# bite your tongue



## marat

Moderator Note: Several threads have been merged to create this one.

Hello!

Does "se mordre la langue" mean the same thing as "to bite your tongue" (as in: don't say that as it might come true)?

Thank you very much,

Mara


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## sophiaswaltz

Hello marat,

I think you are asking more about the French "se mordre la langue" than the English "to bite your tongue" and I don't know French, so hopefully someone else can help you there.  

But I wanted to say something about the English part of the question.  "To bite your tongue" means to keep yourself from saying what you want to say.  It could be anything you want to say.  It doesn't necessarily have to do with not saying it because "it might come true."  It could be used in that instance, but there are also a lot of other reasons for not saying something that you want to say.  Bite your tongue can be used in any situation where you stop yourself from speaking.


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## marat

Hi Sophiaswaltz,

Yes, you are absolutely right about the usage of the expression!
 I guess I was trying to offer a more specific context for what I was after. It is common to say: "Bite your tongue" to someone if they have said something you don't want to happen.
And we would say: " I bit my tongue" if you wanted to say something, but stopped yourself so as not to hurt, anger or offend someone, for example.
So, these are two examples of the same expression in English that mean different things. There may also be a nuance in French and therefore two different expressions. I'm not sure.

Thanks for your help,
Mara


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## Denis the fatalist

I would say they have opposite meanings : 
se mordre la langue = you said it, and you're really sorry...
to bite one's tongue : you almost said it, but you didn't...
Well.. I feel it like that...


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## KaRiNe_Fr

Before speaking, to avoid saying something wrong we say that we must « tourner sept fois la langue dans la bouche » (turn the tongue seven times into your mouth).
And when you don't want something said to happen, you can say « je touche du bois » (touching wood), and indeed trying to touch wood (or even your head, if you've got a wooden head!  )



Denis the fatalist said:


> [...] se mordre la langue = you said it, and you're really sorry... [...]


« S'en mordre les doigts » plutôt, alors ?


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## Denis the fatalist

KaRiNe_Fr said:


> « S'en mordre les doigts » plutôt, alors ?


L'un n'empêche pas l'autre, si c'est vraiment une grosse ânerie  ! (d'ailleurs j'envisage de m'acheter des mouffles en fer et une langue de bois )


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## marat

Oh my goodness. I think we are all getting lost in the nuances of the expression now! lol!

We also say "Touch wood", but this means something else in English, more like luck (and as it means touching the wood metaphorically of the cross of Jesus Christ, not everyone uses it). Compliqué, non?

I think Denis has shed some light on it. And Karine, thanks for a new expression.

I thought "s'en mordre les doigts" voulait dire: to kick yourself?

I'm not quite there yet....

Mara


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## juliobenjimino

just to confuse matters.... 'bite you tongue' in english is also an admonishment, especially by your mother, when you say something bad:

- that dress makes you look a bit fat
- bite your tongue!

vous voyons ce que je veux dire?


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## KaRiNe_Fr

I'm also a bit lost with the different uses of your « bite your tongue ». 
In the case of juliobenjimino I would probably say something along the lines:
« — Cette robe te boudine. 
— Fais attention à ce que tu dis ! »


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## juliobenjimino

In the context I used ^^ that's correct. Your tongue is saying bad things, so bite it to make it stop!

However I realise that the original question was about the other meaning, eg:

'I wanted to tell her that her boyfriend was horrible, but I bit my tongue.'

ie you bite your tongue to_  prevent yourself saying something_ you know you will regret.

confusing


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## marat

Yes, I see, though in English one could respond:
"Be careful what you say" and then we would have lost the colloquial feeling of the expression.
So now we have 3 different meanings.............


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## KaRiNe_Fr

juliobenjimino said:
			
		

> 'I wanted to tell her that her boyfriend was horrible, but I bit my tongue.'


Then indeed you can say « mais je me suis mordu la langue » (je me suis retenu de le lui dire).


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## marat

Yes, juliobenjimino, your example is a good one.

The expression I was originally after was along these lines:
A young woman thinks babies are so cute and she says, " I want one", to which you reply: "Bite your tongue!" In other words, you are saying to her, don't say that or even think that because you are too young, you are still in school, you are unmarried, not ready for a baby, etc, etc.... 

Does that offer a bit more clarity?


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## KaRiNe_Fr

marat said:


> Yes, I see, though in English one could respond:
> "Be careful what you say" and then we would have lost the colloquial feeling of the expression.
> So now we have 3 different meanings.............


You can use the expression with turning seven times your tongue into your mouth then...
« Tu ferais mieux de tourner sept fois la langue dans ta bouche avant de parler, toi ! » (think twice before speaking)


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## juliobenjimino

or more commonly in english: 'be careful what you wish for!'

my mum always says that.


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## marat

Thank you, thank you Karine and juliobenjimino!

