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Informal French Expression
| Meaning | to be desirable, to have a certain something, to be a fox | |
| Literally | to have some dog | |
| Register | informal | |
| Pronunciation |  |
[ah vwahr du shyeh(n)] |
| IPA | [a vwaʁ dy ʃʝɛ̃] | |
Usage notes: Lots of people have a dog, but what does having "some" dog mean? If you think it’s like "to be a dog," you couldn’t be more wrong.*
The somewhat dated French expression avoir du chien, which is used only to describe women, means just the opposite: "to be desirable." It’s similar to the English expression "to be a fox" but avoir du chien is about more than just physical appearance; it also denotes desirable qualities like intelligence and independence.
Par exemple…
| Penses-tu que Catherine Deneuve et Jeanne Moreau aient toujours du chien ? | Do you think Catherine Deneuve and Jeanne Moreau are still desirable? |
Somewhat synonymous
- être beau – to be handsome/beautiful (il est beau, elle est belle)
- être chic – to be classy, stylish (il est chic, elle est chic)
- être joli – to be good-looking/pretty (il est joli, elle est jolie)
- être mignon – to be cute (il est mignon, elle est mignonne)
informal - être canon – to be gorgeous (il est canon, elle est canon)
- être chaud – to be hot/sexy/horny (il est chaud, elle est chaude)
* To be a dog (to be really ugly) = être un boudin (informal), être un cageot (familiar)
More French expressions with chien
Related lessons
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