Languages › French Meaning of the French Idiom "La Lune de Miel" - Honeymoon Share Flipboard Email Print Florin Prunoiu/GettyImages French Vocabulary Pronunciation & Conversation Grammar Resources For Teachers By Camille Chevalier-Karfis Camille Chevalier-Karfis French Language Expert Camille is a teacher and author of many French audiobooks and audio lessons on modern spoken French. She co-created and runs French Today, offering original audio for adult students. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on January 22, 2020 The French expression "la lune de miel" is a sweet one (pun intended). "Le miel" means honey in French, so the literal translation is moon of honey. Originally, this expression refers to the lunar month which follows a wedding, a time when the newlyweds are crazy in love, and all is perfect and sweet, just like honey. La lune de miel = le voyage de noces = honeymoon. Just like in English, this expression is used to describe the honeymoon trip. In French, the typical expression for this trip is "le voyage de noces" = the trip of wedding, "les noces" being an older French term to say "le mariage" - the marriage (note, one R in French though), the wedding. Ils ont passé leur lune de miel à Paris : comme c'est romantique !They spent their honeymoon in Paris: how romantic! We usually use partir (to leave) or passer (to spend) with this expression. Tu es partie où en lune de miel?Where did you spend your honeymoon? Où avez-vous passé votre lune de miel?Where did you spend your honeymoon? As far as I know, we don't have a word for honeymooners. We'd say: "les gens qui vont en voyage de noces" - people that go on a honeymoon. La lune de miel = best moment of a relationship. Figuratively, "la lune de miel" refers to the high point of a relationship and often implies that things went downhill after that. Moi qui pensais aimer mon nouveau boulot.... Je me suis disputée avec ma collègue hier. Finie la lune de miel ! Me who thought I liked my new job... I had an argument with my coworker yesterday. The honeymoon is over. Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Chevalier-Karfis, Camille. "Meaning of the French Idiom "La Lune de Miel" - Honeymoon." ThoughtCo, Aug. 26, 2020, thoughtco.com/la-lune-de-miel-honeymoon-1368640. Chevalier-Karfis, Camille. (2020, August 26). Meaning of the French Idiom "La Lune de Miel" - Honeymoon. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/la-lune-de-miel-honeymoon-1368640 Chevalier-Karfis, Camille. "Meaning of the French Idiom "La Lune de Miel" - Honeymoon." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/la-lune-de-miel-honeymoon-1368640 (accessed March 23, 2023). copy citation