French Proverbs

Enhance your French-language portfolio, or repetoire langue Français, with a handful of proverbs. Not only are they useful for essays or adding dashes of the poetic to conversation, they'll also aid in expanding your day-to-day French voacb and provide some interesting insights into the country's rich history and culture. The table below lists 40 or so in alphabetical order of their traditional English understanding (E), over their French equivalent (F) and their literal translations (T).

French Proverbs | Les Proverbes Français

E:  A leopard can't change its spots
F:  Qui a bu boira
T:  He who has drank will drink

E:  A rising tide floats all ships
F:  La marée montante soulève tous les bateaux
T:  The rising tide raises all boats

E:  A stitch in time saves nine
F:  Mieux vaut prévenir que guérir
T:  Prevention is better than cure

E:  A storm in a cup of tea
F:  Une tempete dans un verre d'eau
T:  A storm in glass of water

E:  Birds of a feather flock together
F:  Qui se ressemble s'assemble
T:  A scalded cat fears cold water

E:  Beggars can't be choosers
F:  Faute de grives, on mange des merles
T:  For lack of thrushes, one eats blackbirds

E:  Don't count your chickens before they hatch
F:  Il ne faut pas vendre la peau de l'ours avant de l'avoir tué
T:  One should not sell the skin of bears before they have them

E:  Don't tempt fate
F:  Il ne faut pas provoquer le diable
T:  One should not provoke the devil

E:  Easy come, easy go
F:  Ce qui vient de la flûte s'en retourne au tambour
T:  What comes from the flute returns to the drum

E:  Every cloud has a silver lining
F:  Après la pluie le beau temps
T:  After the rain good weather

E:  Every dog has his day
F:  A chacun son heure de gloire
T:  Everyone has their hour of glory

E:  Every rose has its thorn
F:  Toute médaille a son revers
T:  All medals have there dreams

E:  Ill-gotten gains seldom prosper
F:  Bien mal acquis ne profite jamais
T:  A cheater never wins

E:  It's raining cats and dogs
F:  Il pleut des cordes
T:  It's raining chords

E:  Left standing at the altar
F:  Laisse en plan
T:  Leave in plan

E:  Like a fish in water
F:  Comme un poisson dans l'eau
T:  Like a fish in water

E:  Nothing ventured, nothing gained
F:  Qui ne risque rien n'a rien
T:  He who does not risk anything does not have anything

E:  Once bitten, twice shy
F:  Un chat échaudé craint l'eau froide
T:  A scalded cat fears cold water

E:  The final straw broke the camel's back
F:  Une goutte d'eau suffit pour faire déborder le vase
T:  A drop of water is enough to make the vase overflow

E:  The greatest thoughts come from the heart
F:  Les grandes pensées viennent du coeur

E:  They're like two peas in a pod
F:  Ils se ressemblent comme deux gouttes d'eau
T:  They're like two drops of water

E:  Time will tell
F:  Qui vivra verra
T:  He who will live will sea

E:  To be sick as a dog
F:  Rendre tripes et boyaux
T:  To return tripe and bowels

E:  To be the apple of one's eye
F:  La prunelle de ses yeux
T:  The pupil of one's eye

E:  To beat around the bush
F:  Tourner autour du pot
T:  To turn around the pot

E:  To change your colours
F:  Retourner sa veste
T:  To turn in your vest

E:  To know the ropes
F:  Connaître les ficelles
T:  To know the strings

E:  To leave no stone unturned
F:  Remeur ciel et terre
T:  Search sky and ground

E:  To let sleeping dogs lie
F:  Ne pas reveiller le chat qui dort
T:  Don't wake the sleeping cat

E:  To let the cat out of the bag
F:  Vendre la meche
T:  To sell the wick

E:  To lose ones head
F:  Avoir perdu la tete
T:  To have lost the head

E:  To pull someone's leg
F:  Mettre quelqu'un en boite
T:  To put someone in a limp

E:  To skate in thin ice
F:  Marcher sur des oeufs
T:  To walk on eggs

E:  To spend money like water
F:  Depenser sans compter
T:  To spend without counting

E:  To spill the beans
F:  Mette les pieds dans le plat
T:  To put your feet in the dish

E:  To throw money down the drain
F:  Jeter l'argent par les fenetres
T:  To throw money out the windows

E:  To wrap someone around your little finger
F:  Mener quelqu'un par le bout du nez
T:  To lead someone by the end of the nose

E:  Warm weather in April isn't to be trusted
F:  En avril, ne te découvre pas d'un fil
T:  In April, don't remove a thread (of your clothing)

E:  What's done is done
F:  A chose faite point de remède
T:  A done thing has no remedy

E:  When in Rome, do as the Romans do
F:  Il faut hurler avec les loups
T:  It is necessary to howl with the wolves

E:  When it rains it pours
F:  Un malheur ne vient jamais seul
T:  A misfortune never comes alone

E:  When pigs fly
F:  Quand les poules auront les dents
T:  When hens will have teeth

E:  When the cat's away the mice will play
F:  Le chat parti, les souris dansent
T:  The cat leaves, the mice dance

E:  Where there's a will, there's a way
F:  Vouloir, c'est pouvoir
T:  To want, it is to be able

E:  You can't have your cake and eat it
F:  Vous ne pouvez pas avoir le beurre et l'argent du beurre
T:  You can't have the butter and the butter money

E:  You can't see the wood from the trees
F:  Les arbres empêchent de voir la forêt
T:  The trees prevent you from seeing the forest