Nine French expressions to help you celebrate the Swiss sunshine
The Local - [email protected]
Published: 5 Jun, 2019 CET.
Updated: Wed 5 Jun 2019 11:20 CET
With summer well and truly making its presence felt in Switzerland, here are some sun-filled French expressions to celebrate the season.
Le soleil brille pour tout le monde
“The sun shines on everyone” is used to talk about benefits that anyone can take advantage of. This saying goes back to the Sermon on the Mount in the gospel of Matthew (5:45), when Jesus says “for He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good”.
Un bain de soleil
You may well be taking one of these this weekend: “a sun bath”, or “sun bathing”. The term can also be used for the long deck chairs dedicated to this type of activity.
Se faire une place au soleil
Like the English “find your place in the sun”, but puts more emphasis on the willpower and effort necessary to achieve that socially enviable position.
Un rayon de soleil
As in English, “a ray of sunshine”, besides being an emission of light/energy from the sun, is also somebody who brings joy to your life.
Fondre comme neige au soleil
“To melt like snow in the sun”, or to dissipate rapidly. Despite the luminous language, this phrase is often used when talking about money, or rather the disappearance thereof, as in toutes mes économies se sont fondues comme neige au soleil - “all my savings melted away like snow in the sun”.
Avoir des biens au soleil
“To have goods in the sunshine” most often refers to one particular type of good: property, though it need not actually be in a sunny place.
Il n’y a rien de nouveau sous le soleil
“There’s nothing new under the sun”, this is probably the most pessimistic expression on our list. It can be equated to “nothing ever really changes” and, once again, has biblical origins, in the Book of Ecclesiastes (1:9): “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun”.
Après la pluie, le beau temps
Meaning “after the rain, good weather”, this proverb is actually not usually used to talk about what’s happening in the sky, but more generally about life. It suggests that bad or difficult times will inevitably be followed by better times. So keep your head up, and enjoy the beautiful weather in Switzerland while it lasts.
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Le soleil brille pour tout le monde
“The sun shines on everyone” is used to talk about benefits that anyone can take advantage of. This saying goes back to the Sermon on the Mount in the gospel of Matthew (5:45), when Jesus says “for He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good”.
Un bain de soleil
You may well be taking one of these this weekend: “a sun bath”, or “sun bathing”. The term can also be used for the long deck chairs dedicated to this type of activity.
Se faire une place au soleil
Like the English “find your place in the sun”, but puts more emphasis on the willpower and effort necessary to achieve that socially enviable position.
Un rayon de soleil
As in English, “a ray of sunshine”, besides being an emission of light/energy from the sun, is also somebody who brings joy to your life.
Fondre comme neige au soleil
“To melt like snow in the sun”, or to dissipate rapidly. Despite the luminous language, this phrase is often used when talking about money, or rather the disappearance thereof, as in toutes mes économies se sont fondues comme neige au soleil - “all my savings melted away like snow in the sun”.
Avoir des biens au soleil
“To have goods in the sunshine” most often refers to one particular type of good: property, though it need not actually be in a sunny place.
Il n’y a rien de nouveau sous le soleil
“There’s nothing new under the sun”, this is probably the most pessimistic expression on our list. It can be equated to “nothing ever really changes” and, once again, has biblical origins, in the Book of Ecclesiastes (1:9): “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun”.
Après la pluie, le beau temps
Meaning “after the rain, good weather”, this proverb is actually not usually used to talk about what’s happening in the sky, but more generally about life. It suggests that bad or difficult times will inevitably be followed by better times. So keep your head up, and enjoy the beautiful weather in Switzerland while it lasts.
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