The French expression “l’habit ne fait pas le moine” translates literally to “the clothing doesn’t make the monk”. This is a very insightful idiom with the following meaning in English:
- you can’t judge a book by its cover
- appearances can be deceiving
Here’s an example sentence:
Cet homme parraît très sympathique et généreux mais en réalité il est égoïste et malheureux. N’oublie pas: l’habit ne fait pas le moine. This man appears to be very nice and generous but in reality he’s selfish and unhappy. Don’t forget: you can’t judge a book by it’s cover.
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There are two other expressions for “don’t judge a book by its cover:
- il ne faut pas se fier aux apparences – Literally: One must not trust appearances
- les apparences sont souvent trompeuses – Literally: Appearances can be deceiving
If you've found this post useful you might want to considering looking at our post covering the best apps for learning French. We've looked a total 33 apps and have written comprehensive reviews of Rosetta Stone, Pimsleur and FrenchPod101.
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Bonjour! My name is David Issokson. I'm based in Victor, Idaho (near Jackson, Wyoming) and have helped hundreds of students to learn French online since 2013.
