Learn French with Stromae phrases and words in English
Stromae turns everyday French melancholy into music you can't stop humming — and his lyrics are packed with real, spoken French you'll actually use. These phrases teach you how the French talk about dancing away their problems, absent fathers, love gone wrong, and just getting through the week. Learn them and you'll not only sing along to Alors on danse and Papaoutai — you'll sound like someone who really speaks the language.
10 phrases · meanings & example sentences
“Alors on danse”
Literally "So we dance" — the hook of Stromae's breakout hit about drowning your worries on the dancefloor. The little word "alors" (so/then/well) is one of the most useful connectors in spoken French, used to link cause and consequence or just to start a sentence. "On" here means "we" in casual speech (grammatically it's "one," but nobody uses "nous" in conversation). The whole phrase captures a very French mood: when life piles up, you shrug and dance anyway. Master "alors" and "on" and you've got the backbone of everyday French.
- Il pleut ? Alors on reste à la maison. — It's raining? So we're staying home.
- Alors, on fait quoi ce soir ? — So, what are we doing tonight?
- La semaine a été dure, alors on danse. — The week was rough, so we dance.
“Où t'es ? / Où es-tu ?”
The heartbreaking refrain of Papaoutai — "Papa où t'es ?" means "Dad, where are you?", a song about growing up with an absent father. "Où t'es ?" is the casual spoken version of "Où es-tu ?" (where are you?), with "tu es" crushed into "t'es" the way real French flows. You'll text this constantly to friends running late. Learning both forms teaches you the crucial gap between textbook French and how people actually speak. The song's title literally smashes "papa où t'es" into one word — very Stromae.
- T'es où ? On t'attend au bar. — Where are you? We're waiting at the bar.
- Où es-tu née ? — Where were you born?
- Papa, où t'es ? — Dad, where are you?
“Tous les mêmes”
"All the same" — the title of Stromae's song where he switches between a woman's and a man's voice to mock how each accuses the other in relationships ("vous les hommes êtes tous les mêmes" — you men are all the same). It's a phrase you'll hear in any French argument or gossip session about exes, politicians, or annoying people. "Tous" (all) and "mêmes" (same) are everyday vocabulary, and the construction teaches you how French makes sweeping generalizations. Wonderfully useful for playful complaining.
- Les politiciens ? Tous les mêmes ! — Politicians? All the same!
- Vous êtes tous les mêmes, vous les garçons. — You're all the same, you boys.
- On a commandé la même chose, comme toujours. — We ordered the same thing, as always.
“Formidable”
Stromae's aching song about a breakup where he plays a drunk man slurring "Tu étais formidable, j'étais fort minable" — "You were wonderful, I was pathetic," a brilliant pun since "formidable" and "fort minable" sound almost identical. "Formidable" means great/wonderful/terrific and is used constantly in real French, often warmly or with a touch of irony. It's a false friend for English speakers — it doesn't mean "formidable/intimidating," it means fantastic. Learn it and you have the perfect everyday compliment.
- Le repas était formidable, merci ! — The meal was wonderful, thank you!
- Elle a fait un travail formidable. — She did a fantastic job.
- Tu étais formidable, j'étais fort minable. — You were wonderful, I was pathetic.
“J'en ai marre”
"I'm fed up" — the exhausted heartbeat under so many Stromae songs about being sick of the daily grind and heartbreak. Literally it's closer to "I've had my fill of it," and it's THE go-to phrase for expressing frustration in casual French, from a bad day at work to a whining kid. The "en" is a little pronoun standing in for "of it/of that," a tricky but essential feature of French you'll meet everywhere. Say it with a sigh and you instantly sound native.
- J'en ai marre de ce boulot. — I'm fed up with this job.
- Marre de la pluie ! — So done with the rain!
- Il en a marre d'attendre. — He's fed up with waiting.
“C'est la vie”
"That's life" — the shrug at the core of Stromae's whole worldview, and the title of one of his songs about ordinary people carrying quiet burdens. It's the French way of accepting what you can't change, said with a mix of resignation and warmth. Though English borrowed it, in France it's genuine everyday speech, not a cliché. "C'est" (it is/that is) is the single most useful construction in French — learn to hear it and you unlock half of spoken conversation.
- J'ai raté le train, mais bon, c'est la vie. — I missed the train, but oh well, that's life.
- C'est la vie d'artiste. — That's the artist's life.
- On a perdu, c'est la vie, on rejouera. — We lost, that's life, we'll play again.
“Santé”
Stromae's comeback single Santé is a toast to the invisible workers who keep the party running — waiters, cleaners, cab drivers. "Santé" literally means "health," and it's what the French say when clinking glasses, exactly like "cheers." It's one of the first words you'll actually need at a French table, and the song reframes it as a thank-you to people we usually overlook. Simple, warm, and instantly practical whenever there's a drink in your hand.
- Santé ! À notre amitié. — Cheers! To our friendship.
- Il faut prendre soin de sa santé. — You have to take care of your health.
- Levons nos verres, santé ! — Let's raise our glasses, cheers!
“L'enfer”
Stromae's raw song L'enfer is about suicidal thoughts and the quiet struggles people hide — "j'ai parfois eu des pensées suicidaires" over an upbeat beat. "L'enfer" means "hell," and in everyday French it's used exactly like in English to describe anything unbearable: traffic, a commute, a bad day. It also teaches you the definite article "le/la" contracting to "l'" before a vowel, a core rule you'll use nonstop. A heavy origin, but a genuinely common everyday word.
- Le métro à 8h, c'est l'enfer. — The metro at 8am is hell.
- Cette semaine, c'était l'enfer au travail. — This week was hell at work.
- L'enfer, c'est les autres. — Hell is other people.
“Peut-être”
"Maybe / perhaps" — the hesitant word that runs through Stromae's lyrics whenever he weighs love, doubt, and what-ifs. Literally it's "can-be" (peut + être), a lovely window into how French builds meaning from small pieces. It's indispensable in daily conversation for softening answers, dodging commitment, or being politely noncommittal — very French. Once you can say "peut-être" naturally, you can navigate almost any invitation you're not sure about.
- Tu viens ce soir ? — Peut-être, je te dis plus tard. — Are you coming tonight? — Maybe, I'll let you know.
- Peut-être qu'il a raison. — Maybe he's right.
- C'est peut-être mieux comme ça. — Maybe it's better this way.
“Ça va, ça vient”
"It comes and goes" — an expression that fits Stromae's recurring theme of moods and troubles that ebb and flow, from dancing highs to quiet lows. Literally "it goes, it comes," it's used for anything that fluctuates: your energy, business, a passing pain, feelings. It builds on "ça va" (the first French phrase everyone learns), showing how the same tiny words stretch into new meaning. A poetic-sounding phrase that's actually pure everyday speech.
- Comment vont les affaires ? — Ça va, ça vient. — How's business? — It comes and goes.
- Ma motivation, ça va, ça vient. — My motivation comes and goes.
- La douleur, ça va, ça vient. — The pain comes and goes.
