5 great expressions using animals in French

Bonjour !

Poser un lapin 

Nope, you’re not putting a rabbit down on the ground!  You’re actually standing someone up! 

How about that!!!

Using idiomatic expressions really helps you dive into the French language and have FUN!

So learn a few fun ones here about animals. 

Go on . . . it’s only a few! 

Today you will discover:

• Five great expressions using animals in French

• Great contextual examples

• How to remember them when in spontaneous conversations

Five contextual examples with the French animals using animals.

Sometimes, the expression is related to the traits of an animal and sometimes, there is no connection at all. 

Let’s play with 5 examples of animals in French.

The first one is similar to the English expression but in French, it is more general: 

• Avoir un appétit d’oiseau  >>> to have the appetite of a sparrow. 

Here’s an example for you:

• Je n’ai jamais très faim. Je mange comme un petit oiseau (= J’ai un appétit d’oiseau). >>> I am never very hungry. I eat like a little bird.

You can’t guess the following one unless someone explained it to you:

• poser un lapin  >>> to stand somebody up. 

You could use it like this:

• On était censé se rencontrer à midi pile. Mon ami n’est jamais venu (= il m’a posé un lapin) >>> We were supposed to meet at noon on the dot. My friend never came. (= He stood me up).

Again, there is no way you can grasp the meaning of the following animal expression.  

• passer du coq à l’âne  >>> to jump from one subject to another. 

Here’s an illustration for you:

• J’ai essayé de suivre la conversation mais aucun lien entre ce qu’on disait, je n’ai rien compris. On passait vraiment du coq à l’âne. >>> I tried to follow the conversation but with no link between, I understood nothing. We were jumping from one topic to another.

One can relate to this since a lamb is usually soft:

• être doux comme un agneau.  >>> be as soft as a lamb. 

For instance: 

• Mon labrador est brave et ne ferait aucun mal aux gens; il est doux comme un agneau. >>> My labrador is gentle and would never harm anyone; he’s soft as a lamb.

The following expression reflects most of the cases of cats and dogs:

• s’entendre comme chien et chat.  >>> get on like cats and dogs. 

You could say:

• Mes soeurs s’entendent comme chien et chat - elles se disputent tout le temps !. >>> My sisters get on like cats and dogs - they are always arguing!

Tips to learn the idiomatic expressions in French.

To start with, choose one thing at a time and master it. Once you do, you can add more to your list.

Then, say it aloud to memorise it.

The word is not enough. Indeed, if you put it into context with your own example it will facilitate.

Then, you want to practise as much as possible or you will forget it.

In a nutshell, there is no need to learn a lot. You would better apply your learning in order to speak French simultaneously with confidence. 

In this mini-lesson, you have seen four idiomatic expressions with the word “chat”:

• avoir un appétit d’oiseau  >>> to have the appetite of a sparrow. 
• poser un lapin  >>> to stand somebody up. 
• passer du coq à l’âne  >>> to jump from a subject to another.
• être doux comme un agneau.  >>> be as soft as a lamb. 
• s’entendre comme chien et chat.  >>> get on like cats and dogs. 

I have other mini-lessons about French expressions for you:

4 easy cat expressions to sound French

How to use the expression AVOIR BEAU

Can you think of any other animal expressions?