Five great expressions related to health in French

Health! Can't do without it so . . . If you’re needing to express yourself beyond “Ça va !” and enjoy 5 French expressions to really get your feeling across then hop in to this quick mini lesson and upgrade your mundane French into native level French:

Let's discover:

• Five great expressions related to health in French

• Great contextual examples

• How to remember them when in spontaneous conversations

How to describe a pale appearance in French.

If you ever see someone who looks pale and sick, the following expression will help you: 

• avoir une mine de papier mâché. >>> to look pale

Here’s an example for you:

• Il a une mine de papier mâchée, il devrait consulter un médecin. >>> He looks pale or sickly, he should see a doctor.

You could also hear or see this expression:

• ne pas être dans son assiette. >>> to feel bad / sick.

2 French expressions when you are in good health.

You may laugh at this expression because it doesn’t mean anything if you translate it. You can’t have the peach or the banana, but in French, it means you are full of energy:

• avoir la pêche / la banane. >>> to be full of energy

You could say something like this:

• Elle a la pêche aujourd’hui; elle est de super bonne humeur ! >>> She’s feeling great today; she’s in such a good mood!

Here’s another fun expression for you to express good health:

• se porter comme un charme. >>> to be in excellent health.

For instance:

• Malgré son âge, il se porte comme un charme >>> Despite his age, he’s in excellent health.

How do you express exhaustion in French?

When you feel very tired, you could fall on the floor. That is why you could come across this expression:

• être sur les rotules. >>> to be on your kneecaps.

But what it really means is to be exhausted like in this example:

• Après cette longue journée de travail, je suis sur les rotules ! >>> After this long work day, I am exhausted!

Always learn one expression at a time. However, once you master this one, you can play with the other ones:

• être à plat./ raplapa >>> to be flat.
• être crevé. >>> to be punctured.
• avoir un coup de pompe. >>> to have a blow of pump.
• avoir un coup de barre. >>> to have a blow of bar.
• avoir la tête dans le seau. >>> to have the head in the bucket.

• avoir les paupières lourdes. >>> to have heavy eyelids.

French expressions for that feeling as fresh as a daisy:

There are 2 or even 3 ways to describe someone fresh:

• être frais comme un gardon . >>> to be fresh as a daisy.

Here’s an illustration:

• Après une bonne nuit de sommeil, je suis frais comme un gardon. >>> After a good night’s sleep, I’m fresh as a daisy.

Now, you are fully equipped to describe your mood whether you feel in good or bad shape with these 5 expressions:

• avoir la pêche / la banane. >>> to be full of energy
• se porter comme un charme. >>> to be in excellent health.
• avoir une mine de papier mâché. >>> to look pale 
• être sur les rotules. >>> to be on your kneecaps.
• être frais comme un gardon . >>> to be fresh as a daisy.

Here are some other lessons about health in French:

Be ready for a medical emergency in France

How to say you are sick when in France

So, how do you feel today?