French Expression of the Day: Piquer du nez

One of the most common French expressions for describing the moment you start to nod off.

This French expression is good to know if you've ever struggled to stay awake in a meeting or on the train.

The expression piquer du nez , roughly pronounced pee-kay dew nay (listen here ), literally translates to "nose dive", but in French it means "to doze off" or "to fall asleep while sitting up".

It describes the moment when someone becomes so sleepy that their head suddenly drops forward, before they wake up again.

The expression piquer du nez is an old French idiom that may trace its origins back to the 16th-century saying donner du nez en terre (to hit the ground with one's nose). It is also thought to have been influenced by maritime and later aviation vocabulary, where a ship or aircraft that is too heavy at the front is said to piquer du nez - that is, to nose-dive.

With time, the expression came to describe someone who begins to nod off, usually at an inappropriate moment. The verb piquer conveys the idea of a sudden downward movement or plunge, while the nez (nose) stands for the head as a whole.

Après le déjeuner, je piquais du nez en réunion. - After lunch, I was nodding off in the meeting.

Il a passé la nuit à travailler et maintenant il pique du nez au bureau. - He worked all night and is now falling asleep at work.

Les enfants piquaient du nez dans la voiture. - The children were dozing off in the car.