Français FLE : les expressions idiomatiques

Pour vous aider à réviser vos cours de FLE, voici quelques explications concernant les expressions idiomatiques françaises. 

Nos professeurs de français

Tima 1^er cours offert (9)9100

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- Hello professor !

A french friend told me that : “Tu as le coeur sur la main”, literally  "I have my heart on my hand" ???  

But what does that mean? That's impossible ! Only if I'm a surgeon doing a surgery...

So what did he want to tell me? Is it good or wrong to “have a heart on your hand?” (le coeur sur la main).

- Hello student!

Well, it's called an idiomatic expression or a pictorial expression...

The bad news is that THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF THEM IN FRENCH !

The good news is that the French use them a lot, so you will be confronted to hear them often and assimilate them just as easily. 

You have to understand 3 things important about them:

1. It is a non-modifiable expression... So there will never be nuance, the words are always in the same sense ... Whew! Once we understand its meaning we can reuse it in the same context. 
2. They are often transparent. Let me explain: they always relate to an image that says everything about expression. Example "having his heart on his hand" we imagine someone who "withdraws his heart" to give it to others... So you have understood the meaning. We are talking about a kind and generous person.
3. We must try to understand its global and not literal meaning. So no need to know a lot of vocabulary, but rather its general meaning. In addition, it is to have a "ready-made" sentence to respond to a special situation without having to search for words or deepen your thoughts.

Another very interesting point is that they exist in all countries and they evolve over time ... This is interesting when you start to have a good level and you want to deepen your knowledge of the culture or origin of the words of a language.

They are used in the 3 language registers (colloquial-fluent-supported) which means that you can use them in different situations, so you can use them in formal or informal contexts, provided you choose them well.

And the very positive point is that by using them by mastering their meaning you will TALK FLUENT! Like a French! That's why they are very important and why I invite you to learn one a week if you want to improve your French quickly !

To do this, search for one on a book or on the internet.

Enter the meaning and its register and then use it in a real life situation if you have the opportunity to chat with a French speaker.

You will see the impact it will have on your interlocutor, he will "tomber sur le cul” (literally : fall on the ass) = this is when a person is sooooo surprised that he falls backwards on his buttocks, careful this is a familiar register.

If you do not have an interlocutor (or teacher), write a mini scenario of a passage of your life (in French of course!) in which you can include the expression. It will help you to memorize definitely.

Example: Quand je fais visiter mon beau jardin fleuri, on me dit souvent que « j’ai la main verte » = literrally : When I show my beautiful flower garden, I am often told that "I have a green thumb".

In this context you can understand that it is the green color of my plants on the hand, it is said of someone who is close to his plants or who takes care of them well or often and the chlorophyll goes on his hands.