tomber des nues

ByFast French

The French expression “tomber des nues” translates literally as “to fall from the clouds.” “Les nues” is a feminine plural noun meaning “the clouds” or “the heavens.” It is not used these days, except in a literary sense. The modern word for clouds is “les nuages” and for heavens it is “le ciel” or “le paradis.”

“Tomber des nues” means “to be surprised,” “to be amazed,” “to arrive unexpectedly” or “to be taken aback by an unexpected event.” It refers to the feeling of a hypothetical person living in the clouds, who suddenly falls to earth. Everything would be very different from life in the clouds, and the person would be very surprised.

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

  • Homophones

    ByFast French

    In French, there are many nouns that have the same sound but different genders and meanings. Here’s a list of some examples: These nouns are homophones, which are words that sound the same but have different meanings and genders.

  • |

    singing

    ByFast French

    How do you talk about singing in French? There are a few words – some verbs, some nouns. The verb “to sing,” which is “chanter.” The noun “a song,” which is “une chanson.” And the noun “the singing,” which is “le chant.” There is another verb “entonner,” which means “to start singing,” or “to launch…

  • faire grève

    ByFast French

    “Faire grève” or “faire la grève” is a French idiom that means “to strike,” or “to go on strike.” This is when workers purposely stop working in their attempt to achieve higher wages and/or better conditions from their employers. The word “grève” in the expression comes from the word for gravel (gravier) which in turn came…

  • Tel, Telle, Tels, Telles

    ByFast French

    In French, “tel” and its variations (“telle,” “tels,” “telles”) are used to mean “such” or “such a” in English. They are adjectives that agree in gender and number with the noun they describe. Here’s a simple guide on how to use each form. 1. Tel (masculine singular) Use “tel” when describing a singular masculine noun….