English

French

Literal translation

All cats are grey in the dark.

La nuit, tous les chats sont gris.

At night, all the cats are grey.

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Les chiens ne font pas des chats.

Dogs don’t make cats.

A barking dog does not bite.

Chien qui aboie ne mord pas.

Beggars can’t be choosers.

Faute de grives, on mange des merles.

Lack of thrushes, one eats blackbirds.

Better safe than sorry.

Souris qui n’a qu’un trou est bientôt prise.

A mouse that has ony one hole is soon caught.

Big fish eat little fish.

Les gros poissons mangent les petits.

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush Un tiens vaut mieux que deux tu l’auras.

Un chien vivant vaut mieux qu’un lion mort.

One of yours is better than two that you will have A live dog is worth more than a dead lion.

Birds of a feather flock together

Qui se ressemble s’assemble

Those who resemble assemble

A cat may look at a king.

Un chien regarde bien un évêque.

A dog looks well at a bishop.

Different strokes for different folks.

On ne marie pas les poules avec les renards.

One does not wed hens with foxes.

Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched.

Il ne faut pas vendre la peau de l’ours avant de l’avoir tué.

You shouldn’t seel the bearskin before killing the bear.

Don’t jump to conclusions.

Il y a plus d’un âne à la foire qui s’appelle Martin.

There’s more than one donkey named Martin at the fair.

Don’t put the cart before the horse.

Il ne faut jamais mettre la charrue avant les boeufs.

One should never put the plow before the oxen.

Don’t try to do two things at once.

Il ne faut jamais courir deux lièvres à la fois.

One should never run after two hares at the same time.

Every little bit helps.

Petit à petit, l’oiseau fait son nid.

Little by little, the bird builds its nest.

Give a little to get a lot.

Il faut savoir donner un oeuf pour avoir un boeuf.

You have to know how to give an egg to get an ox.

Give an inch and he’ll take a mile.

Qui vole un oeuf vole un boeuf.

He who steals an egg will steal an ox.

Give some and keep the rest.

Donne au chien l’os pour qu’il ne convoite pas ta viande.

Give the dog the bone so that he doesn’t go after your meat.

The guilty dog barks the loudest.

C’est la poule qui chante qui a fait l’oeuf.

It’s the chicken that sings who laid the egg.

If you lie down with dogs you get up with fleas.

Qui se couche avec les chiens se lève avec des puces.

A leopard can’t change his spots.

Qui naît poule aime à caqueter.

Qui a bu boira.

He who was born a hen likes to cackle. He who has drunk will drink.

Let sleeping dogs lie.

Ne réveillez pas le chat qui dort.

Don’t wake the sleeping cat.

Like breeds like. Like father like son.

Bon chien chasse de race.

Good dog hunts [thanks to] its ancestry.

Nice guys finish last.

Qui se fait brebis le loup le mange.

He who makes himself a ewe the wolf eats.

Once bitten, twice shy.

Chat échaudé craint l’eau froide.

Scalded cat fears cold water.

One always goes back to one’s roots.

Le loup retourne toujours au bois.

The wolf always goes back to the woods.

Talkers are not doers.

Ce n’est pas la vache qui crie le plus fort qui fait le plus de lait.

It’s not the cow that moos the loudest who gives the most milk.

There’s no substitute for experience.

Ce n’est pas à un vieux singe qu’on apprend à faire la grimace.

It’s not an old monkey that one teaches to make faces.

Tit for tat.

À bon chat bon rat.

To good cat good rat.

To each his own. The dogs bark, the caravan goes by.

Les chiens aboient, la caravane passe.

The dogs bark, the caravan goes by.

What’s bred in the bone will come out in the flesh.

La caque sent toujours le hareng.

The herring barrel always smells like herring.

When the cat’s away, the mice will play.

Le chat parti, les souris dansent.

The cat gone, the mice dance.