10 French expressions w/ a French Native Speaker

[@MP-uj2fv]

You guys are the best French educational channel. With you guys I look forward to learning. Merci beaucoup!

[@Street_French]

ow thanks you so much for the comment, it means a lot! glad you enjoy what we do and you feel like you're learning^^

[@teresajaneou5538]

Agree totally, so spontaneous and always at ease...,,😎

[@rickyllewellynmorris201]

When I first learnt Cantonese 20 years ago the books did the same thing, teaching very outdated or useless vocabulary. The English books for Chinese students were also the same. They taught correct language use but outdated. This is why I love your videos, because as a beginner French learner I can hear the real language.

[@Street_French]

ow cool glad you enjoy our videos :):)

[@BenjaminIstvanCseko]

"Groovy" is actually groovy to say cuz it's funny and old fashioned (from the 60's).

[@Street_French]

:)

[@rushdialrashed9627]

Oh yeah.

[@ayshachiara]

Love the conversational style of your videos! Thank you! Very useful :)

[@Street_French]

Merci :) glad you enjoy our work!

[@timotheelegrincheux2204]

You didn’t explain avoir le cafard, literally to have the cockroach, meaning to be depressed. Love that imagery!

[@Street_French]

haha yeah it's cool but it's also because we never say that in French haha^^

[@dwsoccer6859]

Le cafard does mean cockroach but it also has other meanings: hypocrite, tattletale, melancholy. This expression obviously comes from the last of those three, not from cockroach. Interestingly enough, the use of it to mean melancholy seems to have been invented by Charles Baudelaire for use in _Les Fleurs du mal_

[@BlankCanvas88]

"Ca paye pas de mine" is the same as the phrase "a hole in the wall" restaurant. "Ca tombe bien" - sometimes we'll say an event "falls" on a certain day, so that's similar. "Je suis a l'ouest" reminds me of the old phrase "I'm all at sea," but that isn't commonly used anymore. "Travailler au black" is akin to "blackmarket"? And I've heard ppl in old movies ask for 2 fingers of rum, but don't know if it's used anymore.

[@blessedbethecurse]

Un tue-l'amour sounds like a "turn-off" in English.

[@Street_French]

Haha yes that's it ;)

[@BudderB0y2222]

Boner killer

[@juniper617]

Turn-off is definitely it.

[@Toywins]

I don't know why, but I couldn't think of it to save my life!! Thank you 😂😂😂

[@ExElliexE]

Mood-killer

[@danielseymour9083]

En Angleterre, nous utilisons beaucoup d'expressions dans votre vidéo.... On dit souvent: ‘green fingers’ for gardening ‘That fell just right’ for good timing ‘My head has gone west’ VERY much a slang term for being disorientated or all over the place / drunk - certainly used in the north C’est très interessant!

[@Street_French]

ow so interesting, it's cool to see how French and British English are similar. we're neighbours, it makes sense ^^

[@eth3rn4l]

Mine (in French) being an informal way to describe mostly facial appearance or looks. "Tu as bonne mine", "You look good/healthy/fit" (looking at your face). Cheers!

[@Street_French]

:)

[@GardeningatDouentza]

So glad I found your channel. It is full of really useful information, even for someone who isn't 'of our age' 🤣 Thanks, guys.

[@Street_French]

ow cool glad you enjoy it :)

[@dwsoccer6859]

You can also say, "to cast an eye over (something)" in English.

[@dinaa4105]

I love the expressions. They’re so useful. Thank u 😃

[@Street_French]

glad to hear that :)

[@Matty88K]

We say "Your eyes are bigger than your stomach" in the US too.

[@Street_French]

haha :)

[@girlwithoutpearlearring]

The same expression exists in German: "die Augen sind größer als der Magen"

[@dwsoccer6859]

In England as well - although a common variation where I grew up was, "Your eyes are bigger than your belly" (or tummy).

[@teresajaneou5538]

Same here in HK,,🤣like a eyes big, tummy small'

[@Chosenby1]

It would be cool to hear you both use the expressions in a conversational manner so we understand it even better :)

[@Street_French]

ah yeah great feedback thanks^^

[@archanagollerkeri5621]

Hey! Do you guys have a video on these outdated expressions? I've learnt some expressions/slang from y'all and it has been very helpful to say the least. But, I think it will be also very helpful to point out expressions that are passed off as common but actually aren't, in France. Like "Allons-y" or "comme ci comme ça" and stuff. If you can make a video on 10+ expressions that are outdated, but are still being used by French students like you mentioned in this video, it will really help us avoid using them.

