Mission: use expressions people really say
Idioms. Learn common expressions as whole phrases, never word for word.
FrenchB2 · Sounding naturalAbout 9 min: 4 reading, 5 practiceUpdated
- Understand 13 common idioms in everyday use
- Know the register of each one
- Use them in a short, natural sentence
- Avoid translating English idioms word for word
Sounding natural: lesson 3 of 4
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Level Level B2 (around the DELF B2 exam). Real French: chatting with a friend about a tiring, rainy week.
What it is
Your mission: your friend Mathis has had a terrible week and sends you voice messages. His French is full of expressions that make no sense if you translate them literally (« il pleut des cordes », « j'ai posé un lapin à ma cousine »). Understand them, then answer him with a few of your own.
An idiom (une expression idiomatique) is a fixed phrase whose meaning isn't the sum of its words. Learn it whole, with its verb and its articles. Here are thirteen in common use today.
| Idiom | Meaning |
|---|---|
| avoir le cafard | to feel down |
| poser un lapin à quelqu'un | to stand someone up |
| coûter les yeux de la tête | to cost a fortune |
| avoir un coup de foudre | to fall for someone or something at first sight |
| tomber dans les pommes | to faint |
| mettre son grain de sel | to butt in with an opinion nobody asked for |
| ce n'est pas la mer à boire | it isn't that hard |
| avoir la flemme (de) | to not feel like doing something |
| en avoir marre (de) | to be fed up (with) |
| il pleut des cordes | it's pouring |
| raconter des salades | to tell tall tales |
| être dans la lune | to be daydreaming, not paying attention |
| avoir du pain sur la planche | to have a lot of work ahead |
Register and examples:
- avoir le cafard (courant, a little casual): J'ai le cafard depuis lundi.
- poser un lapin (familier): Il m'a posé un lapin hier soir.
- coûter les yeux de la tête (courant): Ce manteau coûte les yeux de la tête.
- avoir un coup de foudre (courant): J'ai eu un coup de foudre pour cet appartement.
- tomber dans les pommes (familier): Elle est tombée dans les pommes à cause de la chaleur.
- mettre son grain de sel (familier): Il met toujours son grain de sel dans nos discussions.
- ce n'est pas la mer à boire (courant): Réviser ce chapitre, ce n'est pas la mer à boire.
- avoir la flemme (familier): J'ai la flemme de sortir ce soir.
- en avoir marre (familier): J'en ai marre de ce bruit.
- il pleut des cordes (everyday figurative; dictionaries often mark it familier): Prends un parapluie : il pleut des cordes.
- raconter des salades (familier): Arrête de raconter des salades !
- être dans la lune (courant, a little casual): Désolé, j'étais dans la lune : tu peux répéter ?
- avoir du pain sur la planche (courant): Avec ce projet, on a du pain sur la planche.
Most of these are safe with friends and colleagues you know well. In a formal email or an interview, prefer plain French (je suis démotivé, il n'est pas venu au rendez-vous), and keep the familier ones for conversation.
Quick check
Tap an answer to check it.
« Il m'a posé un lapin. » What happened?
- Literal translation: the idiom is not about animals
- That is raconter des salades
Show answer
He didn't turn up to a meeting. poser un lapin = to stand someone up.
Why it matters
People use idioms without thinking, so understanding them is part of understanding real French. Using a few (not all at once) also makes you sound more natural. But each one has its own fixed wording: you can't invent them from English.
Worked example
Mathis's voice messages.
- Mathis: Cette semaine, j'ai le cafard. Hier, il pleuvait des cordes, et ma cousine m'a posé un lapin.
- You: Oh là là ! Tu as du pain sur la planche en ce moment, non ?
- Mathis: Oui, et j'en ai marre. J'ai même la flemme de cuisiner.
- You: Ce n'est pas la mer à boire : je t'invite au restaurant samedi.
- Mathis: Merci ! Mais ça va coûter les yeux de la tête…
Real French: j'en ai marre is extremely frequent, and also works for people: j'en ai marre de lui. Avoir la flemme is casual: you say it to friends, not to your boss.
Common mistake
Translating an English idiom word for word: wrong: il pleut des chats et des chiens (it's raining cats and dogs). French says il pleut des cordes (or à verse).
False friends exist too: to be over the moon (very happy) is not wrong: être dans la lune. Être dans la lune means to be absent-minded. For joy, say être aux anges or être ravi.
Quick check
Tap an answer to check it.
It's pouring and you want to say so in French. Which is right?
- A literal translation from English: it isn't French
- Invented: salades only appears in raconter des salades
Show answer
Il pleut des cordes.. il pleut des cordes = it's pouring.
