Thank you for theses mini-podcasts. Today, I put the playback speed to 1.5x and it was perfect. I used to have to put them at < 1x, like 0.75x or 0.5x.
French Expressions and Idioms
Have you heard of “idiomatic expressions”? These are figurative expressions specific to French, that are usually not translatable directly, as each language uses its own references! Therefore, you need to learn them directly in the language, as well as learning French equivalents to the ones you use in English! Knowing idiomatic expressions is key when learning a new language and it will definitely help you sound like a true Français 😊
✍️ Today’s French expression is:
“Coûter les yeux de la tête”
Literally: “To cost the eyes from the head”
Figuratively: “To be very expensive”
English equivalent: “To cost an arm and a leg”
🎧 Here’s a podcast about it!
Want to learn more about this fun expression, what it means, and hear some in-context examples? Then listen to Aurélie and Céline‘s related podcast below:
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🤑 Some context
The expression “coûter les yeux de la tête” dates back either to Roman times or to the Middles Ages and means “to be very expensive”. Equivalent expressions in English would be “to cost the earth” or “to cost an arm and a leg”. This expression is used to emphasise that you will pay a very high cost for the item you wish to buy.
👀 How about some examples?
To help you commit this expression to memory, here are some useful examples of how to use it in context:
- J’aimerais tellement acheter ce nouvel ordinateur mais il va me coûter les yeux de la tête !
- – Oh Hélène, ta nouvelle cuisine est ravissante !
– Merci ! Il faut dire qu’elle m’a coûté les yeux de la tête. Mais le résultat en valait la peine.
- Mon mari et moi rêvons de faire un long voyage en Australie mais les billets d’avion coûtent les yeux de la tête !
- – Luc, on va prendre un verre au nouveau bar à cocktails ? Il paraît qu’ils sont excellents.
– Oui, mais ils vont aussi nous coûter les yeux de la tête !
🤩 NEW: Enjoy a special Fill-in-the-Blanks exercise!
With this great Fill-in-the-Blanks exercise featuring our new expression, you get to practise your French grammar while getting another in-context use of the expression “coûter les yeux de la tête” to help you remember it 🤗 Que demander de plus ?
🙌 Now is your time to shine!
Challenge yourself to use this expression in a French conversation or piece of writing, and let us know what you thought of this expression, share your idiomatic sentences, and tell us how your French friends reacted to it – en français bien sûr – in the comments below 🙂
À toi de jouer !
Author info
For over ten years now, Céline has been teaching French and Italian to students of all ages and abilities in the UK. This French native speaker comes from Brittany, and likes crafts, Breton dance (of course!) and Breton music which she actually played for four years. She also has a fondness for European cinema and British History.
Aurélie is our resident French Expert. She has created most of the wonderful content you see on the site and is usually the person answering your tricky help questions. She comes from a small village near Chartres in Central France, country of cereal fields and not much else. She left (in a hurry) to study English at the world-famous Sorbonne in Paris, before leaving France in 2007 to experience the “London lifestyle” - and never looked back! She's worked as a professional French teacher, translator and linguist in the UK since. She loves to share her love of languages and is a self-professed cinema and literature geek!
Comments: 2
Bravo Sydney ! C'est très satisfaisant de voir ses progrès en compréhension orale, n'est-ce pas ? Merci de votre gentil feedback 🥰