French expression of the day: Tu parles !

Why do I need to know tu parles?

A good French expression to know as you might hear it in response to something you’ve said.

What does it mean?

Literally, tu parles, roughly pronounced tuh parl (listen here), means ‘you’re speaking/you speak’, for example tu parles anglais – you speak English, using the familiar ‘tu‘ form of you.

But when used as an interjection, tu parles! is a way of expressing incredulity or disbelief.

The best English translation is perhaps the expression ‘no way’, but it can also mean ‘you must be kidding’, ‘you’re having a laugh’, ‘yeah right ’, and ‘what a load of rubbish’.

French people will often use it when they don’t agree with you, or are sceptical about something you said or perhaps when they are acknowledging your joke or an ironic remark.

Here are some examples:

Les hommes politiques sont tous honnêtes. Tu parles ! – Politicians are all honest people. Yeah, right, you’re having a laugh!

Ta belle-mère a l’air d’être une personne très gentille.  Tu parles ! Elle me déteste depuis le début – Your mother-in-law seems like a really nice person. Yeah right! She hated me right from the beginning.

Si on part maintenant, je pense qu’on arrivera à temps.  Tu parles! Tu as oublié qu’il y a la grève? – If we leave now, I’m sure we will get there on time. No way! Have you forgotten that there’s a strike going on?

Synonyms

There is no vous-version of tu parles, so the expression is too colloquial to be used in front of your boss or in formal settings.

You could use vous rigolez (you must be joking) or laissez-moi rire (you’re kidding me) if you want a formal response to someone you don’t agree with.

Other expressions similar to tu parles that don’t include a first-person pronoun are the more formal mon oeil (‘my eye’) or the (very) colloquial mon cul (‘my ass’). 

Another option is foutaise, which can be translated as ‘crap’ or ‘bullshit’. But as you can see from the translation, you should be a little cautious when using it.