French Word of the Day: Patte

From an artist's touch to landing on your feet - this French word is used in many different French expressions.

This French word doesn't exclusively mean an animal's paw - and it's actually used in many different expressions.

The word patte , roughly pronounced paht (listen here ), has several meanings. The first one that comes to mind is an animal's paw, leg or foot. But unlike English, patte can refer to the entire limb of many animals, not just the paw itself.

In casual speech, patte can jokingly refer to a person's leg or foot. You might hear people say j'ai mal à la patte (my leg hurts).

Une belle patte - This literally translates to "having a beautiful paw", but it's actually used to describe someone who has nice handwriting. By extension, la patte de quelqu'un means their personal stamp or recognisable style.

Example: On reconnaît la patte du réalisateur. - You can recognise the director's touch.

Montrer patte blanche - Literally: to show a white paw. But it means to prove your identity before being admitted somewhere.

Example: Les journalistes ont dû montrer patte blanche avant d'assister à la réunion. - The journalists had to prove who they were before attending the meeting.

Imposer sa patte - This expression means to impose your personal style or leave your mark on something. It is often used for artists, writers, chefs, designers, directors, managers, or politicians whose work has a distinctive identity.

Example: Les 100 jours d’Emmanuel Grégoire : verticalité, hyper-proximité… Sur tous les fronts, le maire de Paris impose sa patte ( Le Parisien ) - Emmanuel Grégoire’s first 100 days: a top-down approach, hyper-proximity… On all fronts, the Mayor of Paris is making his mark

Retomber sur ses pattes - This means to land on your feet or to come out of a difficult situation unscathed. The image comes from cats, which often manage to land on their feet when they fall.

Example: Malgré la faillite de son entreprise, il est retombé sur ses pattes . - Despite his company's bankruptcy, he landed on his feet.

À quatre pattes - This expression means to be on all fours, used literally when someone is crawling with both hands and knees on the ground.

Example: Le bébé se déplace à quatre pattes. - The baby is crawling on all fours.

Se tirer des pattes de quelqu'un - To get rid of someone, to free yourself from someone's company. The idea is that someone is sticking to you so persistently that you can't get them off your paws.

Example: Enfin, je me suis tiré de ses pattes ! - I finally got rid of him!

Tirer dans les pattes de quelqu'un - This means to undermine someone or to try to bring someone down. It is often used in politics, the workplace, or competitive situations.

Example: Pendant la campagne électorale, les candidats se sont tirés dans les pattes. - During the election campaign, the candidates spent their time attacking each other.

The French word patte , although pronounced the same, shouldn't be confused with the word pâte, which means dough or pasta.