Tu parles comme une vache espagnole

English translation: You don't speak french well.
Literal translation: You speak like a Spanish cow.

Je mélange des choux et des carottes.

English translation: I'm mixing apples and oranges.
Literal translation: I'm mixing cabbages and carrots.

Je fais porter le chapeau à quelqu'un

English translation: I'm blaming someone else.
Literal translation: I carry the hat to someone

Je donne ma langue au chat

English translation: I don't know, tell me.
Literal translation: I give my tongue to the cat.

Je n'ai pas un radis dans la poche

English Translation: I don't have a penny to my name
Literal Translation: I don't have a single radish in my pocket.

C'est la goutte d'eau qui fait déborder le vase

Translation: A straw broke the camel’s back.
Literal translation: It’s the drop of water which makes the vase overflow.

Tu veux me rendre chevre

Translation: You are driving me mad.
Comments: Literal translation =You want me to become a goat.

Tu me court sur le haricot

English Translation: You’re annoying me.
Comments: Literal translation: You are running on my bean. (Careful with this one.)

Je m’en fou

English translation: I don’t care.
Comment: A pretty informal saying.

En quoi puis-je t’aider

English translation: How many I help you?
Comments: A very formal and polite question

Bienvenue

In an attempt to improve the french of Americans working abroad on a project for a year, this blog was setup to capture a new phrase of the day (un phrase du jour). Typically, the phrase is something that would not translate well word for word in english and expresses the unique culture which is France.