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Glancing French Expression
| Meaning | glance | |
| Literally | eye stroke | |
| Register | normal | |
| Pronunciation |  |
[koo deuy] |
| IPA | [ku dœj] | |
Usage notes: Un coup d’œil is a glance, glimpse, or quick look. It’s found most often after the verb jeter (to throw) and in front of a preposition plus whatever you’re glancing at.
Par exemple…
| J’ai jeté un coup d’œil à la voiture. | I glanced at the car. | |
| Tu dois jeter un coup d’œil autour du parking. | You need to take a quick look around the parking lot. |
You can also follow un coup d’œil with pour plus an infinitive.
Par exemple…
| Jette un coup d’œil pour déterminer le meilleur recours. | Take a quick look to determine the best course of action. | |
| Après avoir jeté un coup d’œil pour voir si tout allait bien, je suis parti. | After taking a quick look to see if everything was ok, I left. |
Variations
Synonyms
- regarder quelque chose à la dérobée
- lancer un regard
Un coup d’œil can also refer to a view:
| Il y a un beau coup d’œil à partir de la tour. | There’s a nice view (over the town/river) from the tower. | |
| Ce coup d’œil sur Strasbourg est merveilleux. | This view of Strasbourg is magnificent. |
Other verbs and meanings
Coup d’œil can be used with other verbs, with more or less the same meaning:
- apprécier d’un coup d’œil – to sum up, assess
- avoir le coup d’œil pour les antiquités / détails – to have an eye/gift for antiques / detail
- échanger un coup d’œil – to exchange glances
- filer un coup d’œil (informal) – to take a look
- jauger d’un coup d’œil – to size up at a glance
- valoir le coup d’œil – to be worth seeing
Types of coups d’œil
- un (petit) coup d’œil discret – quick glance, discreet look
- un coup d’œil en bas – downward glance
- un coup d’œil en dessous – shifty look
- un coup d’œil en haut – upward glance
- un coup d’œil furieux – furious glance
- un coup d’œil furtif – quick glance, furtive look
- un coup d’œil indifférent – perfunctory glance
- un coup d’œil professionnel – professional look, assessment
- un coup d’œil rétrospectif – retrospective, look back
- un dernier coup d’œil – final look, last glance
- le premier coup d’œil – preliminary look, first glance
Related expressions
- au premier coup d’œil – at first glance
- un beau coup d’œil – nice view
- découvrir une chose du / au premier coup d’œil – to discover something at a glance
- d’un (seul) coup d’œil – at a glance, with a single glance
- jeter un coup d’œil sur une page / au journal – to skim a page / the newspaper
- remarquer une chose du / au premier coup d’œil – to notice something with a single glance
- valoir le coup d’œil – to be worth a look
Related lessons
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