Comme un poisson hors de l’eau

How do people use Comme un poisson hors de l’eau?

Everyday French and identical to the English picture, which makes it an easy one. It usually follows “se sentir” or “être”: “je me sentais comme un poisson hors de l’eau”, “il est comme un poisson hors de l’eau”. Use it for a new job, a party where you know nobody, or a city kid on a farm.

Also said comme le poisson hors de l’eau, être comme un poisson hors de l’eau

Comme un poisson hors de l’eau in real sentences

• Dans cette boîte, je me sentais comme un poisson hors de l’eau.

  I felt like a fish out of water at that company.

  Tatoeba, sentence by gasche, CC BY 2.0 FR

• Il est, pour ainsi dire, comme un poisson hors de l’eau.

  He’s like a fish out of water, so to speak.

  Tatoeba, sentence by sacredceltic, CC BY 2.0 FR

Where does Comme un poisson hors de l’eau come from?

The image explains itself: a fish pulled from the water flops about, helpless. French Wiktionary lists “comme le poisson hors de l’eau” as the headword and cites the Académie française dictionary (8th edition, 1930s) for it, but gives no date of first use. The same picture exists in English, German, Spanish and Italian, and no source I found says which language had it first.

Mistakes learners make with Comme un poisson hors de l’eau

Mixing it up with its opposite. “Comme un poisson dans l’eau” (like a fish in water) means completely at home, so one little word flips the meaning.

Other French idioms like Comme un poisson hors de l’eau

• comme un chien dans un jeu de quilles (like a dog in a game of skittles)
• comme un cheveu sur la soupe (like a hair in the soup)
• mal à l’aise (ill at ease)