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Le coup de foudre
Avoir le coup de foudre = “to be struck by lightning ” ! ⚡️


What do you think this means ?
We have a few clues on the picture, namely :
Thunder ⚡️ = “la foudre”
Heart ❤️ = “le coeur”
the hit 🥊 = “le coup”
Could this be love ?
Yes, “to be struck by lightning” in French means “to fall in love” ! ❤️
Le coup de foudre example in French
“J’ai rencontré mon mari à une soirée avec des amis et le coup de foudre fut immédiat ”
🇬🇧 “I met my husband at a friends’ party and I immediately fell in love”


But sorry boys or girls, it is not only about you ! 😅
“J’ai le coup de foudre pour le nouveau sac de Louis Vitton”
🇬🇧 “I am in love with Louis Vitton’s new bag”
Le coup de foudre origin


This French expression appears in the XVII century, lightning is considered as a sudden and unpleasant event which generates a lot of emotion : fear and stupefaction.😫
“Le coup” which is the point at which the lightning strikes and makes a loud noise is therefore brutal and impressive. ⚡️ It is then associated to feelings and emotions.
“La foudre” which is the actual lightning is associated to rapidity for the speed at which it strikes but also the fire that it creates. 🔥 Fire is synonym of passion. The two together makes up the expression “avoir le coup de foudre” as to fall in love is a sudden event that creates a lot of emotions 👍
Le coup de foudre translation in English
A suitable Le coup de foudre translation in English would be :
Love at first sight ❤️
French GCSE idioms
Here is an example of how you could use this French idiom ‘Avoir le coup de foudre‘ to get a top mark at your French GCSE exam :
French edexcel theme : Identity and culture : school : school subjects
The French GCSE question is : Quelle est ta matière préférée ? What is your favourite subject ? This is what you could say :
French GCSE answer : ‘J’aime beaucoup les mathématiques. J’ai eu le coup de foudre pour les mathématiques quand j’ai lu le livre de Stephen Hawking sur l’origine de l’univers’
I like Mathematics very much. I fell in love with mathematics after reading the book of Stephen Hawking on the origin of the universe.
Le coup de foudre poem in French
This is a poem of my writing to illustrate this very nice French expression : ‘avoir le coup de foudre’
En ce jour d’automne Les oiseaux chantaient à tue-tête L’esprit distrait et le regard morne Tu me revins en tête Ton doux sourire Et ton tendre visage Mon esprit illuminèrent Mon coeur battit la chamade Rien qu’en pensant à toi Oh mon amoureuse Ce jour là naquit un bel émoi Celui où j’ai eu le coup de foudre À jamais dans mon coeur ma tumultueuse Mon coeur est à toi pour toujours Lara Streel
On this autumn day The birds were singing at the top of their lungs With a distracted mind and a gloomy gaze You came back to my mind Your sweet smile And your tender face My mind lit up My heart was racing Just thinking of you Oh my sweetheart That day was born a great emotion The one where I fell in love at first sight Forever in my heart my tumultuous My heart is yours forever Lara streel
Le coup de foudre in video
Other French idioms related to emotions
- Avoir le cafard : to feel blue
- Avoir la flemme : Not feeling like it
- En avoir marre : to be fed up
- Avoir une peur bleue : to be scared to death
- Etre soupe au lait : to over-react
Voilà, this was today’s idiom, I hope you liked it.
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Thanks for this article ;)!
Ces expressions sont toujours intéressantes 🙂
J’aimerai ajouter une autre expressions liées aux émotions : être dans une colère noire…
Merci du partage Lara
Hello Lara,
J’apprécie toujours tes articles et tes explications très claires. merci 😃
“Avoir le coup de foudre”, What a nice French expression 🙂 It really does illustrate what is happening in the body when you fall in love! Thank you for your podcast !
Thank you
Hello Lara , i fell in love of your classes, i fell in love of you AT thé first sigth, listening to you, your podcast was very interesting, i love thé sound of your voice, thé music , thé atmosphère, IS Amazing , i feel good , i feel safe and accepted. I Want to bé part of your group, i désire to learn english with you. Thank u and take Care, You are a wonderful teacher😊
Thank you Esther this is so kind of you !