The French proverb "Faire d'une pierre deux coups"

You are going to learn all the things you need to know about the basic proverb “Faire d’une pierre deux coups”.

Including a full definition of what it mean and how to use it in a dialogue with an audio example. As well as the useful stuff we added like slow pronunciation audio, literal meaning, dialogue example and more!

Oh and if you are interested, you can find more of these proverbs pages on this page plus the ultimate directory of all our French words tutorials on this page. Happy learning!

Table of Contents

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French to English translation

Pronunciation guide

Slow pronunciation

Normal pronunciation

What does it mean?

Definition

  • Faire → Make
  • D’une pierre → of one stone
  • Deux coups → Two shots

This proverb comes from ancient ages when humans were hunting with rocks. We can easily imagine a man who killed two birds with one stone being thrilled about his shot, a.k.a: “Faire d’une pierre deux coups“.

Nowadays, humans have stopped hunting with rocks, but still, we can accomplish two goals simultaneously. For example, by taking advantage of synergies between two targets, we can achieve both of them at the same time.

How to use it

Let’s say you always wanted to visit Paris and you need to learn French. Why not killing these “two birds” with “one stone“?

By coming to Paris for a French learning class, you will make solid progress on your French while visiting Paris in your free time.

Then you could say: “J’ai fait d’une pierre deux coups” (I killed two birds with one stone)

Everyday life dialogue example with audio

Audio dialogue by French natives

Dialogue audio

Dialogue text

” Tu as acheté des légumes ? “
” Did you buy vegetables? “
” Pas encore, et il nous faut aussi du lait “
” Not yet, and we also need some milk “
” Alors faisons d’une pierre deux coups. “
” Then let’s strike twice with one stone “