Languages › French Idiomatic French Expressions with Pain Share Flipboard Email Print Krystal Kenney/EyeEm/Getty Images French Vocabulary Pronunciation & Conversation Grammar Resources For Teachers By ThoughtCo Updated January 16, 2020 The French word le pain literally means "bread" and is also used in many idiomatic expressions. Learn how to say worthless, bankrupt, godsend, and more with this list of expressions with pain. Possible Meanings of Un Pain Loaf (of bread)Bar (of wax)Bar, cake (of soap)Block (of ice) Expressions with Pain Un arbre à pain: Breadfruit treeNotre pain quotidien (religion): Our daily breadLe pain et le vin (religion): The bread and winePain d'abeilles: Bee breadPain d'autel (religion): HostPain béni(t): Consecrated breadPain brûlé (adjective): Deep golden brownPain eucharistique: EucharistPain grillé: ToastUn pain de légumes/poisson/etc.: Vegetable/fish/etc. loafUne planche à pain: Breadboard; (informal) flat-chested womanUne tête en pain de sucre: Egg-shaped headÁ la mie de pain (informal): Worthless, inconsistentBon comme (du) bon pain: Good like good bread (extremely good)Long comme un jour sans pain (informal): InterminablePour une bouchée de pain (informal): Cheap, for a songPour un morceau de pain (informal): Cheap, for a sonAvoir du pain sur la planche (informal): To have a lot to do, have a lot on one's plate, have one's work cut outAvoir peur de manquer de pain: To be worried about the futureAvoir son pain cuit: To be rich; to be condemnedEnlever à quelqu'un le pain de la bouche: To deprive someoneÊtre à l'eau et au pain sec: To be bankrupt; to be given only bread and waterÊtre bon comme le pain: To be extremely goodFaire de quelque chose son pain quotidien: To make something a habitFaire passer le goût du pain à quelqu'un (informal): To do someone in, to killFaire perdre le goût du pain à quelqu'un (informal): To do someone in, to killGagner son pain: To make a livingManger son pain blanc (informal): To be in a good situation temporarilyManger son pain noir (informal): To be in a bad situation temporarilyManger son pain en son sac (informal): To eat secretly / on the slyManger un pain trempé de larmes: To pay a lot for somethingNe pas manger de ce pain-là (informal): To avoid profiting from a sticky or illegal situationMettre un pain à quelqu'un (informal): To punch/sock someoneMettre quelqu'un au pain sec: To punish someone by giving them only bread to eatNul pain sans peine: No pain, no gainÔter le goût du pain à quelqu'un (informal): To do someone in, to killÔter le pain de la bouche de quelqu'un: To deprive someoneSe prendre un pain (informal): To get punched or socked oneRetirer le pain de la bouche de quelqu'un: To deprive someoneSavoir de quel côté son pain est beurré (informal): To know what side your bread is buttered on (to be opportunistic)Tremper son pain de larmes: To be in despairSe vendre comme des petits pains (informal): To sell very quickly, sell like hotcakesVendre son pain avant qu'il ne soit cuit (informal): To be presumptuous, count one's chickens before they're hatchedNe pas vivre que de pain: To not be materialisticÇa ne mange pas de pain. (informal): It's not expensive, It's not important.C'est mon gagne-pain. (informal): It's my job, It's how I make a living.C'est pain béni(t). (informal): It's a godsend.Donnez-nous aujourd'hui notre pain quotidien.: Give us this day our daily bread.Il a plus de la moitié de son pain cuit.: He won't live long.Il pleure le pain qu'il mange.: He's stingy.Il reste du pain sur la planche.: There's still a lot to do.Il ne vaut pas le pain qu'il mange. (informal): He is lazy.Je vais au pain. (informal): I'm going to get the bread. French Bread Related Expressions There are a lot of different kinds of French bread — here are some of the most common. Gros pain: Bread sold by weightPain azyme: Unleavened breadPain béni(t): Consecrated breadPain bis: Brown breadPain de boulanger: Baker's breadPain brié: Hard-crusted, very dense bread from NormandyPain de campagne: Farmhouse bread, country breadPain à chanter: Unleavened breadPain au chocolat: Chocolate croissantPain complet: Wholewheat / wholemeal breadPain doré: French toastPain dur: Dry breadPain d'épices: GingerbreadPain (de) fantaisie: Bread sold by the piece rather than by weightPain frais: Fresh breadPain français (in Belgium): Any long loaf of breadPain de Gênes: Sponge cake with almondsPain grillé: ToastPain de gruau: Vienna breadPain au lait: Sweet roll/bunPain au levain: Traditionally leavened breadPain long: Any long, cylindrical bread like a baguettePain de ménage: Homemade breadPain de mie: Sandwich bread (with a thin crust)Pain mollet: Type of bread roll made with milkPain moulé: Bread cooked in a pan rather than directly on the oven rackPain parisien: Long loaf of bread weighing 400 gramsPain perdu: French toastPain polka: Bread marked with squaresPain quotidien: Everyday breadPain aux raisins: Raisin DanishPain rassis: Stale breadPain de seigle: Rye breadPain de son: Bran breadPain de sucre: SugarloafUn petit pain: Bread roll Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation ThoughtCo. "Idiomatic French Expressions with Pain." ThoughtCo, Aug. 27, 2020, thoughtco.com/french-expressions-with-pain-1368696. ThoughtCo. (2020, August 27). Idiomatic French Expressions with Pain. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/french-expressions-with-pain-1368696 ThoughtCo. "Idiomatic French Expressions with Pain." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/french-expressions-with-pain-1368696 (accessed February 27, 2021). copy citation