I think we've finally got it. Most helpful. (Hope you learnt as much as I did!)
Mara


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## geve

KaRiNe_Fr said:


> juliobenjimino said:
> 
> 
> 
> 'I wanted to tell her that her boyfriend was horrible, but I bit my tongue.'
> 
> 
> 
> Then indeed you can say « mais je me suis mordu la langue » (je me suis retenu de le lui dire).
Click to expand...

"Je me suis mordu la langue" would not come naturally to my mind to express this meaning. To me "se mordre la langue" only suggests the literal meaning.  And yet you are right: the TLFi lists this meaning for "se mordre la langue": Se retenir de parler (généralement par crainte de dire quelque chose qu'il vaut mieux éviter de dire dans les circonstances données). _Un coup d'œil jeté sur le fermier, la rassura : il ne savait rien, le vieux s'était mordu la langue _(ZOLA, _Terre, _1887, p. 102).

I would probably have said something like _Je me suis retenu(e)._ Or _Je me suis abstenu(e), j'ai préféré me taire, je l'ai gardé pour moi_...


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## JeanDeSponde

I can't help but thinking the confusion is with another French expression, _*s'en *mordre la langue_ (not _se_).
Whose meaning is, you regret saying something _after_ you said it - you punish your tongue.
_Je lui ai alors dit que sa femme était merveilleuse. Je m'en suis mordu la langue - il venait de divorcer.

_BTW, I remember a French tennisman saying, after a defeat, _J'ai voulu avancer au filet. Je m'en suis mordu les dents._ Wonderful -and sporty - malaproprism.


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## marat

Thank you geve for your help. Always useful!

Oh my!! What confusion is right.

Now we have:
s'en mordre les doigts
se mordre la langue
s'en mordre la langue
s'en mordre les dents

and I found_ avaler sa langue_ in geve's link = garder obstinément le silence. (Would that work too?)

Now I'm not sure which end is up!


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## geve

marat said:


> and I found_ avaler sa langue_ in geve's link = garder obstinément le silence. (Would that work too?)


No, it means to refuse to talk (and not to refrain from saying something). 
I would say that nowadays it is mostly used to enquire about someone else being silent : _Eh bien, Marat, tu ne dis rien ? Tu as avalé ta langue ? _


marat said:


> Now we have:
> s'en mordre les doigts
> se mordre la langue
> s'en mordre la langue
> s'en mordre les dents


_S'en mordre les doigts_ means to regret something - not necessarily something you said.
_S'en mordre les dents _ is a malapropism as JeanDeSponde said. One cannot bite one's own teeth!


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## juliobenjimino

therefore, 

'tu as avale ta langue?' = cat got your tongue?

sorry, i'm getting off topic, the mods will shout at me


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## geve

_Se mordre les lèvres_ is an alternative for "se mordre la langue", as listed in the TLFi.
There's also _garder_ or _tenir sa langue_. Sorry Marat if these addtional possibilities add to your confusion.  


juliobenjimino said:


> 'tu as avale ta langue?' = cat got your tongue?


Oui, c'est ça.


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## marat

geve said:


> _Se mordre les lèvres_ is an alternative for "se mordre la langue", as listed in the TLFi.
> There's also _garder_ or _tenir sa langue_. Sorry Marat if these addtional possibilities add to your confusion.
> 
> Thanks for the synonyms geve. It was the "en" that was confusing actually.
> 
> 
> 
> 'tu as avale ta langue?' = cat got your tongue?
> 
> 
> 
> Oui, c'est ça.
Click to expand...

Yes, we'd say "swallow your tongue" too.

I got more than I bargained for in this discussion! THANKS TO ALL!


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## Ptiboudelard

Bonjour à tous !

Comment traduiriez vous " Now I have to bite my tongue " ? Le contexte : un homme critiquait un sujet jusqu'à un certain moment. Mais dorénavant, il admet qu'il se trompait et qu'il s'en veut.

J'aurais bien traduit l'expression par : "Dorénavant, je tourne ma langue 7 fois dans ma bouche avant de parler" ... c'est une expression toute faite en Français ... Qu'en pensez vous ? 

Merci !


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## Old Novice

"Bite my tongue" veut dire que la personne ne parle plus au sujet, mais le sens me semble la même.


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## elmingo

Maintenant, je dois tenir ma langue...


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## elmingo

Je rouvre ce fil car je pense qu'on dirait généralement en français dans le même sens : *retenir sa langue*.


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## marat

Merci elmingo! Helpful, as always!

As for this, I thought that this expression meant "to think long and hard about something before speaking"?

J'aurais bien traduit l'expression par : "Dorénavant, je tourne ma langue 7 fois dans ma bouche avant de parler" ... c'est une expression toute faite en Français ... Qu'en pensez vous ?


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## i_roy

Other idea :
to bite one's tongue = se mordre les lèvres (to prevent yourself from saying something or from laughing)
to regret to have said something = s'en mordre les lèvres


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