FrenchFaire d'une pierre deux coups
Meaning: To kill two birds with one stone.
Literally: To make two blows with one stone
Example: “En passant à la poste, je ferai d'une pierre deux coups et j'achèterai du pain.” — When I stop by the post office, I'll kill two birds with one stone and buy some bread.
English equivalent: To kill two birds with one stone
Equivalents in other languages
Korean: 꿩 먹고 알 먹고 (Kkwong meokgo al meokgo) Literally: Eating the pheasant and its egg too
Italian: Prendere due piccioni con una fava Literally: To catch two pigeons with one fava bean
Indonesian: Sambil menyelam minum air Literally: While diving, drink water
Chinese: 一箭双雕 (Yī jiàn shuāng diāo) Literally: One arrow, two hawks
English: kill two birds with one stone
Spanish: Matar dos pájaros de un tiro Literally: To kill two birds with one shot
Japanese: 一石二鳥 (Isseki nichō) Literally: One stone, two birds
German: Zwei Fliegen mit einer Klappe schlagen Literally: To swat two flies with one swatter
Dutch: Twee vliegen in één klap slaan Literally: To swat two flies in one blow
Polish: Upiec dwie pieczenie na jednym ogniu Literally: To roast two roasts on one fire
Portuguese: Matar dois coelhos com uma cajadada só Literally: To kill two rabbits with one blow of the stick
Turkish: Bir taşla iki kuş vurmak Literally: To hit two birds with one stone
Origin: From throwing or slinging stones: a single stone that strikes two targets. The Académie française's first dictionary (1694) already lists it as a proverbial phrase, "to accomplish two things by a single means," and Diderot used it in his reviews of the Paris Salons. English keeps the arithmetic with different targets: "kill two birds with one stone."
More French idioms
- Faire d'une mouche un éléphant To make a mountain out of a molehill; to exaggerate wildly.
- Avoir des fourmis dans les jambes Experiencing a tingling or prickling sensation in a limb losing circulation.
- Avoir un chat dans la gorge Having difficulty speaking due to hoarseness or a sore throat.
- Se battre contre des moulins à vent Fighting a hopeless battle against something immovable or pointless.
- Faire ses choux gras Profiting greatly from a situation at someone else's expense.
- Faire la pluie et le beau temps Having complete control over a situation or someone's fate.
Explore another collection: Tongue Twisters
Tricky phrases to practice out loud, from languages around the world.
- Un chasseur sachant chasser doit savoir chasser sans son chien. The classic French 'ch' / 's' tangler.
- Les chaussettes de l'archiduchesse sont-elles sèches, archi-sèches? A merciless duel between 'ch' and 's'.
- Si six scies scient six cyprès, six cents scies scient six cents cyprès. An 's' / 'si' minefield.
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