In this video, I explain 14 colloquial expressions in French. These expressions are often used by the French, so it's very important to know them when you're looking to learn French. Feel free to comment on any French expressions you don't understand 🤓

TRANSCRIPT OF THE VIDEO

Bonjour tout le monde, I hope you're well and ready to speak French like a true Francophone. Today, we're going to take a look at 14 colloquial expressions that French speakers use every day.

If you're new to the channel, I'm Elisabeth. On this channel, I'll be teaching you the kind of French that's spoken in everyday life. Authentic French that you can't always find in books. If you haven't already, don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss any videos.

Let's start right away with the first expression.

Ça marche. In colloquial French, Ça marche simply means ok, d'accord. You're answering someone, letting them know that you agree. That you agree with what they're saying, or that you've heard them correctly.

Here are a few contextualizations to help you better understand the use of the expression ça marche. Shall we meet for lunch at the restaurant? Sure, see you there.

I'll pick you up at 7pm at work? Sure, we'll go across the street for a drink.

I'm going out for a jog. All right, have fun, see you later.

This colloquial expression "it works", it's really used all day long, it's used on a daily basis and above all, even if it's colloquial, it can also be used at work or in the store, for example.

For example, if you are looking for something in a supermarket, you can ask the clerk.

Hi, I'm looking for the detergent. It's downstairs, next to the shampoo section. Oh yes, I see, it works, thank you very much.

You see, even if it's a colloquial expression, it can still be used in many different contexts and with many different people.

Get someone drunk. It bores me.

Saouler, the verb to get drunk. Basically, it's used when you've had too much to drink: you're drunk, the alcohol is going to your head, you're feeling the effects of alcohol. You're drunk.

In colloquial French, the expression saouler quelqu'un or when you say that someone gets on your nerves, quelqu'un me saoule, it means that someone is annoying you, bothering you, is a bit of a pain in the ass.

Chiant is another colloquial word, meaning annoying. So, when you get someone drunk, for example, if I say I've been getting my mother drunk all day, it means you've been a bit annoying with her, you've bothered her.

You can also say "ça me saoule" to talk about a situation that's really...that's bothering you, you're annoyed, you're blasé about it. The situation bores you, you're unhappy.

Here are a few contextualizations to help you better understand this expression. I got my father drunk all day talking about that handbag. I've been talking about it all day. I hope he understood that this is what I wanted for my birthday. Thibault got me drunk all day talking about Elsa. I understood that he was in love with her. He didn't need to talk about it for four hours.

He really pissed me off. It bores me. The French teacher gave me lots of exercises to do this weekend. I'd rather go to the seaside than work. It's really getting on my nerves.

A mess is a mess. In colloquial language, bordel is used to refer to a mess, to something that isn't tidy or organized. It can be a mess, really, to say that a place is untidy.

So it can be physical, but it can also be a situation that we say is a mess. For example, if an organization is badly managed, we'll say it's a mess.

Here's some background to help you understand. The apartment is a mess. What have you been up to? Were there 60 of you at the party last night? We'll have to tidy up. It's a mess.

My head is really messed up. I don't know what to think anymore. I can't decide between Samuel and Jonathan. Samuel's nicer and Jonathan's funnier. My head's a mess. I don't know which one to choose.

Être à la bourre. In French, when we say we're running late, je suis à la bourre, it means I'm running late. I'm pressed for time. I'm going to be late for an appointment or arrive late somewhere.

Here are some contextualizations to help you understand. How do you manage to be late every morning when you get up at 6 a.m.? You have two hours to get ready and you manage to be late every day.

What time is it? Noon. Oh no, we're in a hurry. We have to be there by 12:30 and we have an hour to drive. We're going to be very late.

To be lazy, to be lazy.

Avoir la flemme in colloquial French means feeling lazy, not wanting to do anything, not wanting to go anywhere. You don't feel like doing anything.

Here's some context to help you understand. Are we going out tonight? Oh no, it's raining outside. Besides, I'm really lazy, I just want to sit on the couch and watch Netflix.

I'm always too lazy to throw away my empty shampoo bottles, so I leave them lying around on the edge of the bathtub for weeks on end.

Shouldn't you be studying for your French exam? Yes, it's tomorrow but I'm really lazy. I just can't get myself to study.

To make fun of someone or something. Se foutre de quelqu'un ou s'en foutre de quelque chose or s'en foutre d'une situation, is an expression meaning to make fun of someone or something.

It goes right over our heads. We don't care about it, we don't value it. Here are a few examples that will really help you understand the use of this expression.

Sarah told me she thought your husband was very ugly. Frankly, I don't care what Sarah thinks, I don't care what she thinks. Did you buy cookies again? Are you kidding me?

I've already told you that I'm on a diet and that I don't want sweets in the house.

What's up? You went out yesterday when it's curfew? Frankly, I'm sick of being cooped up, I don't care about curfew. I went out anyway, I needed to.

