il fait un froid de canard. (It’s freezing (a duck’s cold).) to en faire tout un fromage (to make a big deal (a whole cheese of it)) — each with audio and its English translation. Use it to build the French words you need to talk about everyday idioms sound like a native, then test yourself with the games below.
Les Expressions Imagées
Everyday French idioms — sound like a native
Avec des animaux 🐾
Avec le corps 🖐️
Avec la nourriture 🥖
🎬 The 20-second version
5 quick questions on « Les Expressions Imagées » — guess before the reveal. Practise with the free games → Open this short as a page — transcript included →
📘 How to use idioms (without overdoing it)
- Idioms make you sound natural — but use them sparingly and in the right register (mostly informal, spoken).
- Avoir le cafard = to feel down / have the blues; avoir la pêche / la frite = to feel great.
- Poser un lapin is one you’ll actually need: elle m’a posé un lapin = she stood me up.
- Weather + animals: un froid de canard (bitterly cold), un temps de chien (awful weather), il pleut des cordes (it’s pouring).
- These are pure social currency — drop one correctly and a French friend will light up. Screenshot this page and learn one a day!
🔊 Useful phrases
🔊 Example sentences
✍️ Practice
to be ravenous = avoir une faim de ___ (animal idiom)
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loup
to stand someone up = poser un ___ (animal idiom)
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lapin
to cost a fortune = coûter les ___ de la tête (body idiom)
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yeux
🎮 Practise this with games
🎯 More practice — vocabulary recall — both directions
How do you say « to stand someone up »? (recall)
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poser un lapin à quelqu’un
What does « avoir une faim de loup » mean? (recall)
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to be ravenous
How do you say « to cost a fortune »? (recall)
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coûter les yeux de la tête
What does « avoir un poil dans la main » mean? (recall)
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to be lazy
How do you say « to rack one’s brains »? (recall)
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se creuser la tête
What does « avoir le bras long » mean? (recall)
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to be well-connected
How do you say « to faint »? (recall)
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tomber dans les pommes
What does « raconter des salades » mean? (recall)
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to tell fibs
Go further: Faux Amis — the false friends that trip you up.
French idioms — FAQ
How do you say common everyday idioms sound like a native words in French?
For example: It’s freezing (a duck’s cold). is « Il fait un froid de canard. », to stand someone up (lay a rabbit) is « poser un lapin à quelqu’un », to be ravenous (a wolf’s hunger) is « avoir une faim de loup ». The full list above has 12 French everyday idioms sound like a native words, each with audio so you can hear the pronunciation.
What are the most useful French everyday idioms sound like a native words to learn first?
Start with the basics: Il fait un froid de canard. (It’s freezing (a duck’s cold).), poser un lapin à quelqu’un (to stand someone up (lay a rabbit)), avoir une faim de loup (to be ravenous (a wolf’s hunger)), quand les poules auront des dents (when pigs fly (when hens have teeth)), coûter les yeux de la tête (to cost a fortune (the eyes of the head)), avoir un poil dans la main (to be lazy (a hair in the hand)). Master these core French words before moving on to the rest of the list.
How can I memorise French everyday idioms sound like a native vocabulary?
Learn the words in small themed groups, say each one out loud with the audio, and use it in a short sentence about your own life. Spaced repetition is what makes new vocabulary stick — see our guide to learning French vocabulary that sticks.
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