[@Street_French]

ah yeah I guess we could talk about them that's a good idea :) we decided to not talk about them at all but I guess we could mention them :))

[@archanagollerkeri5621]

@@Street_French Thanks. It will help us learners a lot, on what outdated expressions we must avoid. Btw you guys have a facebook or whatsapp group, right? To practice French?

[@SuperDrducky]

Merci pour cette vidéo !

[@Street_French]

De rien! :)

[@Matty88K]

Un vidéo, donc "Merci pour ce vidéo.

[@ruthregan1073]

thankyou for this list, i personally hear “jeter un coup d’œil” a lot, m’y french teachers taught me a lot of outdated expressions like jai le cafard

[@Street_French]

ah cool glad you enjoyed our vid :)

[@crissss2612]

Merci beaucoup, both of you look good together 😍😍

[@Street_French]

Aww merci

[@h1ghfructose682]

Awesome video! Thank you!

[@Street_French]

de rien :)

[@dzile.lifestyle]

Lady, your smile is really beautiful. Hope i can see it more in the next video. ❤️ Your video so helpful. Thank you guys

[@yvessioui2716]

'Je suis à l'ouest'. Je me demande encore si ça fait référence à Christophe Colomb, ou un autre de ces 'découvreurs', qui partaient vers l'ouest sans vraiment savoir ce qu'ils faisaient. Ou encore, cette idée folle d'aller vers la nuit plutôt que vers le soleil levant. 'Avoir les yeux plus gros que le ventre'. Au Québec et dans certaines zones excentrées de la France on entendra la vieille version de cette expression 'Avoir les yeux plus gros que la panse'.

[@Street_French]

ah ouais je sais pas du tout l'origine de cette expression ^^

[@iagonoah6974]

Great video guys (again)

[@Street_French]

Merci!

[@JohnLee-vn3eq]

In Spanish, tue-l'amour is mata passion (passion killer) and traviller au noir is trabajar por la izquierda (work on the left). In Spanish you also use fingers as a measurement, usually when its a small amount like one or two fingers of blank usually a liquid like wine, liqueur or cream in your coffee. And you would say dedo (finger) for a good amount and the diminutive dedito (small finger), for a small amount usually as a way to say just a taste or you're embarrassed to ask for a lot. Since you said deux doigts that made me think of a Spanish saying with two fingers which is like "no tiene dos dedos de frente or is stupid or thick, the literal translation being, doesn't even have two fingers of forehead. So I thought maybe the French have a similar saying since you guys also use fingers as a measurement.

[@Street_French]

ah yeah we're neighbour so I guess we have similar sayings in Europe :)

[@georgesthibaudeau1533]

"Tue-l'amour" : what about "éteignoir de concupiscence" ?

[@Street_French]

haha je connais pas cette expression

[@iagonoah6974]

I wish you added more examples in French

[@Street_French]

Ok we'll keep that in mind for next time ;)

[@aimar7794]

j'te tiens au courant...dans le nord(et peut etre ailleurs) on a aussi "j'te dis quoi"

[@Street_French]

ah ok cool je savais pas :)

[@sweetiepie9411]

Love this channel!!!!

[@Street_French]

merci :)

[@evaguzman4675]

So funny ..most of those expressions we have the exact expressions where I come from but I Spanish... literal..its really a cultural thing I guess we are very expressive. My friend its leaning Spanish and asked me" don't you get tired of speaking spanish? Because you do have to use the whole mouth and tongue to speak , I guess English it's a lazy language, I barely move my mouth. " I laughed. Because it's TRUE we use the whole mouth . I'm very motivated to learn French. I do understand better the acent of south of France or the french Canadian, I just notice that Paris acent it's more subtle and soft . Gotta work on it .

