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 Team Updated on 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 tree Notre pain quotidien (religion): Our daily bread Le pain et le vin (religion): The bread and wine Pain d'abeilles: Bee bread Pain d'autel (religion): Host Pain béni(t): Consecrated bread Pain brûlé (adjective): Deep golden brown Pain eucharistique: Eucharist Pain grillé: Toast Un pain de légumes/poisson/etc.: Vegetable/fish/etc. loaf Une planche à pain: Breadboard; (informal) flat-chested woman Une tête en pain de sucre: Egg-shaped head Á la mie de pain (informal): Worthless, inconsistent Bon comme (du) bon pain: Good like good bread (extremely good) Long comme un jour sans pain (informal): Interminable Pour une bouchée de pain (informal): Cheap, for a song Pour un morceau de pain (informal): Cheap, for a son Avoir du pain sur la planche (informal): To have a lot to do, have a lot on one's plate, have one's work cut out Avoir peur de manquer de pain: To be worried about the future Avoir son pain cuit: To be rich; to be condemned Enlever à quelqu'un le pain de la bouche: To deprive someone Être à l'eau et au pain sec: To be bankrupt; to be given only bread and water Être bon comme le pain: To be extremely good Faire de quelque chose son pain quotidien: To make something a habit Faire passer le goût du pain à quelqu'un (informal): To do someone in, to kill Faire perdre le goût du pain à quelqu'un (informal): To do someone in, to kill Gagner son pain: To make a living Manger son pain blanc (informal): To be in a good situation temporarily Manger son pain noir (informal): To be in a bad situation temporarily Manger son pain en son sac (informal): To eat secretly / on the sly Manger un pain trempé de larmes: To pay a lot for something Ne pas manger de ce pain-là (informal): To avoid profiting from a sticky or illegal situation Mettre un pain à quelqu'un (informal): To punch/sock someone Mettre quelqu'un au pain sec: To punish someone by giving them only bread to eat Nul pain sans peine: No pain, no gain Ôter le goût du pain à quelqu'un (informal): To do someone in, to kill Ôter le pain de la bouche de quelqu'un: To deprive someone Se prendre un pain (informal): To get punched or socked one Retirer le pain de la bouche de quelqu'un: To deprive someone Savoir 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 despair Se vendre comme des petits pains (informal): To sell very quickly, sell like hotcakes Vendre son pain avant qu'il ne soit cuit (informal): To be presumptuous, count one's chickens before they're hatched Ne pas vivre que de pain: To not be materialistic Ça 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 Team, ThoughtCo. "Idiomatic French Expressions with Pain." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/french-expressions-with-pain-1368696. Team, ThoughtCo. (2023, April 5). Idiomatic French Expressions with Pain. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/french-expressions-with-pain-1368696 Team, ThoughtCo. "Idiomatic French Expressions with Pain." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/french-expressions-with-pain-1368696 (accessed June 9, 2023). copy citation