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French Expression of the Day: Il n'y a pas mort d'homme

The Local France
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French Expression of the Day: Il n'y a pas mort d'homme
Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond"

This might come in handy if you're listening to someone endlessly complaining or moaning.

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Why do I need to know il n'y a pas mort d'homme?

Because some people love to make things out to be worse than they are. 

What does it mean?

It is a way of saying 'it is not so bad' or 'it is not the end of the world'. 

It is an expression that you would use when you feel someone is exaggerating the severity of a situation. 

Il n'y a pas mort d'homme is pronounced: 'eel knee yah pah more dom' and literally translates as 'no-one has died'.

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A new podcast titled Y'a pas mort d'homme, has explored sexism in the world of French politics. The title is a riff on the expression's literal meaning: 'no man has died'.

READ ALSO Why has there never been a female president of France?

The first programme features an interview with the first - and only - female Prime Minister of France, Edith Cresson. She gives a harrowing account of her time in office and the resistance she ran into as a woman. If you haven't listened already, it is well worth your time. 

Use it like this

L'équipe de France a perdu le match, mais il n'y a pas mort d'homme - The French team lost, but it is not the end of the world

On est en retard, mais il n'y a pas mort d'homme - We are running late but it is not a disaster 

Certes, il n'y a pas mort d'homme - For sure, it is not so bad

Synonyms 

Il n'y a pas là de quoi fouetter un chat (literal meaning: there is nothing worth whipping a cat for) 

Ce n'est pas la mort du petit cheval (literal meaning: it is not the death of the little horse)

Ce n'est pas si grave 

 

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Anonymous 2021/11/25 10:56
Would "Personne n'est mort" do instead?
Anonymous 2021/11/24 18:13
Another way in English: "Nobody died."

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