It seems like ne pas savoir sur quel pied danser *can* mean not knowing where one stands, i.e. not being clear about the situation, but the first example, being indecisive oneself is not a way I'd use the english equivalent, rather I'd only use it when talking about the affect of *others* on myself.
Have you heard of “idiomatic expressions”? Those 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:
“Ne pas savoir sur quel pied danser”
Literally: “Not to know which foot to dance on”
Figuratively: “Not knowing where one stands”
Figuratively: “Not knowing where one stands”
🎧 Here’s a mini-podcast about it!
Want to learn more about this fun expression, what it means, and hear some in-context examples? Click below to listen to our related mini-podcast recorded by Aurélie:
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👀 How about some examples?
To help you commit this expression to memory, here are some useful examples of how to use it in context:
- “Notre client n’arrête pas de nous donner des consignes contradictoires, et du coup, mon équipe ne sait pas sur quel pied danser !”
- “Un jour, tu me dis que tu m’aimes et l’autre que tu ne m’aimes plus. Je ne sais pas sur quel pied danser !”
🙌 Now is your time to shine!
Challenge yourself to use this expression in a French conversation or piece of writing, and let us know how your French friends reacted to it on our Forum 🙂
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
Bonjour Simon,
Sorry for the delay in replying to your comment. Thank you for pointing this out! We agree with you and have changed the example so as to avoid any more ambiguity.
Merci de votre contribution et bonne journée !