faire le malin

The French phrase “faire le malin” translates literally as “to make the clever (person),” but it really means “to show off,” “to play it smart,” “to try to be clever,” “to get cute,” or “to boast.” It can also mean “to con” or “to cheat.”

Examples

  • Il fait le malin devant les filles mais il ne fait pas beaucoup avancer les choses (He’s a smart aleck in front of the girls, but he doesn’t get much done)
  • Tu feras moins le malin quand la police se sera rendue compte que tu leur as menti (You’ll be laughing on the other side of your face when the police find out you’ve been lying to them)
  • Fallait qu’ils jactent, qu’ils fanfaronnent, qu’ils racontent tout fort leurs petites astuces cheloues, pour faire les malins (They had to jabber, they had to boast, they had to talk loudly about their dodgy little tricks, in order to show off)

Expression

A saying that is derived from this phrase is “qui fait le malin tombe dans le ravin,” which means “he who gets cute falls into the ravine.”

Don’t miss new articles!

Get 1 email a week with new articles about French

We don’t spam! Read more in our privacy policy

Similar Posts

  • voici & voilà

    Even if you don’t know any French, you may already be familiar with the French words “voici” and “voilà.” “Voici” means “here is,” “here are,” “this is,” or “these are.” “Voilà” has a slightly different meaning, translating to “there is,” “there are,” “that is,” or “those are.” “Voici” comes from the Middle French “voicy,” which…

  • À la noix

    “À la noix” means “stripped of value, not serious, of bad quality, phony, without value, or badly made.” “Une noix” is a walnut. This expression appeared at the end of the 19th century. So why the prejudice against walnuts? The expression may be a deformation of the word “alénois” which is in turn a deformation…

  • to happen

    There are few different ways of translating the verb “to happen” into French. You can use the French verbs “se passer,” “arriver” or “se produire.” Let’s look at some examples of each, in order of most frequent usage. se passer arriver se produire

  • none of your business

    The English expressions “none of your business” and “none of my business” can be translated into French in several ways depending on the level of formality and the tone. French offers both direct, informal equivalents and more polite or neutral alternatives. None of your business The most common informal way to say “none of your…

  • | |

    pareil

    “Pareil” is a French word that can be used either as an adjective, a noun or an adverb. Adjective As an adjective, “pareil” means “similar” or “such.” It must agree in number and gender with the noun it describes, just like any other French adjective. Its feminine form is spelled “pareille.” Noun “Pareil” can also…

  • Verb: se souvenir de

    “Se souvenir de” is the French verb meaning “to remember.” It is a reflexive verb and is always followed by “de,” or preceded by its equivalent “en.” Usage examples of “se souvenir de”: Using “En” to Replace “It” or “Them”: In French, the pronoun “en” is often employed with “se souvenir de” to replace previously…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *