#french proverbs

[kketisha]

“Quand on a pas ce que l’on aime, il faut aimer ce que l’on a”  When one doesn’t have the things that one loves, one must love what one has.  Emily in Paris, 2020

[lovinmybaguettes]

Proverbs/sayings

Il faut se méfier de l’eau qui dort (beware of sleeping waters) : means that the quiet ones can turn out to be the worst and that you shouldn’t assume what they’re really like (it’s pretty negative)

Tout vient à point à qui sait attendre : All things come to those who wait (à point means at just the right time)

Un tiens vaut mieux que deux tu l’auras (a ‘here you go’ is better than two ‘you’ll have it’) : A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush (tbvh I prefer the French way of saying it, it’s just a bit clearer lol)

Mieux vaut prévenir que guérir (preventing is better than healing) : better safe than sorry

[Il ne faut pas] mettre tous ses oeufs dans le même panier : you shouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket

[Il ne faut pas] mettre la charrue avant les boeufs (one shouldn’t put the plow before the steers) : you shouldn’t put the cart before the horse

Mieux vaut être seul que mal accompagné : it’s better to be alone than in bad company

Les bons comptes font les bons amis (good reckonings make good friends) : a debt paid is a friend kept; short reckonings make long friends (you should have a healthy financial relationship with your friends if you want to stay on good terms)

Paris ne s’est pas fait en un jour (Paris wasn’t built in one day) : French version of ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’ (we still use the Rome version from time to time)

Tel père, tel fils/telle mère, telle fille : like father, like son/like mother, like daughter, etc. (obv ‘tel père telle fille’ and ‘telle mère, tel fils’ work too)

C’est la goutte d’eau qui fait déborder le vase (it’s the water drop that makes the vase overflow) : it’s the final straw

C’est la cerise sur le gâteau (it’s the cherry on the cake) : it’s the icing on the cake

Il n’y a que la vérité qui blesse : only the truth hurts

[melomaniiac]

theres this french proverb, it goes  “ Mieux vaut prévenir que guérir”

and it means “it is better to prevent than to cure”

and i feel that.

[wikrokosmos]

Charming French Proverbs

“Il n'y a pas plus sourd que celui qui ne veut pas entendre.” 

“No one is as deaf as the one who does not want to listen.”

“Qui vivra verra”

“He/she who lives, shall see.” This phrase is usually used when an outcome is unpredictable or uncertain, like in the English “the future will tell.”

“La barbe ne fait pas le philosophe.” which in English is translated as  “A beard does not make a philosopher” or, similarly,

“L’habit ne fait pas le moine”

“The vestment does not make the monk.”

Its significance, though, is that just because a monk is wearing a renunciate’s robe, it doesn’t mean that the monk is sincere in his intentions.

“Chacun voit midi à sa porte”

“Everyone sees noon at his doorstep.” It means that every individual is occupied, first and foremost, with his or her own personal interests, and each feels their subjective opinions as objective truths.

“Mieux vaut prévenir que guérir”

“It is better to prevent than to heal / to solve it afterwards”

If you know that you’re going to have a problem afterwards you might as well do everything you can to avoid it happening, preventing it from happening, instead of having to deal with it later.

“Petit a petit, l’oiseau fait son nid”

“Little by little, the bird makes its nest.” This proverb designates patience and perseverance.

“Qui court deux lievres a la fois, n’en prend aucun”

It is translated as, “Who runs after two hares at the same time, catches none.” The meaning is that an individual ought to concentrate on one task at a time with optimal attention, if that task is to be well done. If a person does two things at once, the likelihood is that the end result will be anchored in mediocrity, due to a half-hearted effort. As Ron Swanson would say: “Never half-ass two things, whole-ass one thing”

[lexingrubbs-blog]

Qui vivra verra.

French Proverbs

[ladybaguette]

« En avril, ne te découvre pas d’un fil. En mai, fais ce qu’il te plaît ! »

- In April, don’t take off even a thread of your clothes. In May, do as you wish!

This proverb basically means you shouldn’t wear lighter clothes before the month of May so you don’t catch a cold :)

Kind of like this old English saying: “Ne'er cast a clout 'til May be out!”

My grandma used to say this one all the time, but she shortened it to Pas un fil en avril which is a lot easier to remember (not to mention how it rolls off the tongue!)

I thought this was the perfect time of the year to share this... plus it’s great advice from my personal experience!

Sources: 1 | 2

[lexingrubbs-blog]

Après la pluie, le beau temps.

E.B Mawr

[oiroegbu]

Self Reflection 31: Faith 2 To believe a thing impossible is to make it so. French Proverb. Indeed, the positive thinker of faith in God, sees the invisible, feels the intangible and achieves the impossible.