54 French inspirational quotes: Proverbs to motivate & enjoy (with translation) (2024)

Table of Contents
Power Quotes for the Soul 1. Le bonheur n’est pas quelque chose de prêt à l’emploi. Il vient de vos propres actions. 2. On ne change pas une équipe qui gagne. 3. Vouloir, c’est pouvoir. 4. Je pense, donc je suis. 5. Fais toujours de ton mieux même si personne ne regarde. 6. Il n’y a pas de raccourci pour aller là où ça vaut la peine d’aller. 7. Cent percent (100%) des choses qu’on ne tente pas échouent. 8. À vaillant coeur rien d’impossible. 9. À vaincre sans peril, on triomphe sans gloire. 10. Il vaut mieux prévenir que guérir. 11. En face de la mort, on comprend mieux la vie. 12. La vie est un beau rêve, mais ne vous réveillez pas. 13. L’eau fait pleurer, le vin fait chanter. 14. Mieux vaut être seul que mal accompagné. Quotes about Life & Struggles 1. Après la pluie, le beau temps. 2. Petit a petit, l’oiseau fait son nid. 3. Qui craint de souffrir, il souffre déjà de ce qu’il craint. 4. Qui court 2 lièvres à la fois, n’en prend aucun. 5. Qui n’avance pas, recule. 6. Il n’y a pas de verités moyennes. 7. Quand on a pas ce que l’on aime, il faut aimer ce que l’on a. 8. Nous sommes nos choix. 9. Ècrire, c’est une façon de parler sans être interrompu. 10. Le bonheur est parfois caché dans l’inconnu. 11. Chacun voit midi à sa porte. 12. La famille, c’est l’amour. C’est tout ce qui compte. 13. La famille avant tout. 14. Fromage, poire et vin,repas de vilain. 15. D’autres choses peuvent nous changer, mais nous commencer et finir comme une famille. 16. C’est cela l’amour, toutdonner, toutsacrifiersansespoirderetour. 17. Le vin est un lubrifiant social. 18. L’amour est exclusif, on ne peut aimer en plusieurs endroits à la fois. 19.On ne voit bien qu’avec le coeur. Quotes for Success 1. C’est toujours le bon moment. 2. Les chefs-d’oeuvre ne sont jamais que des tentatives heureuses. 3. Soyez le changement que vous voulez voir dans ce monde. 4. Vous n’êtes pas encore arrivés mais vous êtes plus proche qu’hier. 5. Peu importe la lenteur à laquelle vous allez tant que vous n’arrêtez pas. 6. Le meilleur moment pour planter un arbre était il y a 20 ans, le deuxième meilleur moment c’est maintenant. 7. Il vaut mieux faire que dire. 8. La parfaite valeur est de faire sans témoin ce qu’on serait capable de faire devant tout le monde. 9. Il ne faut pas attendre d’être parfait pour commencer quelque chose de bien. 10. Les portes de l’avenir sont ouvertes à ceux qui savent les pousser. 11. Imaginer, c’est choisir. 12. L’esprit s’enrichit de ce qu’il reçoit, le cœur de ce qu’il donne. 13. Pour exécuter de grandes choses, il faut vivre comme si on ne devait jamais mourir. 14. Si jeunesse savait, si vieillesse pouvait. 15. On n’apprend pas à nager à un canard. 16. Petit rusé, petit malin. 17. En été comme en hiver, qui quitte sa place la perd. 18. Une petite cause peut avoir de grands effets. 19. Les gens qui ne font rien manquent de temps pour tout. 20. Les confidences ne sont pas toujours des vérités. 21. En dépit du médecin, nous vivrons tous jusqu’à la mort. FAQs

Find the motivation with these French inspirational quotes that will delight and give that boost to get you to the next level.

(As an Amazon affiliate living in France, I may earn commissions on purchases. All information provided is for entertainment purposes only.)

There are days when you just need a bit of motivation. Whether you are working on the project of a lifetime, or the dog just ate your homework, it never hurts to have a little pick me up. With France boasting many great novelists and philosophers like Victor Hugo, Molière, and George Sand, there are a lot of fabulous French inspirational quotes that have been written and parsed over the centuries.

