Quelle mouche t’a piqué ?

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Informal French Expression

Meaning	What’s bugging you?
Literally	Which fly bit you?
Register	informal
Pronunciation		[kehl moosh tah pee kay]
IPA		[kɛl muʃ ta pi ke]

Usage notes: Flies are annoying, especially when they bite, and they can also be hard to spot. So the informal French expression quelle mouche t’a piqué ? is a logical way to ask someone why they look or are acting annoyed when there’s no obvious reason for it.

Variation: Quelle mouche te pique ?

Synonymous expressions

• Qu’est-ce que tu as ?
• Qu’est-ce qui ne vas pas ?
• Qu’est-ce qui te prend ?
• Qu’est-ce qui t’arrive ?
• Qu’est-ce qu’il y a ?
• Qu’est-ce qui ne tourne pas rond ? (informal)

English equivalents

• What’s bothering you?
• What’s bugging you?
• What’s eating you?
• What’s gotten into you?
• What’s the matter with you?
• What’s up with you?
• What’s wrong with you?
• What’s your problem?

 You can ask the same question of other people by using a different direct object pronoun:

Quelle mouche l’a piqué ?		What’s bugging him?
Quelle mouche l’a piquée ?		What’s bugging her?
Quelle mouche vous a piqué(s) ?		What’s bugging you?
Quelle mouche les a piqués ?		What’s bugging them?

Or by putting a noun at the end:

Quelle mouche a piqué ta sœur ?		What’s bugging your sister?
Quelle mouche a piqué les élèves ?		What’s bugging the students?

 Related lessons

• Quelle: interrogative adjective
• Direct objects
• Passé composé
• Asking questions
• Piquer conjugations

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