“Avoir la flemme” is a commonly used French idiom that translates literally to “to have phlegm” and means “to be lazy”, “not feel like”, “can’t be asked” and “can’t be bothered”. La flemme translates to “laziness”. A French definition is the adjective fainéant, which also translates to lazy.
Avoir la flemme
to be lazy to, can’t be bothered
According to Linternaute.fr, the expression avoir la flemme dates back to the Middle Ages. At that time, doctors thought that certain body fluids had an impact on mood and behavior. Somebody with little “phlegm” was said to be full of energy.
Here are some sample sentences:
Je devrais apprendre tous ces nouveaux verbes que le prof m’a donnés mais j’ai la flemme.
I should learn all these verbs that the teacher gave me but I can’t be bothered.
Avoir la flemme can also be followed by de + infinitive, meaing “to be too lazy to + verb”. Here’s an example:
J’ai la flemme de travailler aujourd’hui. Je reste sur le canapé devant la télévision.
I can’t be bothered to work today. I’ll stay on the sofa in front of the TV.
Conclusion
Et voilà ! You now know how to use the expression avoir la flemme. Now check out our other fun posts covering the expressions tomber dans les pommes (to faint), le coup de foudre (love at first sight) and avoir le cafard (to feel depressed).