Key terms
- une expression idiomatique / une locution
- a fixed phrase with its own meaning
- courant
- standard register
- familier
- casual register
- avoir le cafard
- to feel down
- poser un lapin
- to stand someone up
- avoir la flemme
- to not feel like it
- en avoir marre
- to be fed up
- être dans la lune
- to daydream
Practise the key terms
Tap a card to turn it over. 8 cards.
| Front | Back |
|---|---|
| une expression idiomatique / une locution | a fixed phrase with its own meaning |
| courant | standard register |
| familier | casual register |
| avoir le cafard | to feel down |
| poser un lapin | to stand someone up |
| avoir la flemme | to not feel like it |
| en avoir marre | to be fed up |
| être dans la lune | to daydream |
Practice
Quick quiz
Tap an answer to check it.
« Je ne vais pas cuisiner, j'ai la flemme. » What does Mathis mean?
- Flemme is about laziness, not illness
- Nothing is said about ingredients
Show answer
He can't be bothered to cook. avoir la flemme = not to feel like doing something.
« Dehors, il pleut des cordes. » What's the weather?
- Cordes suggests a heavy downpour
- It is about rain
Show answer
Very heavy rain. il pleut des cordes = it's pouring.
« Ce sac coûte les yeux de la tête. » The bag is…
- It means the opposite
- It is about price, not weight
Show answer
very expensive. coûter les yeux de la tête = cost a fortune.
Sort it
Does the idiom describe a feeling or an action towards others?
avoir le cafard
feeling downShow answer
A feeling or state. feeling down
avoir la flemme
not feeling like itShow answer
A feeling or state. not feeling like it
en avoir marre
being fed upShow answer
A feeling or state. being fed up
poser un lapin
standing someone upShow answer
An action towards others. standing someone up
mettre son grain de sel
butting into a conversationShow answer
An action towards others. butting into a conversation
raconter des salades
telling someone tall talesShow answer
An action towards others. telling someone tall tales
Recognition drill
Pick the right answer, as fast as you can.
All pairs
Tap a card to turn it over. 6 cards.
| Front | Back |
|---|---|
| avoir le cafard | to feel down |
| poser un lapin | to stand someone up |
| tomber dans les pommes | to faint |
| être dans la lune | to daydream |
| avoir du pain sur la planche | to have a lot of work ahead |
| raconter des salades | to tell tall tales |
Build the sentence
Build "He stood me up yesterday."
Show answer
Il m'a posé un lapin hier.. passé composé of poser, with the idiom un lapin.
Practise speaking
Studyfern has no voice tools of its own. To practise out loud, copy this prompt into a voice-capable AI assistant and talk with it.
Mission role-play. You are Mathis, my friend, who has had a terrible week. Speak naturally but clearly, at level B2, using tu. Start with « Salut, ça va pas fort… ». Tell me about your week in short messages (the rain, a cousin who stood you up, too much work, a tiring neighbour), one at a time, using the idioms of this lesson, and wait for my answer. Each time, ask me what an idiom means or ask me to reply with an idiom of my own. Correct me in English if I use one wrongly or translate word for word, and let me try again. The mission is complete when I have understood five idioms and used five different ones correctly: then say « Mission accomplie ! » and give me one tip. Keep every reply under 3 sentences.
Listen too. Listen to native speakers before and after: see the free listening and shadowing links.
Good to know. AI feedback on pronunciation is hit and miss, so check yourself against native recordings. Many assistants turn your speech into text first, so a vowel or liaison you got wrong may be silently “heard” as the right word. Don't share personal details: use a made-up name and town.
New to this? Read Practising speaking with an AI.
In short
- An idiom is a fixed phrase: learn it whole, never word for word.
- Feelings: avoir le cafard, avoir la flemme, en avoir marre, être dans la lune.
- People: poser un lapin, mettre son grain de sel, raconter des salades.
- Love, money and weather: avoir un coup de foudre (avoir le coup de foudre is the more common form for a person; one can also say it of a flat), coûter les yeux de la tête, il pleut des cordes.
- Check the register: familier idioms belong to conversation, not to formal emails.
Mastery check
Answer without looking back. Score 80% or more and the lesson is marked done. Your result is kept only in this browser.
Check yourself
Answer in your head first, then open the answer. Nothing is saved.
What does « avoir le cafard » mean?
Show answer
To feel down.
How do you say "it's pouring" in French?
Show answer
Il pleut des cordes.
What does « tomber dans les pommes » mean?
Show answer
To faint.
Further reading
- TV5MONDE, Apprendre le français, free exercises on everyday expressions, built on real TV clips.
- RFI, Journal en français facile, a free daily news bulletin in simple French.
Finished? Mark it done to fill in your leaf on the French map.