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French-y Phrases
Sometimes tiny French words are packed with meaning, and perhaps the best example of this is the adverbial pronoun y. It usually means "there," but it can be equivalent to a preposition + "it," or have no real English translation at all.
Proverbs with y
Il n’y a pas de fumée sans feu. | There’s no smoke without a fire. | |
Il n’y a pas de roses sans épines. | There’s no rose without a thorn. | |
Il n’y a pas de sot métier (il n’y a que de sottes gens). | Every trade has its value. | |
Il n’y a que les montagnes qui ne se rencontrent pas. | There are none so distant that fate cannot bring them together | |
Il y a loin de la coupe aux lèvres. | There’s many a slip ‘twixt cup and lip. | |
Il y a un commencement à tout. | There’s a first time for everything. | |
Il y a un temps pour tout. | There’s a right time for everything. | |
Où il y a de la gêne, il n’y a pas de plaisir. | Comfort comes first, There’s no point in being uncomfortable. | |
Où il y a un écu, il y a un diable. Où il n’y en a pas, il y en a deux. | Money is the root of all evil. |
Expressions with y
allons-y | let’s go | ||
ça y est | that’s it, it’s done | ||
comme il fallait s’y attendre | as expected, predictably enough | ||
Honi soit qui mal y pense. | Shame on anyone who thinks this evil. | ||
Il fallait s’y attendre. | It was to be expected. | ||
Il faut t’y faire. | You have to get used to it. | ||
il y a | there is, there are | ||
Il y a quelque chose qui cloche | There’s something amiss. | ||
je n’y peux rien | I can’t do anything about it | ||
je n’y suis pour personne | I’m not here, I don’t want to see anyone | ||
je n’y suis pour rien | It has nothing to do with me | ||
j’y suis | I understand; I remember | ||
j’y suis, j’y reste | Here I am and here I stay | ||
j’y vais | I’m going (there) | ||
n’y comptez pas | don’t count on it | ||
n’y pensez plus | don’t worry about it, forget it | ||
on y va | let’s go | ||
on pouvait s’y attendre | it was to be expected. | ||
personne ne s’y attendait | no one was expecting it | ||
Qui s’y frotte s’y pique. | If you cross swords with him, you do so at your peril. | ||
restez-y | stay there | ||
Souvent femme varie (bien fol est qui s’y fie). | Woman is fickle. | ||
s’y connaître | to know all about it, be an expert | ||
Tant qu’il y a de la vie, il y a de l’espoir | Where there’s life, there’s hope. | ||
Va voir ailleurs si j’y suis ! | (inf) | Get lost! | |
y compris | including |
Related lessons
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