I’ve lived in France for more than 10 years and I have to note that some of these sayings and proverbs are so famous, it is difficult to identify who said them first. (Everybody likes to claim credit, you know!) So instead of concentrating attribution, I’ve tried to go deeper into the meaning.

Because sometimes you just need a little something to pep up and change your outlook. So allons-y!

Power Quotes for the Soul

1. Le bonheur n’est pas quelque chose de prêt à l’emploi. Il vient de vos propres actions.

Translation: Happiness is not something that comes out of a box (ready to use). It comes from your own actions.

Ahh, if only happiness came in a box with instructions! But until some ingenious entrepreneur comes up with that, it is time to come up with our own solutions.

2. On ne change pas une équipe qui gagne.

Translation: You don’t change a team that is winning.

If your team is winning, do you change strategies? The general consensus would be no, unless there is quite a good reason, of course.

☞ READ MORE: 21 French Quotes about Life (and what comes after)

3. Vouloir, c’est pouvoir.

Translation: To want is to be able.

This quote actually is much more inspiring in French, because “pouvoir” means “to be able”, but it also means “having power”.

Yes, you can do anything you put your mind to. Where there is a will, there is a way. The expression comes from a book by author Monique Sélim called Pouvoirs et marché au Vietnam: Les morts et l’État, about the war in Vietnam.

4. Je pense, donc je suis.

Translation: I think therefore I am.

Cogito, ergo sum was what French philosopher Rene Descartes originally declared in Latin in the 17th century. Bringing together philosophy, rationalism, and thought, the phrase has been translated into many languages and lives on to this day.

5. Fais toujours de ton mieux même si personne ne regarde.

Translation: Always do your best, even if no one is watching.

In other words, “If a tree fallsin the woods and no one is around, does it still make a sound?” Ultimately, you are doing things for yourself, so keep at it.

6. Il n’y a pas de raccourci pour aller là où ça vaut la peine d’aller.

Translation: There is no shortcut going anywhere that is worth going.

In other words, you’re not going to find an easy way to do something that is worth doing. Life has no shortcuts. Unless you are in Ikea, in which case a few shortcuts will definitely get you to the checkout a lot faster.

7. Cent percent (100%) des choses qu’on ne tente pas échouent.

Translation: You will fail at 100% of the things you don’t try.

Basically, you are never going to win the lottery, if you don’t play. Words to live by.

8. À vaillant coeur rien d’impossible.

Translation: For a brave heart, nothing is impossible.

I suppose the English equivalent is “nothing ventured, nothing gained”, although I think it sounds a bit more noble in French. And no, this French inspirational quote has nothing to do with Mel Gibson.

9. À vaincre sans peril, on triomphe sans gloire.

Translation: To conquer without peril, is to win without glory.

If it is too easy, we would not savor the victory. In other words, to win big, a little blood must be shed.

10. Il vaut mieux prévenir que guérir.

Translation: It is better to prevent than to try to cure.

Originally written in medieval latin, this expression has entered into the general lexicon in many countries. The English version would be “prevention is better than a cure.”

11. En face de la mort, on comprend mieux la vie.

Translation:In the face of death, we understand life better.

The declarations made on the deathbed, where it all becomes too clear. This French quote asks to look for clarity and the true essence of self beforehand.

12. La vie est un beau rêve, mais ne vous réveillez pas.

Translation:Life is a beautiful dream, but don’t wake up.

The beauty of life is celebrated in this French quote, with all the awe and wonder of every day lived well.

13. L’eau fait pleurer, le vin fait chanter.

Translation:Water makes one cry, wine makes one sing.

Why drink water when wine is available? An ode to wine. This quote harkens back to the the Middle Ages, when it was safer to drink wine and mead, rather than unpure water. You can read more French wine quotes here.

14. Mieux vaut être seul que mal accompagné.

Translation: Better alone than in a bad company.

