French idioms can feel like a secret handshake – once you know a few, conversations suddenly feel warmer and more real. This collection of about 97 popular French idioms skips the poetic museum pieces and gives you the expressions people actually use when they’re chatting at the market, telling a story, or just having a laugh.
Every idiom comes with a plain‑English meaning and a natural example sentence, so you can see it in action instead of staring at a translation that doesn’t quite click. No guesswork – just straightforward vocabulary you can steal for your next conversation.
If French expressions sometimes feel like tiny riddles wearing berets, you’re in the right place—SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM to grab your free printable popular French idioms vocabulary list PDF and your free downloadable printable popular French idioms flashcards.
Want more than one list? Browse our French section for more Yak Yacker study pages, printable lists, and quiz-friendly review material.
Quick Quiz
Think you can tell your ‘avoir le cafard’ from your ‘donner sa langue au chat’? The quick quiz below is a playful way to check how many of these idioms you’ve already locked in – no pressure, just a friendly nudge.
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Browse the Full List
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| coûter les yeux de la tête | koo-tay lay yuh duh lah tet |
| craque | fib |
| DAS | SAR |
| dé | dee |
| DEB | BED |
| donner sa langue au chat | do-nay sa lahng oh sha |
| doyen | dean |
| écho | echo |
| elfe | elf |
| émeute | riot |
| en avoir pour son argent | ahn ah-vwar poor sohn ar-zhahn |
| en voir de toutes les couleurs | ahn vwar duh toot lay koo-lur |
| enclos | pen |
| entre la poire et le fromage | ahn-truh lah pwar ay luh fro-mazh |
| espionner | spy |
| être à côté de la plaque | etr ah ko-tay duh lah plak |
| être à sec | etr ah sek |
| être au bout du rouleau | etr oh boo du roo-lo |
| être au pied du mur | etr oh pyay du mur |
| être aux anges | etr oh zahnzh |
| être bien dans sa peau | etr byan dahn sa po |
| être crevé | etr kruh-vay |
| être dans de beaux draps | etr dahn duh bo drap |
| être dans la lune | etr dahn lah lun |
| être fauché | etr fo-shay |
Free Popular French Idioms PDF and Flashcards to Download
Download the purple vocab-list button for the popular French idioms vocabulary list and the teal button for the popular French idioms flashcards. Both are 100% free with no signup, because learning idioms should be fun, not fussy.
