French Word of the Day: On n'est pas sorti de l'auberge

This French expression doesn't have to do with anything related to an inn or a hotel...

A good French expression to know if you're stuck in difficult situation.

The expression on n'est pas sorti de l'auberge , roughly pronounced ohn net pah sor-tee duh loh-berzh (listen here ), literally translates to "we're not out of the inn yet".

In reality, it means "we've still got a long way to go" or "our problems aren't over yet". Its English equivalent would be "we're not out of the woods yet".

The expression is used when a difficult situation is far from resolved, or when more challenges are expected before things improve.

Well, first, because the auberge (inn) in this expression is not a hotel at all. In 19th-century French thieves' slang, auberge was an ironic nickname for prison. Like an inn, it offered free food and lodging, but unlike a real inn, it was a place that was extremely difficult to leave. Over time, on n'est pas sorti de l'auberge came to describe any difficult situation from which there is no easy escape.

Other French-speaking regions have similar expressions. In Quebec French, for example, people say on n'est pas sorti du bois (we're not out of the woods), an expression that matches the English idiom and conveys the same idea that the hardest part is not yet over.

Avec toutes ces réparations à faire, on n'est pas sorti de l'auberge. - With all these repairs to do, we're not out of the woods yet.

Le projet vient à peine de commencer… on n'est pas sorti de l'auberge. - The project has only just begun... we've still got a long way to go.

S'il continue à pleuvoir, on n'est pas sorti de l'auberge. - If it keeps raining, we're not out of the woods yet.