A French saying that always holds true. Avoid those people in your life who bring you down.

54 French inspirational quotes: Proverbs to motivate & enjoy (with translation) (4)

Quotes about Life & Struggles

1. Après la pluie, le beau temps.

Translation: After the rain, comes the sunshine.

In the words of Little Orphan Annie: “The sun will come out tomorrow.Bet your bottom dollar”. You need a bit of rain to make a rainbow. The quote is based on the title of a book (link in French) writtenby the Countess of Ségur in1871. It isn’t the happiest of tales, hence the title.

2. Petit a petit, l’oiseau fait son nid.

Translation: Little by little, the bird makes his nest.

With plenty of perseverance, the little bird is working hard to build his nest. All you need is a bit of patience, and you too will make it.

Another French expression with the same sentiment is: “On ne fait pas d’omelette sans casser d’œufs.” meaning, we don’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs.” The equivalent English version would be: “Rome wasn’t built in a day.”

3. Qui craint de souffrir, il souffre déjà de ce qu’il craint.

Translation: He who fears suffering, suffers already of what he fears.

Writer Michel de Montaigne was known as one of the most significant philosophers of the French Renaissance. If you are afraid to achieve something, you are already suffering from that which you do not have.

4. Qui court 2 lièvres à la fois, n’en prend aucun.

Translation: The one who chases 2 hares at the same time, will catch neither.

Like the little kid chasing every rabbit he sees, you know he isn’t going to catch either. Concentrate on one goal at a time, and you may have better success.

5. Qui n’avance pas, recule.

Translation: He who doesn’t advance, goes in reverse.

You may think you are standing still, but effectively the world is still going round and you are losing ground. Rather similar to keeping money in a mattress, during a period of inflation.

6. Il n’y a pas de verités moyennes.

Translation: There are no half-truths.

For the politicians and would-be politicians out there that would like to wiggle out of giving the best answer.

7. Quand on a pas ce que l’on aime, il faut aimer ce que l’on a.

Translation: When one doesn’t have the one you love, you have to love what you have.

A lovely proverb to motivate you to love and value yourself, rather than putting yourself down. This quote says as much about the one you love, as it does about yourself.

☞ READ MORE: 24 French love quotes that will make your heart flutter.

8. Nous sommes nos choix.

Translation: We are our choices.

Taking ownership of our own actions, that’s what it is all about. Every decision, big or small, we are the ones that decide our fate.

9. Ècrire, c’est une façon de parler sans être interrompu.

Translation: To write, it is a way to speak without being interrupted – Jules Renard.

Sometimes you just need to put your thoughts on paper, to be able to say what you intend. To reflect, ponder, and put into words your deepest feelings and desires.

10. Le bonheur est parfois caché dans l’inconnu.

Translation: Happiness is sometimes hidden in the unknown.

You too can find your happiness, but it may depend on looking where you least expect it.

This French proverb combines well with Albert Einstein’s quote which is a bit more blunt: “The definition ofinsanity is doing the same thing over and over again, butexpecting different results.” Sometimes you just have to look/try somewhere else.

☞ READ MORE: 49 Famous Quotes about Paris

11. Chacun voit midi à sa porte.

Translation: Everyone sees noon at his door – Jacques d’Arribehaude

The English equivalent would be “a broken clock is still right twice a day.”

12. La famille, c’est l’amour. C’est tout ce qui compte.

Translation:Family, this is love. It’s all that matters.

By French philosopherLyne Ménard, this quote says it all. If your family is filled with love, what else do you need?

13. La famille avant tout.

Translation:Family before everything.

I’m not sure I want atattoo in French, but if I did, this one is perfect. Family first.

14. Fromage, poire et vin,repas de vilain.

Translation:Cheese, pear and wine, a meal for the poor.

Wine and cheese may not sound like a poor man’s meal, but in France where both are plentiful, it is a meal in itself.

☞ READ MORE: Funny and Interesting Quotes about France

15. D’autres choses peuvent nous changer, mais nous commencer et finir comme une famille.

Translation:Other things can change us, but we start and end like family.

