 |
|
| Share / Tweet / Pin Me! | |
French Proverb
| Meaning | When the cat’s away the mice will play! |
| Literally | When the cat’s not there, the mice dance! |
| Register | normal |
| Pronunciation | |
 |
[ka(n) leu shah nay pah lah lay soo ree da(n)s] |
| IPA | [kã lə ʃa ne pa la le su ʁi dãs] |
Usage notes: French and English have very similar proverbs about a cat, representing an authority figure (parent, teacher, boss), whose absence automatically means that mice (children, students, employees) will do anything (play, dance, leave work early) but what they’re supposed to be doing.
Par exemple…
| J’ai quitté la salle de classe pendant 5 minutes et mes étudiants… oh là là ! Quand le chat n’est pas là, les souris dansent ! | I left the classroom for 5 minutes and my students… oh dear! When the cat’s away, the mice will play! | |
| Mon patron va être à la maison mère cette semaine, et tu sais ce que ça veut dire : quand le chat n’est pas là, les souris dansent ! | My boss is going to be at the parent company this week, and you know what that means: when the cat’s away, the mice will play! |
Variations
- Quand le chat n’est pas là … (anapodoton)
- Absent le chat, les souris dansent
- C’est les vacances, les souris dansent
- Le chat parti, les souris dansent
- Quand le chat s’absente, les souris dansent
- Là où le chat n’est, souris s’y révèle (archaic)
More French expressions with chat
Related lessons
Share / Tweet / Pin Me!
This free website is created with love and a great deal of work. If you love it, please consider making a 
The French lessons and comprehension exercises on this site are ranked according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), which describes six levels of language proficiency.
When a word ending in a normally silent consonant is followed by a vowel or h muet, that consonant might be transferred onto the next word. This is called a liaison and it’s one of the aspects of French pronunciation that can make it difficult to determine where one word ends and the next begins.
Aller is one of the most common and important French verbs. It generally means “to go,” is key to the near future construction, and is also found in many expressions. This issue of Lawless French à fond takes an in-depth look at going everywhere with