Tag Archives: French idioms
French Expressions: Pregnancy and Childbirth Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Apr 17, 2017
I’m due soon with my second son and so have had pregnancy and birth on my mind a lot lately. I’ve always loved the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche’s use of birth and pregnancy in his writings to denote giving birth to ideas in philosophy. In one famous example, Nietzsche wrote, “What saved me then [from madness]? Nothing…
5 French Idioms You Should Know Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Jan 16, 2017
Idioms (les idiotismes, m.) are expressions that don’t necessarily make sense literally, but have a well known meaning to native speakers. In order to be able to understand a language’s idioms, therefore, you can’t just know the exact definition of a word but you must also understand the social and cultural meaning behind that word. It is also…
French Phrases – Idioms For Work II Posted by Transparent Language on Sep 12, 2009
I love French idioms and expressions! They can be so challenging to a language learner, yet so empowering once mastered. Today, we’re going to talk about some idioms and phrases you can use in any setting including at work when chatting to friends or colleagues. Let’s imagine you’re not feeling very well. Maybe you need…
French Vocabulary – Idioms with Avoir Posted by Transparent Language on Jun 8, 2009
One of the first mistakes I, just like most beginning French learners whose native tongue is English, made is to say ‘Je suis chaud‘ (can be quite vulgar depending on who says it and in which situation) when I mean to say ‘J’ai chaud‘ (I’m hot as in temperature). In English, we usually use the…
French Phrases – More Expressions and Idioms Posted by Transparent Language on Feb 28, 2009
Because I love idioms since they are like locks on doors to language fluency, I’ll provide you with some more. These all have to do with agreeing and having knowledge about things. Use them wisely! 😉 Voyons les choses du même œil. We agree. Nous somme sur la même longueur d’onde. We’re on the same…
French Phrases – Expressions and Idioms to Use at Work Posted by Transparent Language on Feb 20, 2009
You may hear and see expressions all the time and sometimes they can be puzzling, other times they are crucial to understanding or feeling that you are a part of a conversation. Today, I’ll provide some French expressions that you can use anytime, but especially when working. TIME EXPRESSIONS de temps en temps from time…