Attributed to Anthony Brandt who originally said it in English, this French quote speaks to the circle of life. Family and those we hold dear, is who we spend the start of our days on this earth and the end (if we are lucky enough.)

16. C’est cela l’amour, toutdonner, toutsacrifiersansespoirderetour.

Translation: This is love, giving it one’s all, sacrificing everything without hope of it being returned.

Philosopher Albert Camus dives into the darker side of love with this French saying. He was married a couple of times, had many affairs, and won the Nobel prize for literature, so obviously knew what he was talking about.

(Note: If you are traveling through Provence, stop by the Château de Lourmarin to see where he wrote many of his most famous musings.)

17. Le vin est un lubrifiant social.

Translation:Wine is a social lubricant.

If you ever feel like a wallflower at a party, a sip of wine can always be counted on to reduce those nerves. As I said above, everything in moderation. (And that includes French wine sayings!) You can read moreFrench quotes about friendshiphere.

18. L’amour est exclusif, on ne peut aimer en plusieurs endroits à la fois.

Translation: Love is exclusive, you cannot make love in several places at the same time.

This proverb de Jules Labbé is a play on words for all those cheaters out there. You can read more about the French view of love-making here.

19.On ne voit bien qu’avec le coeur.

Translation: “We see well only with the heart.”

Can you see beyond what is visible? This beautiful quote by famed French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupery of Little Prince fame captures the sentiment of looking with one’s heart.

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Quotes for Success

1. C’est toujours le bon moment.

Translation: It is always a good time.

If you are wondering if now is a good time or not, rest assured it is. As the English version goes: “Never put off for tomorrow, what you can do today”.

The author of this quote is unknown, but it is inspired by Martin Luther King’s “The time is always right to do what is right” (“C’est toujours le bon moment de faire ce qui est juste.”)

2. Les chefs-d’oeuvre ne sont jamais que des tentatives heureuses.

Translation: The masterpieces are nothing but happy tentatives.

Written by the famous writer Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin, better known as George Sand, she points out that you never know when you will end up with a masterpiece. A work of art is achieved by trying.

3. Soyez le changement que vous voulez voir dans ce monde.

Translation: Be the change you want to see in the world.

This famous quote was originally said by Gandhi, before being translated into French. The famous line of President John F. Kennedy also comes to mind: “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.”

4. Vous n’êtes pas encore arrivés mais vous êtes plus proche qu’hier.

Translation: You haven’t arrived yet, but you are closer than yesterday – Anonymous.

I suppose the English version of this quote would be “Keep going, you can do it”! Not quite as poetic though.

☞ READ MORE: French Food Quotes: 21 Proverbs too delicious for words

5. Peu importe la lenteur à laquelle vous allez tant que vous n’arrêtez pas.

Translation: It doesn’t matter how slowly you are going, as long as you don’t stop – Anonymous.

The classic Aesop’s tale of the Tortoise and the Hare comes to mind with this motivational quote. You can read more French travel quotes here.

6. Le meilleur moment pour planter un arbre était il y a 20 ans, le deuxième meilleur moment c’est maintenant.

Translation: The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the 2nd best time is right now.

Yes a grown tree in that spot would have been nice. But planting that baby tree now is better than nothing! We all grow older and wiser, if we are lucky enough. The quote is based on a similar Chinese proverb that has been translated into French.

☞ READ MORE: 32 French Food Expressions: The Funniest Idioms about French Cuisine

7. Il vaut mieux faire que dire.

Translation: It is better to do, than to talk – Alfred de Musset.

In English, the equivalent saying would be: “You gotta walk the walk, rather than talk the talk.” Enough said.

8. La parfaite valeur est de faire sans témoin ce qu’on serait capable de faire devant tout le monde.

Translation: The perfect merit is to do without witness, that which you can do before all the world – François de La Rochefoucauld.

If no one can see your accomplishment, would you still do it? Would the victory still be as sweet. Questions to ask oneself, when debating pursuing a particular goal.

