| English | French | Literal translation |
|---|
| An apple a day keeps the doctor away. | Il vaut mieux aller au moulin qu'au médecin. | It's better to go to the mill than to the doctor. |
| A bad workman blames his tools. | À mauvais ouvrier point de bons outils. | To a bad worker no good tools. |
| Beggars can't be choosers. | Nécessité fait loi. | Necessity makes law |
| Clothes don't make the person. | L'habit ne fait pas le moine. | The habit doesn't make the monk. |
| Don't judge a book by its cover. | Il ne faut pas juger les gens sur la mine. | One shouldn't judge people on their appearance. |
| Do your work well and never mind the critics. | Bien faire et laisser dire. | Do well and let (them) speak. |
| Every Jack has his Jill. | Il n'est si méchant pot qui ne trouve son couvercle. | There's no such mean jar that can't find his lid. |
| Givers of advice don't pay the price. | Les conseilleurs ne sont pas les payeurs. | Dispensers of advice are not the payers. |
| A guilty conscience needs no accuser. | Qui s'excuse, s'accuse. | He who excuses himself accuses himself. |
| Heaven helps those who help themselves. | Aide-toi, le ciel t'aidera. | Help yourself, heaven will help you. |
| Honor to whom honor is due. | À tout seigneur tout honneur. | |
| In the kingdom of the blind the one-eyed man is king. | Au royaume des aveugles les borgnes sont rois. | |
| It's better to talk to the organ-grinder than the monkey. | Il vaut mieux s'adresser à Dieu qu'à ses saints. | It's better to address God that his saints. |
| A man's home is his castle. | Charbonnier est maître chez lui. | A coalman is master at home. |
| The miser's son is a spendthrift. | À père avare fils prodigue. | To a stingy father prodigal son. |
| New converts are the most pious. | Quand le diable devient vieux, il se fait ermite. | When the devil gets old, he turns into a hermit. |
| No man is a prophet in his own country. | Nul n'est prophète en son pays. | |
| Opportunity makes a thief. | L'occasion fait le larron. | |
| The rich man is the one who pays his debts. | Qui paie ses dettes s'enrichit. | He who pays his debts gets richer. |
| Robbing Peter to pay Paul. | Il ne sert à rien de déshabiller Pierre pour habiller Paul. | It serves no purpose to undress Peter to dress Paul. |
| The shoemaker's son always goes barefoot. | Les cordonniers sont toujours les plus mal chaussés. | Shoemakers are always the worst shod. |
| The sky is the limit. | Tout soldat a dans son sac son batôn de maréchal. | Every soldier has his marshall's baton in his bag. |
| To err is human | L'erreur est humaine | The error is human |
| To know a friend is to respect him. | Comme on connaît ses saints, on les honore. | As one knows his saints, one honors them. |
| Too many cooks spoil the broth. | Autant de têtes, autant d'avis. Deux patrons font chavirer la barque. | So many heads, so many opinions. Two bosses capsize the boat |
| The tree is known by its fruit. | C'est au pied du mur qu'on voit le maçon. | It's at the foot of the wall that you see the mason. |
| A word to the wise is enough. | À bon entendeur, salut. | To a good listener, safety. |
| You can tell an artist by his handiwork. | À l'oeuvre on reconnaît l'artisan. | By his work one recognizes the workman. |
