Idioms & Expressions
"passer sous silence"
to pass over in silence, to omit mentioning
Il a passé sous silence les détails embarrassants. (He omitted the embarrassing details.)
neutral"avoir la tête sous l'eau"
to be overwhelmed, to be swamped (with work, problems)
Avec tout ce travail, j'ai vraiment la tête sous l'eau. (With all this work, I'm really swamped.)
informal"mettre sous le nez de quelqu'un"
to thrust something under someone's nose (to show it clearly or annoyingly)
Il lui a mis le contrat sous le nez. (He thrust the contract under his nose.)
neutral"ne pas y aller de main morte"
to not hold back, to not pull punches (to be harsh or hit hard)
Pour la critique, il n'y est pas allé de main morte. (For the criticism, he didn't hold back.)
informal"être sous les feux de la rampe"
to be in the spotlight, to be the center of attention
Après son succès, elle était sous les feux de la rampe. (After her success, she was in the spotlight.)
neutral"tomber sous le sens"
to be obvious, to be self-evident
Que tu dois travailler dur, ça tombe sous le sens. (That you must work hard, that's obvious.)
neutral"avoir quelque chose sous le coude"
to have something up one's sleeve, to have something ready
J'ai quelques idées sous le coude pour le projet. (I have some ideas ready for the project.)
informal"être sous l'emprise de"
to be under the influence of, to be under the sway of
Il était sous l'emprise de l'alcool. (He was under the influence of alcohol.)
neutral"marcher sur les plates-bandes de quelqu'un"
to encroach on someone's territory, to tread on someone's toes
Tu marches sur mes plates-bandes en faisant ça. (You're encroaching on my territory by doing that.)
neutral"prendre quelqu'un sous son aile"
to take someone under one's wing
Elle a pris le nouvel employé sous son aile. (She took the new employee under her wing.)
neutralTest Yourself 6 questions
Choose the correct translation: The cat is under the table.
'en dessous de' means 'below' or 'underneath'.
Which sentence uses 'en dessous de' correctly?
'en dessous de' indicates a position directly below something.
If something is 'en dessous de' something else, where is it located?
The phrase 'en dessous de' directly translates to 'below' or 'underneath'.
The sentence 'Le soleil est en dessous des nuages' means 'The sun is above the clouds.'
'En dessous de' means 'below', so the sentence means 'The sun is below the clouds.'
If you say 'J'ai trouvé mes clés en dessous de mon lit', it means you found your keys under your bed.
'En dessous de mon lit' correctly translates to 'under my bed'.
The phrase 'en dessous de' can be used interchangeably with 'sur'.
'En dessous de' means 'below' or 'underneath', while 'sur' means 'on' or 'on top of'. They are opposites.
/ 6 correct
Perfect score!
Related Content
More general words
à cause de
A2Because of; on account of (a neutral or negative cause).
à côté
A2Next to; beside.
à côté de
A2Next to, beside.
À droite
A2To the right; on the right side.
À gauche
A2To the left; on the left side.
à la
A2To the (feminine singular), indicates direction or location.
à laquelle
B2To which; at which (feminine singular).
à mesure que
B2As; while; in proportion as.
abrégé
B1An abstract, summary, or abridgment.
absence
A2The state of being away from a place or person.