9. Il ne faut pas attendre d’être parfait pour commencer quelque chose de bien.

Translation: You don’t have to wait for it to be perfect before starting something good – Abbé Pierre.

As the saying goes, “better is the enemy of good”. You don’t need to be perfect in order to do something well. Sometimes, it pays to just have something that will be “good enough”.

Catholic priest and French resistance fighter Abbé Pierre said this famous saying, so you know he knew what he was talking about. After the war he started an international solidarity movementEmmaus, that still is active today.

10. Les portes de l’avenir sont ouvertes à ceux qui savent les pousser.

Translation: The door to the future is open to those who know how to push through them.

This quote is rather similar to a memorable phrase by Julie Andrews (Maria) in themovie Sound of Music: “where theLord closes a door, somewhere He opens a window.” Push through those doors, look for that open window, and take every opportunity that presents itself.

11. Imaginer, c’est choisir.

Translation: To imagine, it is to choose.

Choose to dream, choose to wish, and choose to make what is in your imagination real.

12. L’esprit s’enrichit de ce qu’il reçoit, le cœur de ce qu’il donne.

Translation: The spirit enriches with what it receives, the heart with what it gives.

Famed novelist Victor Hugo, the writer of Les Misérables andthe Hunchback of Notre-Dame, talks about fulfilling the soul with this beautiful proverb.

13. Pour exécuter de grandes choses, il faut vivre comme si on ne devait jamais mourir.

Translation: In order to achieve great things, we must live as though we were never going to die.

This French quote insists that we not be afraid to make a move. That that big leap and risk it all to win big.

14. Si jeunesse savait, si vieillesse pouvait.

Translation:If youth only knew, if age only could.

As the saying goes in English, youth is wasted on the young! Here is to looking for that eternal fountain of youth to power through.

15. On n’apprend pas à nager à un canard.

Translation: You can’t teach a duck to swim.

A proverb by Arnauld Oihenart, a politician from the Basque region, who isn’t sure you can teach a duck to swim like a fish. The English version would be “teach an old dog new tricks.”

16. Petit rusé, petit malin.

Translation: Quite cunning, quite clever.

An old French proverb, pointing out that to be a little cunning, you first have to be a bit clever.

17. En été comme en hiver, qui quitte sa place la perd.

Translation: In summer as in winter, whoever leaves his place loses it.

If you step out of the queue, you will lose your spot. A proverb by Marc-Antoine Désaugiers in his book Le dîner de Madelon (1813).

18. Une petite cause peut avoir de grands effets.

Translation: A small cause can have a big effect.

A lovely French quote about how little things can lead to something big. From Le recueil d’apophtegmes et axiomes (1855). The English version would be a “if abutterflyflaps its wings at just the right time in just the right place, it can cause ahurricanethousands of miles away.”

19. Les gens qui ne font rien manquent de temps pour tout.

Translation: People who do nothing, run out of time for everything.

From Le recueil d’apophtegmes et axiomes (1855), this proverb correctly assesses those do-nothings who then complain they have run out of time.

20. Les confidences ne sont pas toujours des vérités.

Translation: Confidences are not always truths.

This French proverb probably applies to a few politicians out there. Don’t always believe everything you hear.

21. En dépit du médecin, nous vivrons tous jusqu’à la mort.

Translation: With the lack of a doctor, we will all live to death.

For a bit of sarcasm, from the Petite encyclopédie des proverbes (1852), we have the undeniable truth, of living until death.

54 French inspirational quotes: Proverbs to motivate & enjoy (with translation) (18)

So have you found your inspiration in the quotes above? Comment below and let me know. You can find more interesting French quotes about food, wine, and love here. Because what is more inspiring than that!? A bientôt!

54 French inspirational quotes: Proverbs to motivate & enjoy (with translation) (2024)

FAQs

What is a positive French quote with English translation? ›

FrenchLa vie est une fleur dont l'amour est le miel.
Literally“Life is a flower of which love is the honey.”
Here's a quote from Victor Hugo, a French poet and novelist of the aforementioned Romantic movement.
Mar 4, 2021

What is the French saying about enjoying life? ›

Joie de vivre (/ˌʒwɑː də ˈviːv(rə)/ ZHWAH də VEEV(-rə), French: [ʒwa d(ə) vivʁ]; "joy of living") is a French phrase often used in English to express a cheerful enjoyment of life, an exultation of spirit, and general happiness.