[@malisophie]

J‘ai une petite question qui concerne la phrase „je suis sentiment pour toi“. Ça veut dire qqc comme avoir des sentiments romantiques ou c‘est au sens d‘être désolé pour qqn? J‘ai pas trouvé des informations sur l‘internet donc c‘etait vraiment gentil de m‘expliquer! Merci ☺️

[@Street_French]

ah oui la phrase c'est "j'ai des sentiments pour toi". et c'est toujours romantique ^^

[@malisophie]

Mais il a dit „je suis“ alors je suis un peu confuse quoi ça veut dire... merci pour la response rapide 🙏🏼 P.s. Votre videos sont super aidante pour améliorer le français!

[@Street_French]

@@malisophie vous pouvez me montrer à quelle minute de la video c'est s'il vous plaît?

[@rickymendez2219]

The first one we say in Spanish too “echar un ojo”

[@Street_French]

ah^^

[@anthonyrobertson7062]

Ugg, ha, I misunderstood, saying the groovy comment I thought you meant these are things you hear learners say that aren't used anymore. So I was confused as you got into it, then realized you were giving ones that you WILL hear used.

[@girlwithoutpearlearring]

There are so many expressions that you can translate word by word into German. So funny😅

[@Street_French]

:))

[@steffanyzavaleta8052]

Salut! Merci pour les explications. That’s as much as I can say in French 😬

[@Street_French]

Ah très bien! Merci ;)

[@ceejaychoi8583]

Merci bcp pour la vidéo! Est ce que vous pourriez mettre un commentaire en résumant ce que vous traitez dans la video? Cela nous aidera à mieux comprendre. Merci d’abord!

[@Street_French]

Ok! De rien :)

[@awkad]

"Vous voulez pas un whisky d'abord ?" Comprenne qui pourra ^_^.

[@gojosatoru_goat2971]

Mdrr 🤣 just one finger 👆

[@monsuircamembert]

Really interesting video, you make some good points about speaking the language without sounding like a book! Could I ask how to say "no problem". Last time I was in France , a lady nearly bumped into me ...she said "pardon" but I couldn't think of what to say in reply, so said nothing :( I'm sure you can think of something!!!

[@Street_French]

yeah we say "pas de problème" ^^

[@monsuircamembert]

@@Street_French Thank you for replying :) When you say pas de problem - do you say the "de" or do you skip it? I'm thinking of how it would be said ....merci!!!

[@Street_French]

@@monsuircamembert It kind of becomes part of the word before it (it's called "la chute du E") so it would sound kinda like "pasd problème" ;)

[@exped77]

"Pas de soucis" Also works well, though maybe just more common where I spent time in french speaking part of Switzerland

[@Ryano966]

I have so many questions about this guys hair, is it naturally like that? Is it a style? Why is it longer on the side than on top? Why is no one in the comments or video addressing this? This guy knows something we don't

[@raysworld6153]

in cantonese we say literally your eyes are larger and your stomach is small....so interesant

[@Street_French]

ah cool ! :)

[@mudslynger2109]

'working under the table' is old fashioned; it's 'working for cash' (as in not being declared to pay tax)

[@Street_French]

ah yeah ok thanks :)

[@Toywins]

Its old fashioned, but still very much used in the U.S.

[@dwsoccer6859]

I have to say I hadn't heard the phrase "working under the table" in English before. I have heard of "working off the books" or "being paid under the table." I think "working under the table" is actually a neologism that came about by people conflating the two expressions.

[@mimiahmad7413]

C'est tres bien vedio♡♡♡

[@Street_French]

Merci !! :D

[@SoTypicallyMeh]

Can you explain the difference between saying someone's a BG/beau gosse versus saying they're canon? Is "canon" too old-fashioned to say anymore?

[@Street_French]

canon is still used today could be a bit old-fashioned for some people but I still hear it a lot :) and beau gosse is more used by teenagers or people in their 20s :)

[@goodphotoideas]

I don't know. Seems like groovy has been making a comeback in recent years.

[@stevefowler3398]

PASSION KILLER (s) GREEN FINGERS WORKING BLACK Otherwise, spot on Thanks.

[@hsnhsn3982]

🌹🌹🌹

[@davidahhh]

It's actually better than it looks....and ...moonlighting... maybe?

[@MTMF.london]

Moonlighting is not necessarily the same as being paid under the table (or be paid cash in hand). Moonlighting can be just another (perfectly legal) job taken besides the main one in order to make ends meet, while to be paid under the table or cash in hand is probably illegal.

[@david.e.miller]

I've often read, "j'étais à deux doigts de la mort."

