sonner

"faire sonner son téléphone"

to ring one's phone / to make one's phone ring

J'ai oublié mon téléphone dans la cuisine et je l'ai fait sonner pour le retrouver. (I forgot my phone in the kitchen and I rang it to find it.)

"faire sonner l'alarme"

to set off the alarm / to sound the alarm

Attention, si tu touches ce tableau, tu vas faire sonner l'alarme ! (Careful, if you touch this painting, you'll set off the alarm!)

"ça me sonne"

it sounds familiar (to me)

Son nom me sonne, je crois que je l'ai déjà rencontré. (His name sounds familiar to me, I think I've met him before.)

"sonner les cloches à quelqu'un"

to tell someone off / to give someone a telling-off

Le professeur a dû sonner les cloches à l'élève qui bavardait pendant le cours. (The teacher had to tell off the student who was chatting during class.)

"sonner la charge"

to sound the charge (military) / to announce the start of an attack

Le général a ordonné de sonner la charge. (The general ordered to sound the charge.)

"sonner le glas de quelque chose"

to sound the death knell of something / to announce the end of something

La fermeture de l'usine a sonné le glas de l'économie locale. (The closure of the factory sounded the death knell of the local economy.)

"se faire sonner"

to get told off / to get a scolding

Si tu continues comme ça, tu vas te faire sonner par tes parents. (If you keep going like this, you're going to get told off by your parents.)

"sonner creux"

to sound hollow / to lack substance

Ses promesses sonnent creux, je ne le crois plus. (His promises sound hollow, I don't believe him anymore.)

"sonner l'hallali"

to sound the final call (hunting) / to announce the end of a pursuit

Après des heures de traque, les chasseurs ont sonné l'hallali. (After hours of tracking, the hunters sounded the final call.)

"sonner juste / sonner faux"

to sound right / to sound wrong (literally or figuratively)

Son argument sonne juste, je suis d'accord avec lui. / Ton excuse sonne faux, je sais que tu mens. (His argument sounds right, I agree with him. / Your excuse sounds wrong, I know you're lying.)