What is a famous French quote? ›

Je pense, donc je suis.

This simple, yet powerful maxim is probably one of the most well-known French quotes as well as famous sayings in history. It's also well known in its Latin translation: “Cogito, ergo sum.” In English, we say “I think, therefore, I am.”

What is the French quote about success? ›

Le succès n'est pas final, l'échec n'est pas fatal: c'est le courage de continuer qui compte. Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.

What is the French quote for life is beautiful? ›

La vie est belle !

What is the French quote live life to the fullest? ›

Mangez bien, riez souvent, aimez beaucoup

Meaning: This saying is analogous to “Live life to the fullest” or carpe diem (seize the day)! Notice how mangez bien (eat well) is the first thing on the list—just one more reason why cooking to learn French is a great idea.

What is the French phrase joy for life? ›

Your joie de vivre is your delight in simply living your life. People who seem to enjoy life in a cheerful and spirited way are often described as having joie de vivre. This phrase, which literally means "joy of living" in French, is frequently used by English speakers.

What is a quote about enjoying life? ›

"Take it all one day at a time and enjoy the journey." –

Take a break, and remember that life only happens once. So, make it the best life ever.

What is a cool French saying? ›

5. Après la pluie, le beau temps. Literal translation: “After the rain, good weather.” Actual meaning: This is a way of telling someone “don't lose hope”.

What is a French quote on perseverance? ›

Petit à petit, l'oiseau fait son nid

(Little by little, the bird makes its nest). A metaphorical quote on perseverance. Every effort counts in the pursuit of one's goals. It might take time but the rewards will be worth it.

What is the famous slogan in France? ›

A legacy of the Age of Enlightenment, the motto "Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité" first appeared during the French Revolution. Although it was often called into question, it finally established itself under the Third Republic.

What is a French quote about happy life? ›

Famous French quotes on life.
  • Je pense, donc je suis. ...
  • A vaincre sans peril, on triomphe sans gloire. ...
  • Il faut bonne mémoire après au'on a menti. ...
  • Qui craint de souffrir, il souffre déjà de ce qu'il craint. ...
  • Il vaut mieux faire que dire. ...
  • Il n'y a qu'un bonheur dans la vie, c'est d'aimer et d'être aimé.
Jun 11, 2023

How to motivate someone in French? ›

  1. Tu peux le faire ! (s) You can do it!
  2. Qu'est ce que tu attends ? (s) What are you waiting for?
  3. Tu n'es pas tout seul. (s) You are not alone.
  4. Je suis si fier de toi ! (s) I'm so proud of you!
  5. Continue comme ça ! (e) Keep up the good work.
  6. N'abandonne pas ! (e) ...
  7. Continue de te battre ! (s) ...
  8. Ça vaut le coup d'essayer. (s)

What is the French quote for good luck? ›

Je touche du bois ! ʒə tuʃə dybwɑ ! I wish you good luck! Je vous/te souhaite bonne chance !

What are two positive opinion phrases in French? ›

Je pense que...
FrenchPronunciationMeaning
C'est bien.seh bee-uhnIt's good.
C'est magnifique.seh ma-nee-fee-kIt's gorgeous.
C'est mieux qu'avant.seh mee-ö k-a-vonIt's better than before.
C'est intéressant.seh t-uhn-teh-reh-sonIt's interesting.
5 more rows

What are popular French sayings in English? ›

French Phrases in English
French phrasemeaning
Bon voyage!Have a good trip!
Ça ne fait rien.It doesn't matter.
café au lait, cafés au laitcoffee with milk; white coffee
carte blanchecomplete freedom to choose the course of action you think best
60 more rows

What is the meaning of La Vie Est Belle? ›

La vie est belle translation in English Life is beautiful.

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