Dire Expressions

	Share / Tweet / Pin Me!

French Sayings

The French verb dire, “to say” or "to tell," is found in many idiomatic expressions, including getting something off one’s chest, not feeling like doing something, and in other words. Learn these and dozens of other French expressions featuring dire.

Dire translations

• to say
• to tell
• to express
• to recite
• to speak

Dire expressions

dire à quelqu’un son fait			to tell someone off
dire à ses quatre vérités			to be blunt, give someone a piece of your mind
dire ce qu’on a sur le cœur			to get something off one’s chest
dire ce qu’on pense			to speak someone’s mind, say what one thinks
dire des bêtises			to talk nonsense
dire des sottises			to talk nonsense
dire que			to say, think that
dire que non			to say no
dire qui oui			to say yes
dire son fait à quelqu’un			to tell someone off
dire toujours amen			to be a yes-man
à ce qu’il dit			according to him
à qui le dis-tu ?			you’re telling me!
à vrai dire			to tell you the truth
Aussitôt dit, aussitôt fait			No sooner said than done
autrement dit			in other words
Avez-vous quelque chose à dire ?			Do you have anything to say?
Ça ne me dit pas grand-chose.			I don’t think much of that.
Ça ne me dit rien.			That does nothing for me, I don’t feel like doing that. That means nothing to me, I don’t remember that.
Ça me dit quelque chose.			That rings a bell.
Ça te dit ?			Do you feel like doing that? Does that sound good to you?
Ceci dit			That said, Having said that
Cela dit			That said, Having said that
Cela va sans dire.			It goes without saying.
c’est-à-dire			that is, i.e., I mean
C’est à vous de dire.	(card game)		Your call.
C’est beaucoup dire.			That’s saying a lot.
C’est moi qui te le dis.			Take my word for it.
C’est pas pour dire, mais …	(infrmal)		I don’t mean to brag, but …; I don’t mean to complain, but …
C’est peu dire.			That’s an understatement.
C’est plus facile à dire qu’à faire.			Easier said than done.
C’est toi qui le dis.			That’s what you say.
Comment dirais-je ?			How shall I put it? What can I say?
Comment dit-on ___ ?			How do you say __?
Comment dit-on ça en anglais ?			How do you say that in English?
comme disent les spécialistes			as the experts say
comme on dit			so to speak, as they say
d’après ce qu’il dit			according to him
Dis donc	(informal)		Wow, hey, listen
Dites donc			Wow, hey, listen
entendre dire que			to hear (it said) that
entre nous soit dit			just between you and me
Est-ce à dire que … ?			Does this mean that…?
il n’y a pas à dire			there’s no doubt about it
Je ne dis pas non.			I won’t say no.
Je ne fais que dire tout haut ce que tout le monde pense tout bas.			I’m only saying aloud what everyone else is thinking.
Je ne savais plus quoi dire.			I was at a loss for words.
Je ne te dis que ça !	(informal)		That’s all I’m saying!
Je ne te le fais pas dire !			I’m not putting words in your mouth!
Je suis sûr, je te dis !	(informal)		I’m telling you I’m certain (of it)!
Je te l’avais dit.			I told you so.
Mon petit doigt m’a dit			A little birdie told me
ne pas se le faire dire deux fois			not to have to be told twice
on dirait que…			you’d think that
on dit que …			rumor has it that …
on ne peut pas dire			there’s no doubt about it
ou pour mieux dire			to put it another way, in other words
pour ainsi dire			so to speak
pour tout dire			in fact
Que dites-vous ?			I beg your pardon? What did you say?
quelque chose me dit que …			something tells me that …
rien ne dit que …			there’s nothing to say that …
savoir ce qu’on dit			to know what one is talking about
soit dit en passant			by the way, incidentally
soit dit entre nous			just between you and me
Tu as beau dire, je ne te crois pas.			No matter what you say, I don’t believe you.
vouloir dire			to mean
se dire			to say to oneself to think to claim to be to be said
Cela ne se dit pas.	(passive reflexive)		That (just) isn’t said.
Cela te dit de (sortir, manger)?			How does (going out, eating) grab you? What do you think of (going out, eating)?
On se dirait en France.			You’d think you were in France.

 Related lessons

• Dire conjugations
• Using dire
• Inversion
• Pronominal verbs
• Tu vs vous

 Share / Tweet / Pin Me!