As we saw in one of the examples, we say se fout de moi to mean you're making fun of me.

Another common French expression is tu te fous de ma gueule. In French, a gueule is an animal's mouth, but in colloquial language, it's used to refer to a person.

You've got to be kidding me. You're making fun of me, you can't be serious.

It's crazy. Someone or something crazy. When we say that someone is crazy, that something is crazy or that a situation is crazy, we can say that it's crazy. We want to emphasize the excessive character, it's too much.

You can use the word crazy to talk about a positive excess, to say that it was great, or the opposite, you can use crazy to show excess, but negative excess.

I will give you some examples, so you will understand better.

Last night was really crazy. I had so much fun. It was great. I had such a good time.

So, here, crazy is used as if to say the party was too good, was great. Here is an example where crazy is used in a negative way.

In this store, the clothing prices are insane. It's way too expensive. Here, we're using the word "excessive" in a negative sense. It's really the tone you use that tells us whether it's positive or negative.

And, of course, the context of the sentence. Here's another example. You gave me 150 roses? But you're crazy. I'm not crazy. I'm just madly in love with you. It's only natural.

Here again, it's crazy in the sense that you're a bit crazy, but of course it's positive.

In colloquial language, this word dingue also simply means crazy when you're talking about a person with psychological problems, it's not a very nice word. It's just crazy, but in colloquial language.

It sucks, suck.

In colloquial language, when we say it sucks, we may be referring to a situation or a place.

When we say that a situation sucks, we say "ah ça craint", we mean that a situation is annoying, we're not at ease, we're a bit embarrassed. We're in a complicated situation.

It sucks, I'm in love with my best friend's ex. I don't know how to tell him. I'm in a really complicated situation. It really sucks.

It sucks, I dropped tomato sauce on my mom's favorite carpet. I'm really afraid of her reaction when she gets home from work. I'm really embarrassed.

When we use ça craint to talk about a place, we mean that it's a place where we don't feel safe, so we're insecure in the place.

The place sucks. The city sucks, a neighborhood can suck. Here is an example.

I'll give you a ride home after the party. This neighborhood really sucks at night. I don't want to let you walk there alone.

C'est mon truc, c'est pas mon truc. In colloquial French, when we say that something is our thing, if I say c'est mon truc or if I say c'est ton truc, I mean that I'm good at something.

I love doing this thing. I'm really comfortable. Conversely, if I say it's not my thing, that means I'm not comfortable with an activity, with doing something.

Here are some examples to help you understand. Math isn't really my thing. I can't even calculate 2+2. I'm really not good at math. It's just not my thing.

Drawing is really your thing. You always do wonderful paintings. You're really good with paint, it's really your thing.

Driving really isn't my thing. I do it when I have to, but I really don't like it.

Un truc tout seul is a word that's used a lot, I'd say many times a day. We use it to describe an object, so we want to talk about an object, but we don't say its name. We don't say the name of the object.

We'll just say this thing.

For example, I can say "ah can you pass me that thing? The TV remote control, you mean? Yes, that's it, can you pass it to me?"

I didn't say the word remote, I just said a thing, this thing.

To laugh, to make someone laugh. Se marrer is a colloquial expression that is used very frequently.

Quite simply, it's synonymous with fun, laughter and enjoyment.

We just want to say we're having a good time. And to make someone laugh is to make someone laugh, to show them a good time.

Sarah makes me laugh so hard. Every time I spend the day with her, I'm laughing all day and having a great time. We laughed all afternoon watching Friends on TV.

It's really too funny a show.

Be on your toes. In colloquial terms, to be on your toes means to be super-motivated, to have a lot of energy inside you, to be really... ready to do something.

Emilie is really on top of her game this morning, in just one hour she's already done four pages of French exercises. She's really motivated.

So how do you feel about your tennis match tomorrow? I'm on fire, I'm super motivated to beat my opponent.

I'm so excited about tonight's party, I can't wait to dance, I'm super-motivated.

Péter les plombs. When I freak out in French, it means I'm going crazy or I'm going mad, I'm out of my mind, I'm angry, I freak out.

You can really use it because you're really, really going to smash it up, but often you use it to say I'm going to freak out.

This situation is driving me crazy. Here are two contextualizations.

I just found out my boyfriend was writing to another girl on Instagram and he even told her he loved her, I'm going to freak out, I'm going to break everything in the house.

No, it's not true, there's still no hot water. This is the fifth time this month I've had to wash my hair in cold water. I'm going out of my mind. I can't stand this building anymore.

C'est le pompon. C'est le pompon in colloquial language, it's a synonym for two other expressions, maybe you know them. C'est le comble or c'est le bouquet. Basically, it's the last straw. You were already in a complicated situation.

There was a situation that wasn't very pleasant and then something else came along and now it's really too much, it's the icing on the cake.

Here are the scenarios to help you understand. I kill myself at work. Every day I arrive an hour before everyone else. I leave later every day. And then I find out that everyone else is getting a raise.