Word of the Week:
Bonsoir my lovely readers!
I bring this to you from a hiking holiday in the Lake District (where, true to form, I’ve been doing a lot more eating than hiking! 😆)
This week, we have ‘on n’a rien sans rien’ – or what I now plan to keep on saying to myself to keep sane in times of stress 👍👍
How to pronounce it:
Ohn nahh ree-ahhn sahn ree-ahhn.
What it means in English:
Although it literally means ‘you have nothing without nothing’, it’s often translated into English as ‘no pain, no gain.’
According to Internaute, the expression originated in the fifteenth century.
And this entry on Wiktionary explains that ‘on n’a rien’ is used to describe a situation where you don’t get anything out of it without putting in effort or making an exchange or a sacrifice.
How to use it in a sentence:
‘Eh bien, j’ai fait deux heures de musculation à la salle de sport aujourd’hui – on n’a rien sans rien !’
English translation:
‘I did two hours of bodybuilding at the gym today – no pain, no gain!’
Similar words:
Qui ne risque rien n’a rien = Nothing ventured, nothing gained (literally, ‘who risks nothing has nothing.’)
On n’a rien sans effort = Literally, ‘you don’t have anything without effort.’
How about you? What are your favourite French words or expressions? Let me know on here 🙂
And have a look on more Words of the Week with this handy link here.
Bonne semaine à toutes et à tous ! 😊
French Affliction 