How to say « show off » in French

Would you like to show your French because you’ve worked a lot on it and deserve some praise? Only jocking here but let’s play with several ways to say “show off” in French. As you will see, there’s the “show off” in an arrogant way and there’s the positive version as well.

Before we dive in, you need to know that these stryctures can be verbs, nouns or adjectives.

Here are the 6 expressions you will be learning today:

• frimeur / frimeuse

• se vanter

• un m’as-tu vu

• poseur / poseuse

• crâner /crâneur / crâneuse

• mettre en valeur

The meaning of the French verb “frimer”!

The regular French verb of “frimer” means to show off. Later, you’ll see its slang version.

Here’s how the conjugation would go:

• je frime
• tu frimes
• il / elle frime
• nous frimons
• vous frimez
• ils / elles friment

A whole example would be like this:

•  “Il frime avec sa nouvelle voiture !” >>> He shows off with his new car!

What does “se vanter” mean in French?

Contrary to “frimer”, the French verb of “se vanter” is the normal register. The first one is a bit more colloquial. Consequently, the true translation of “se vanter” is to boast.

The only thing you should remember is that “se vanter” is a reflexive verb. Therefore, don’t forget the word before the verb:

• je me vante
• tu te vantes
• il / elle se vante
• nous nous vantons
• vous vous vantez
• ils / elles se vantent

This is an example to help you:

•  “Il se vante tout le temps de son beau visage.” >>> He’s always boasting about his handsome face.

Have you ever heard this cute French expression of “se lancer des fleurs”? What does it mean? Literally, you are saying “to throw flowers to oneself”. Thus, there’s a positive image of saying good things to yourself and be…a show off.

Why? Because people should throw flowers to you and not yourself as a narcissist like in this example:

•  “Il se lance des fleurs.” >>> He’s throwing himself flowers.

A fun French expression meaning “a show off”.

In this section, you’ll learn an interesting French expression composed of a question / passé composé. What? Let me explain.

First there’s the question:

•  “M’as-tu vu ? ” >>> Have you seen me?

From this question, we transform it into a noun hence:

•  “un m’as-tu vu ” >>> a show off

Because there are several words and there’s an hyphen, you need extra concentration to get it right. But if you remember the question in the first place, you’ll be fine. Moreover, since it’s an expression, don’t forget the “quotation marks” and don’t change it at all whether it’s feminine or plural!

Here’s an illustration of how you can include the expression in a dialogue:

• “Vois ce vrai “m’as-tu vu” sur son vélo ” >>> Look at this show off on his bike!

A French adjective to describe a show off.

You have seen some verbs and a noun. Now, let’s discover some adjectives to describe someone who boasts a lot. Remember the verb “frimer” ? Well, in addition, you can have the adjectives deriving from the verb:

• un frimeur (masculine)
• une frimeuse (feminine)

In a real context, you’ll have the following:

•  “Ce candidat est un peu trop vaniteux pour moi - c’est un vrai frimeur !” >>> This candidate is a bit conceited for me - he’s a right show off!

How to use the French verb “crâner” and its adjectives.

The verb you are about to explore is similar to “frimer”. Indeed, you can not only use the regular French verb of “crâner” but also refer to its adjectives.

• un crâneur (masculine)
• une crâneuse (feminine) 

In a real situation you would hear this:

•  “Il crâne dans son nouvel uniforme scolaire ! Crâneur !” >>> He’s swanking around in his new school uniform. Show off!

What is a “poseur” in French?

Now, take the English word “poser” and let’s make a French translation from it and you have these adjectives:

• un poseur (masculine)
• une poseuse (feminine) 

And a way to have it in a sentence would be like the following:

•  “Il est un peu poseur, n’est-ce pas ?” >>> He’s a bit of a show off, isn’t he ?

How to say “show off” in a good way.

Finally, there’s a way to express “show off” in a positive way. Indeed, if you want to highlight or showcase some value, the verb “mettre en valeur” will be perfect. Literally it means to put some value.

Not sure how to have it in a sentence? Let me show you:

•  “Cette robe met en valeur la couleur de tes beaux yeux.” >>> This dress shows off your lovely eyes.

6 ways to say “show off” in French.

Here’s a reacp of the 6 expressions whether it’s a verb, noun, adjective or expression:

• frimeur / frimeuse >>> show off

• se vanter >>> to show off / boast

• un m’as-tu vu >>> a show off

• poseur / poseuse >>> show off

• crâner /crâneur / crâneuse >>> show off / swanker

• mettre en valeur >>> to show off - highlight, showcase

Therefore, before using one of these options, be sure to check if it’s a noun, adjective…since the structure will be specific. And if it’s a verb, double check whether it’s reflexive or not. 

You can start learning them by category: adjectives, verbs or nouns in order to facilitate the memorisation.

So, had you heard these ways to say “show off” in French? What are the ones you plan to say? If you still have doubts about how to practice with them, contact me!