Just like in any other language, French has a lot of familiar expressions or colloquialisms and they can be quite fun, or even rude but they’re used on a day-to-day basis in speaking form.
How and when to use familiar expressions in French
These expressions are very useful as you learn how to speak french fluently, because you can talk about your feelings, your situation, etc…
But here’s the thing, all of these are to be used when you’re in a familiar situation, with friends or family you’re really close to. You can’t use these in a formal setting because they can be seen as rude.
- J’ai la dalle: This is used when the speaker is really hungry it can be translated to: I’m starving.
On s’achète des chips? J’ai la dalle.
Do we buy chips? I’m starving.
- Ça déchire: This is slang for saying that something is awesome, really cool. And because déchirer is actually a verb, you can modify it to speak of a certain thing.
Waouh, elles déchirent, tes nouvelles chaussures !
Wow, your new shoes are awesome!
- Grave: this usually means something that’s low or serious, but when you’re using it as a colloquialism, it means yes, or totally.
“On mange un kebab chez moi?”
“Grave.”
“Do you want to eat a kebab at my house?”
“Yes!”
-
Sitôt dit, sitôt fait: we use this expression to voice the idea between a project and its realization, it means that something took very little time to do.
Sitôt dit, sitôt fait, le Moulin fut mis en chantier.
In very little time, the mill was started.
- Avoir la flamme: this one is used when someone is being lazy or doesn’t want to do something right away.
Est ce qu’on peut faire ça demain? J’ai la flamme.
Can we do this tomorrow? I’m feeling lazy.
- Le même son de cloche: when someone has the same point of view or the same opinion.
On devrait pas tous donner le même son de cloche ?
Shouldn’t we all have the same opinion?
- Se faire à quelque chose: you use this when you get used to something, a situation that is now normal.
Ce n’est pas difficile de travailler la nuit, je m’en suis fait.
It’s not hard to work at night, I got used to it.
- Péter un cable: to get really mad, and have a very bad or negative reaction to the situation. But you have to be careful because this expression can be seen as rude, and inappropriate.
Si je le dis à mes parents, ils vont péter un câble.
If I tell my parents, they’re going to get really mad.
- Se faire un ciné: you would want to use this when you’re asking someone to go to the movies or maybe even have a movie date somewhere.
On pourrait se faire un ciné, ou une pizza.
We could go to the movies or get a pizza.
- C’est parti: someone might use this when they start something when it’s the beginning of an action.
C’est parti, chers téléspectateurs.
Here we go, dear viewers.
Now you can use familiar expressions like a native French speaker
You got to the end of this lesson, and we hope that with these examples and definitions, you’re ready to express your feelings or just go along with the conversation as you put your knowledge to the test and use these expressions to voice your opinions. Have fun, and remember that practice makes perfect.
Learn more about French Expressions to Make You Sound Like Native French