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Lesson 230 of 240

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Everyday idioms in French

Inès leaves Sam a voice note: a colleague never showed. Later, at Café des Tilleuls, Gaspard claims he only ever gets distracted.

You will pick up six everyday idioms for can't-be-bothered, stood up, a nightmare job, a crazy price, overthinking, and no rush.

Use them with friends, not in a formal email to Claire.

By the end of this lesson

Use a handful of common idioms in everyday speech.

  • J'ai la flemme, là.I really can't be bothered right now.
  • Il m'a posé un lapin.He stood me up.
  • C'est la galère, ce dossier.This job is a nightmare.
  • Ça coûte les yeux de la tête.It costs an arm and a leg.
  • Arrête de te prendre la tête.Stop overthinking it.
  • Il n'y a pas le feu.There's no rush.

Scene — a voice note at the zinc

Late afternoon at Café des Tilleuls. Sam sits at the zinc counter with his phone out. Inès, two floors below him, has just come off a night shift.

Gaspard occupies two chairs at the table next to the window table. His café crème is untouched. The blank brass sign is still on the empty two-top.

A wide late-afternoon Café des Tilleuls interior with Sam small at the zinc, Odile behind the counter, Gaspard by the window on extra chairs, and an empty table left waiting.

Learn — everyday idioms

Six spoken lines. Each one is an idiom people actually say in Paris, not a word-for-word picture.

Learn the whole chunk, then drop it into a complaint or a calm-down.

  1. Inès has dropped into a bistro chair in a quieter lower room of the cafe, shoulders slack, too tired to bother with anything.

    J'ai la flemme, là.

    I really can't be bothered right now.

    When to use it: Say this to a friend when you cannot face a task right now.

    La flemme is lazy reluctance, not illness or real exhaustion.

    Say it: In J'ai, the e of je is dropped.

  2. Sam's phone lies on the zinc playing a voice note, his hand idle beside it, the empty window table soft beyond.

    Il m'a posé un lapin.

    He stood me up.

    When to use it: Use this after someone failed to show up as planned.

    Learn poser un lapin as one piece; it is not about a rabbit.

  3. A close-up of Sam at the zinc reacting as he listens on the phone.

    C'est la galère, ce dossier.

    This job is a nightmare.

    When to use it: Name a messy, draining task this way in casual talk.

    Ce dossier comes after, naming the thing that is such a hassle.

  4. Odile behind the zinc throws her hands out toward a rich cake on a tray, shocked at how expensive it is.

    Ça coûte les yeux de la tête.

    It costs an arm and a leg.

    When to use it: Complain that a price is wildly too high.

    Keep the body parts; swapping in another noun breaks the idiom.

    Say it: The s in les links into yeux as a z.

  5. Gaspard sits across a pair of chairs by the window and waves the worry aside, his café crème untouched.

    Arrête de te prendre la tête.

    Stop overthinking it.

    When to use it: Tell a friend to stop turning a small worry into a big one.

    Te is for a friend; do not use this line with Monsieur Lefebvre.

    Say it: The last e of Arrête is silent.

  6. The empty window table fills the foreground while Odile slowly dries a cup at the far zinc and Sam and Gaspard talk without hurry.

    Il n'y a pas le feu.

    There's no rush.

    When to use it: Slow someone down when nothing actually has to happen now.

    N'y stays as one piece; it is the negative of il y a.

    Say it: N'y glues ne and y into one short sound.

Story — he only gets distracted

Inès starts with a short voice note. Sam calls her back from the zinc, then Gaspard weighs in from the next table.

Highlighted phrases are the ones you just learned. Turn on Show English if you want it.

  1. Sam's phone buzzes on the zinc. A WhatsApp text, then a voice note. He lets it play.
  2. InèsJe t'envoie un vocal.I'll send you a voice note.
  3. InèsIl m'a posé un lapin.He stood me up.
  4. The note ends. Sam calls her back. She picks up from two floors below.
  5. SamSérieux ?Seriously?
  6. InèsUn collègue. On avait dit midi à la cantine.A colleague. We had said noon at the canteen.
  7. SamEt maintenant ?And now?
  8. InèsJ'ai la flemme, là.I really can't be bothered right now.
  9. SamArrête de te prendre la tête.Stop overthinking it.
  10. InèsC'est la galère, ce dossier.This job is a nightmare.
  11. SamPrends ton temps.Take your time.
  12. She mentions the restaurant the colleague had booked.
  13. InèsÇa coûte les yeux de la tête.It costs an arm and a leg.
  14. SamTu y vas pas, alors ?So you're not going?
  15. InèsNon. Il n'y a pas le feu.No. There's no rush.
  16. Sam hangs up. Gaspard has been listening from the next table. The window table stays empty.
  17. GaspardÇa va, toi ?You all right?
  18. SamInès. Un collègue ne s'est pas montré.Inès. A colleague didn't show.
  19. GaspardMoi, je pose jamais de lapin. Je me laisse juste distraire.Me, I never stand anyone up. I just get distracted.
  20. SamPersonne dit le contraire.Nobody's saying otherwise.
  21. GaspardBon. Il n'y a pas le feu.Right. There's no rush.

Practice — which idiom fits

Eleven short tasks mix listening, matching, gaps, a swap, and a build.

The wrong answers sound French but do not fit the moment.

0 of 11 done

  1. What did you hear?

  2. Match the pairs

    French

    J'ai la flemme, là.Drop the English here
    Il m'a posé un lapin.Drop the English here
    C'est la galère, ce dossier.Drop the English here

    English

    Drag an English line onto its French, or tap one and then the other.

  3. What do you say?

    Inès asks if you will chase the colleague tonight. You cannot face it.

  4. Fill the gap

    This job is a nightmare.

    C'est la ____, ce dossier.

  5. What does it mean?

    Ça coûte les yeux de la tête.

  6. Swap the word

    Your friend is looping on a small delay. Tell her to stop overthinking it.

    Arrête de te ____ la tête.

  7. Pick the reply

    Inès says:

    Vite, je lui envoie dix messages tout de suite.

    Quick, I'm sending him ten messages right now.

    And you reply with:

  8. Build the line

    It costs an arm and a leg.

    .

    Tap the words in order.

  9. What do you say?

    Inès just said a colleague never showed up for lunch.

  10. Fill the gap

    Take your time

    Prends ____ temps.

  11. True or false?

    This means someone failed to show up.

Say it — calm her down

You're Sam on a live call with Inès. Then Gaspard is at your elbow. When it's your turn, tap the microphone and speak.

Tap ▶ first if you want to hear the line. Your recording stays on your device.

  1. InèsIl m'a posé un lapin.He stood me up.
  2. Sam (you)Tell her to stop overthinking it.

    Arrête de te prendre la tête.

    Stop overthinking it.

0 of 5 said

Recap — what you can say now

FrenchEnglish
J'ai la flemme, là.I really can't be bothered right now.
Il m'a posé un lapin.He stood me up.
C'est la galère, ce dossier.This job is a nightmare.
Ça coûte les yeux de la tête.It costs an arm and a leg.
Arrête de te prendre la tête.Stop overthinking it.
Il n'y a pas le feu.There's no rush.
Next: lesson 231Back home and here

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Keep practicing with Yak Cards

Want these idioms in your pocket? Grab the Yak Cards for this lesson and review them anywhere.

A short Yak Cards round keeps these idioms ready for the next voice note.

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