{"id":9,"date":"2026-09-30T08:57:45","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T08:57:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fluenchy.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/30\/avoir-la-flemme-and-6-idioms\/"},"modified":"2026-09-30T08:57:45","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T08:57:45","slug":"avoir-la-flemme-and-6-idioms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fluenchy.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/30\/avoir-la-flemme-and-6-idioms\/","title":{"rendered":"Avoir la flemme and 6 idioms no textbook taught you"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Textbooks teach you to order a coffee and ask for the train station. Then you arrive in France and hear people say they have \u201cthe laziness\u201d, \u201cthe cockroach\u201d or that someone \u201cput a rabbit\u201d on them. Here are seven everyday idioms that will make you sound much more French, and much less like a phrasebook.<\/p>\n<h2>1. Avoir la flemme<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Meaning:<\/strong> to not be able to be bothered.<br \/><em>J\u2019ai la flemme de cuisiner ce soir.<\/em> \u2014 I can\u2019t be bothered to cook tonight.<\/p>\n<p>Probably the most useful idiom on this list. Someone who often has <em>la flemme<\/em> is a <em>flemmard<\/em> or a <em>flemmarde<\/em>. It\u2019s informal: perfect with friends, less perfect in a job interview.<\/p>\n<h2>2. Avoir le cafard<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Meaning:<\/strong> to feel down, a bit blue. Literally, \u201cto have the cockroach\u201d.<br \/><em>J\u2019ai un peu le cafard depuis la fin des vacances.<\/em> \u2014 I\u2019ve been feeling a bit down since the holidays ended.<\/p>\n<h2>3. Poser un lapin \u00e0 quelqu\u2019un<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Meaning:<\/strong> to stand someone up. Literally, \u201cto put a rabbit on someone\u201d.<br \/><em>Il devait venir \u00e0 20 h, il m\u2019a pos\u00e9 un lapin.<\/em> \u2014 He was supposed to come at 8, he stood me up.<\/p>\n<h2>4. Co\u00fbter les yeux de la t\u00eate<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Meaning:<\/strong> to cost a fortune. The English pay with an arm and a leg; the French pay with their eyes.<br \/><em>Un caf\u00e9 \u00e0 Saint-Tropez, \u00e7a co\u00fbte les yeux de la t\u00eate.<\/em> \u2014 A coffee in Saint-Tropez costs an arm and a leg.<\/p>\n<h2>5. Tomber dans les pommes<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Meaning:<\/strong> to faint. Literally, \u201cto fall into the apples\u201d.<br \/><em>Il faisait tellement chaud dans le m\u00e9tro qu\u2019une dame est tomb\u00e9e dans les pommes.<\/em> \u2014 It was so hot in the metro that a lady fainted.<\/p>\n<h2>6. Avoir un coup de foudre<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Meaning:<\/strong> to fall in love at first sight. Literally, \u201ca strike of lightning\u201d. It works for people, but also for places and things.<br \/><em>J\u2019ai eu un coup de foudre pour Lyon.<\/em> \u2014 I fell in love with Lyon at first sight.<\/p>\n<h2>7. Raconter des salades<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Meaning:<\/strong> to tell tall tales, to make things up.<br \/><em>Arr\u00eate de me raconter des salades, je sais que tu \u00e9tais au bar.<\/em> \u2014 Stop making things up, I know you were at the bar.<\/p>\n<h2>How to start using them<\/h2>\n<p>Don\u2019t try all seven tomorrow. Pick one, ideally <em>avoir la flemme<\/em>, and use it the next time it\u2019s true. Which, let\u2019s be honest, should be quite soon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The can\u2019t-be-bothered feeling has a French name. Here\u2019s how (and when) to use it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"atk_mot":"la flemme","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-idioms"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Avoir la flemme and 6 idioms no textbook taught you - Fluenchy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fluenchy.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/30\/avoir-la-flemme-and-6-idioms\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Avoir la flemme and 6 idioms no textbook taught you - Fluenchy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The can\u2019t-be-bothered feeling has a French name. 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