All about the French idiom "Y'a pas de lézard"

Ready to find out everything you want to know about the funny French idiom “Y’a pas de lézard”?

To be more specific, it includes a detailed explanation of what it is and how to use it in everyday life with an audio example. And because we want you to learn efficiently, we also sprinkled some useful stuff like dialogue example, slow pronunciation audio, synonym and more!

By the way, on this page you can find more of these idioms guides plus all our French words explained on this page. Wishing you a good learning!

Table of Contents

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Translation in English

How to pronounce it

Slow pronunciation

Normal pronunciation

What does it mean?

Definition

It literally means: 

  • Y’a pas (Il n’y a pas) → There is no
  • de lézard → lizard

It’s an expression that we use to reassure someone after something happened. Typically: to minimize an issue, clearing up a misunderstanding, or to reassure about our wellness after an unfortunate event. And it’s basically the shortened version of “Il n’y a pas de lézard

But what’s the link with a lizard?

During the recording process, musicians often face a hiss/whistle which ruins the record, and they call it “lizard“. So by extension “Y’a pas de lézard” (There is no lizard) became a way to say: “There is no problem“.

How to use

Do not use this expression in a formal context. Ex: your boss tells you to work on Sunday. You can answer: “Oui, pas de soucis, je serai là.” (Yes, no problem, I will be there). But avoid using “Y’a pas de lézard” in this situation…

Scenario 2: you are falling off stairs and then a friend comes to ask you if you are ok. You might say: “Y’a pas de lézard, je vais bien.” (There is no problem, I’m fine)

Synonyms and similarities

There is an infinite number of synonyms, here are the most used ones:

Neutral context

  • Pas de soucis. (“There is no problem“)
  • Il n’ y a pas de soucis. (“There is no problem“)
  • C’est pas grave. (“Thats doesn’t matter“)
  • Ce n’est pas grave. (“Thats doesn’t matter“)
  • C’est rien. (“That’s nothing“)
  • C’est pas grand chose. (“It’s not a big deal“)

Informal context

  • Pas grave. (“No harm“)
  • Ca va. (“It’s ok“)
  • Tranquille. (“Easy“)
  • Rien de grave. (“Nothing serious“)
  • Pas de problème. (“No problem“)
  • Y’a pas de soucis. (“There is no problem“)
  • Y’a pas de mal. (“There is no harm“)
  • Y’a pas mort d’homme. (“There is no man’s death“)
  • C’est pas la mort. (“It’s not death“)
  • C’est pas la fin du monde. (“It’s not the end of the world“)

Dialogue example

Audio dialogue by French natives

Dialogue audio

Dialogue transcription

” Tu viens au cinéma avec nous ? “
” Are you coming to the cinema with us? “
” Je ne peux pas, j’ai du pain sur la planche
” I can’t, I have bread on the board “
” Y’a pas de lézard, je comprends “
” There is no lizard*, I understand “
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