Talking to Pets the French Way
Give commands, sweet-talk and tease a dog and a cat in French, with the animal idioms French people use every day.
France is a nation of pet lovers, with roughly one household in two owning a pet, mostly cats and dogs. People talk to them in a mix of short commands (« Assis ! », « Couché ! »), baby talk like « toutou » and « minou », and a whole set of animal idioms, from « un temps de chien » to « s'entendre comme chien et chat ». Pets, like children, are always addressed as tu.
- 1
Assis !
Sit! (to a dog)
- 2
Couché !
Lie down!
- 3
Donne la papatte !
Give me your paw!
- 4
C'est qui le gentil toutou ?
Who's a good doggy?
- 5
Lâche ça !
Drop that!
- 6
Gare à toi !
Just you watch out!
- 7
On va faire un tour ?
Shall we go for a little walk?
- 8
Il est doux comme un agneau.
He's as gentle as a lamb.
- 9
Il lui manque que la parole !
All he can't do is talk!
- 10
Il me suit comme mon ombre.
He follows me around like my shadow.
- 11
Tu parles d'une vie de chien !
Talk about a dog's life!
Tip: Said ironically to a pampered pet.
- 12
Ils s'entendent comme chien et chat.
They fight like cat and dog.
- 13
Minou, minou !
Here, kitty kitty!
- 14
Elle ronronne.
She's purring.
- 15
Chat échaudé craint l'eau froide.
Once bitten, twice shy.
- 16
Descends du canapé !
Get off the sofa!
- 17
Arrête d'aboyer !
Stop barking!
- 18
Il fait un temps de chien.
It's foul weather out there.
- 19
T'as une faim de loup, toi !
You're ravenous, you are!
- 20
Sois sage pendant que je suis pas là.
Be good while I'm not here.