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French Expression
| Meaning | something’s amiss, something isn’t right | |
| Literally | there is something that is wrong | |
| Register | normal | |
| Pronunciation |  |
[ee l(ee) ya kel keu shoz kee klush] |
| IPA | [i l(i)ja kɛl kə ʃoz ki klɔʃ] | |
Usage notes: Clocher is an old-fashioned French verb meaning "to limp," which eventually evolved to its modern meaning: "to be defective, to have something wrong."
Clocher has an additional old-fashioned meaning: "to ring, toll" as in a church bell. Native French speakers are always quick to point out that this is coincidental and has nothing to do with il y a quelque chose qui cloche, but it doesn’t really matter: thinking of the "off" clang of a giant, cracked bell is a great way to remember the meaning of this idiomatic expression.
Par exemple…
| Je n’arrive pas à trouver le problème, mais il y a quelque chose qui cloche. | I can’t find the problem, but there is something wrong. | |
| Qu’est-ce qui cloche avec toi ? | What’s wrong with you? |
Informal variation: Il y a un truc qui cloche
Synonymous expressions
- ne pas marcher – to not work
- Quel est le problème ? – What’s the problem?
- quelque chose ne va pas – something is wrong
- Qu’est-ce que tu as / il a ? – What’s wrong with you / him?
- Qu’est-ce qu’il y a ? – What’s wrong?
- Qu’est-ce qui ne va pas ? – What’s wrong?
- Qu’est-ce qui se passe ? – What’s wrong?
Related lessons
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