[@Street_French]

ah yeah that's something people say ^^

[@tilywinn]

Oh cool. I guess the English is ‘ I had a near death experience’.

[@stewartelder7576]

Greenfingers, Moonlighting are the English equivalents of two phrases you mention. Good videos but please bear in mind when you speak French that most of your audience are not native French speakers and try to speak slowly. Merci :)

[@08Pixel]

2:19 for avoir les yeux plus gros que le ventre

[@Quasiblu212]

Important to point out that not everyone wants to sound 23 years old. :-)

[@Street_French]

Haha yeah definitely, but personally I'd rather sound like a 23 year old than a 90 year old xD

[@rongtang3272]

Good point! David. Je suis à l'ouest. avoir la main verte well, I've been living in France for 15 years. I never heard about these. Perhaps these are expressions that French people are less used. The other expressions are very or quite frequently used. It's important to learn "modern language/slang/cool things". But before focus on these items, people should "écrire bien et parler correctement".

[@exped77]

With these sort of expressions in another language it's not as important to learn them to use yourself, but to recognize them so you don't get lost in a conversation, or take something to mean the exact opposite of what a person has said. Even if your goal is to learn a very proper mature French, comprehension of this stuff is key to being comfortable with the language

[@Bj-zs8dr]

you have to slow down the french expressions when you speak.

[@Street_French]

ah yeah sorry this is an old video, we improved how we film our videos since then haha ^^

[@verveblack]

I wish you spent more time pronouncing the words slower so we don't learn the wrong pronunciation in this video.

[@Street_French]

Ah oops ok we'll try to do that next time ;)

[@calvinquesnel198]

Un tue l'amour.............killing the moment .

[@Street_French]

:)

[@Toywins]

Thats another good one, but another english speaker in the comments said "turn off", and i thought that one clicked instantly!

[@desalpagesgator4988]

Another french expressions : Pète un coup, t'es tout rouge. Tu t'habilles toujours chez Zavatta ? Avoir le zeppelin qui veut sortir du hangar. Avoir la taupe au guichet. Téléphoner au pape. Il (elle) n'a pas inventé le vélo. Des oreilles de cocker. Mettre le crotale dans l'oeil de boeuf. Pressé comme un lavement. Barré en couille. Les bonbons qui collent au papier. La turbine à chocolat. Un branle-manettes. Un agité du bocal. Une araignée dans le plafond. Il (elle) n'a pas l'électricité à tous les étages. Larguer une caisse. Péter dans la soie. Faire pleurer le colosse. Fracasser la porte de derrière. Etc. Etc.

[@Street_French]

:)

[@dijrajakumar9768]

Very good. You need to do a lot more home work and come prepared before facing the camera.Most of the time, you are talking between yourselves and we do not know what exactly you want to tell us.

[@Street_French]

Haha sorry xD but a lot of times things don't translate easily, and we're talking amongst ourselves to give you a few different examples of what something means or could mean. We prefer to get a dialogue going instead of and actually have a natural conversation instead of just reading off something we wrote like robots ;) thanks for watching and commenting!

[@avaloncha4061]

I rather enjoy the internal dialogue. It feels more intimate, like learning from friends instead of teachers.

[@Street_French]

@@avaloncha4061 ;)

[@dallan7740]

I really enjoy the informal, conversational style

[@hinruru9783]

[@kackareznickova5431]

A turn off - love killer

[@jasonhudson739]

Ça parle pas beaucoup français dans ces vidéos... pas sûr que ça aide les apprenants...

[@JOSELUIS-ci2hs]

Vous devriez parler seulement en français

[@Street_French]

ah on essaient de mélanger des vidéos en français et en anglais. voilà quelques vidéos 100% en français qu'on a fait, si vous voulez : kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y2KomYtqaLiCnNE kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z6aXZXdpj8eDsMk kzbin.info/www/bejne/qJK1gZhoi5ydhrs kzbin.info/www/bejne/mXizeGCJnLWEhbM

[@JOSELUIS-ci2hs]

@@Street_French Merci beaucoup c'est très gentil a vous!

[@aroucaman100]

slow to hell down!!

[@babyblue7798]

Put a little more of enthusiasm!

[@Street_French]

Haha sorry it was during summer and it was really hot xD

[@bekind797]

His hair really distracts from the video.