/sɑ̃tɑ̃dʁ kɔm ʃjɛ̃ e ʃa/ lit. ‘to get on like dog and cat’
French idiom, everyday. Two people who are always arguing.
Draft Not yet checked by a native French speaker.
How do people use S’entendre comme chien et chat
?
Everyday French for siblings, couples, colleagues or neighbors who can’t be in a room without sparks. The ironic “s’entendre” (get on) is the classic verb, but être, vivre and se disputer all work. It’s said about two people or two groups, so it’s almost always plural: “ils s’entendent comme chien et chat”.
Also said être comme chien et chat, vivre comme chien et chat, se disputer comme chien et chat
S’entendre comme chien et chat
in real sentences
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Ils s’entendent comme chien et chat.
They get along like a cat and a dog.
Tatoeba, sentence by felix63, translation by CM, CC BY 2.0 FR
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Ils se disputent comme chien et chat.
They fight like cat and dog.
Tatoeba, sentence by sacredceltic, translation by lukaszpp, CC BY 2.0 FR
Where does S’entendre comme chien et chat
come from?
It rests on the old belief that dogs and cats are natural enemies. French Wiktionary says it first appeared in the 16th century as the ironic “être amis comme le chien et le chat” (to be friends like the dog and the cat) and took its current shape in the 17th. Its oldest quotation in the modern sense is from 1840.
Mistakes learners make with S’entendre comme chien et chat
Putting the cat first and adding articles, after the English “like cats and dogs”. French says “comme chien et chat”: dog first, no le or les.
Other French idioms like S’entendre comme chien et chat
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?
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