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Informal French Expression
| Meaning | to celebrate one’s birthday/anniversary | |
| Literally | to blow out one’s candles | |
| Register | informal | |
| Pronunciation |  | [soo flay say boo zhee] |
| IPA | [su fle se bu ʒi] | |
Usage notes: The French expression souffler ses bougies can literally mean "to blow out one’s candles" on a birthday cake. But it’s more often used figuratively, meaning "to celebrate one’s birthday" or, in the case of a company or organization, "to celebrate its anniversary."
Par exemple…
| Elle a soufflé ses quarante bougies. / Elle a soufflé sa quarantième bougie. | She celebrated her 40th birthday. | |
| Je ne sais pas où souffler mes 21 bougies. / Je ne sais pas où souffer ma 21e bougie. | I don’t know where to celebrate my 21st birthday. | |
| Cette entreprise soufflera ses 5 bougies cette année. / Cette entreprise soufflera sa 5e bougie cette année. | This company will celebrate its 5th anniversary this year. |
Grammar notes / Variations
The possessive adjective changes to match the subject – whoever’s birthday or anniversary it is.
The possessive adjective and the number both change to make two slightly different but perfectly synonymous expressions.
- souffler + plural possessive adjective + cardinal number + bougies
- souffler + singular possessive adjective + ordinal number + bougie
Related expressions
Related lessons
Useful verb conjugations
Gifts for French lovers
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