6 ways to express your good mood in French

Imagine: you have just moved to France, found your dream house and you are sitting on the terrace having an apéro and you turn to your partner to express how happy you are. 

You could say “this is pure bliss” or “I am over the moon” or “I am on top of the world”. 

However, considering where you have just moved to, you might want to express that feeling in French. 

Below, we have listed six of the most common ways to express your good mood, so that next time you are feeling good you know exactly what a native would say. 

Nager dans le bonheur

This informal expression means to ‘swim in happiness’. 

It appeared in the 20th century and suggests that the happiness you are feeling is so big and encompassing, you could swim in it. 

It has a connotation of bliss, If you come across your partner looking totally content, you can say t’as l'air de nager dans le bonheur (you look like you are swimming in happiness). 

You can also nager dans la confusion, which means to be very confused. 

Être aux anges 

A similar expression, this one means ‘to be with the angels’. 

It would be used in a similar expression. If you are at a summer barbecue and your friend brings you over a beer or a glass of wine, you can say je suis aux anges ! (‘I am with the angels.)

Être au septième ciel

A third way to express that feeling is to say je suis au septième ciel (I am in the seventh sky). 

Greek astronomers believed that there were seven spheres which were made up of each celestial body. The Moon was the first sphere or sky, Venus was the third and Saturn was the last. 

As Venus was the goddess of love, the expression used to be je suis au troisième ciel. However, as time went on, going to each subsequent sphere was equivalent to being happier, so ‘I am in the seventh sky’ became the dominant expression. 

The closest English equivalent is ‘I am on cloud nine’. 

Read more: Seven useful informal French expressions you don’t learn at school

Avoir la pêche 

When you wake up in the morning in a great mood, you can say j’ai la pêche ce matin (I have the peach this morning). It means you have lots of energy. 

Its origins are unknown. Some attribute it to Chinese culture, where peaches are considered the fruit of immortality. Others consider it a part of boxing lingo. As an oral expression, it is difficult to trace it reliably. 

You can also convey the same by saying j’ai la patate (I have the potato). 

Se lever du bon pied 

‘Getting up on the right foot’ also means the same thing, that you have woken up in a good mood. The English equivalent would be ‘getting up the right side of bed’. 

If your friend comes down to breakfast with a sleepy smile on his face, you can tell him tu t’es levé du bon pied ce matin (‘you got out the right side of bed this morning’). 

Read more: 10 French phrases using péter in contexts you may not expect

Avoir la banane 

Another fruit-based expression, this one means to ‘have the banana’. 

It refers to someone who is very happy and is showing it on their face by smiling because the shape of a smile is the same shape as a banana. 

When describing a lovely day, someone might ask you c’était bien ? (was it good?) and you could answer Ouais, tout le monde avait la banane (Yeah, everyone was smiling).