/la ʃɛʁ də pul/ lit. ‘hen flesh’
French idiom, everyday. Small bumps on the skin caused by cold, fear or a strong emotion.
Draft Not yet checked by a native French speaker.
How do people use La chair de poule
?
Everyday French, used by everyone. You “avoir la chair de poule” (j’ai la chair de poule), and something “donne la chair de poule”; in casual speech “ça me file la chair de poule”. Like the English word, it covers cold, fear and the good shivers you get from music.
La chair de poule
in real sentences
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J’ai la chair de poule.
I’ve got goose bumps.
Tatoeba, sentence by Micsmithel, translation by CK, CC BY 2.0 FR
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Ça me donne la chair de poule.
It gives me the shivers.
Tatoeba, sentence by lbdx, translation by astyng, CC BY 2.0 FR
Where does La chair de poule
come from?
Chair de poule is literally hen’s flesh. English Wiktionary explains the English goose bump by the bumps on the skin of a plucked goose, and the French phrase evidently works the same way with a hen, though French sources don’t spell it out or give a date. Many languages chose a bird here: German Gänsehaut (goose skin), Spanish piel de gallina (hen skin), Dutch kippenvel (chicken skin).
Mistakes learners make with La chair de poule
Bringing a goose into it. English has goose bumps and German has Gänsehaut, but the French bird is a hen, so “chair d’oie” or “peau d’oie” means nothing.
Other French idioms like La chair de poule
Spot a mistake in La chair de poule
?
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