tête de mule
In French, the English phrase "hard head" is translated as tête de mule.
The phrase is used to describe a person who is stubborn and refuses to change their mind. While English speakers might use "hard-headed," French speakers use this animal metaphor to express the same level of stubbornness.
What does it mean word for word?
Literally, tête de mule translates to "head of a mule".
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The term tête de mule is colloquial and is used to describe someone's personality in informal settings. If you want to use an informal expression with a similar meaning, you can also say têtu(e) comme une bourrique, which means "stubborn as a donkey".
How does it change in a sentence?
Because tête is a feminine noun, you should use the feminine noun phrase une tête de mule to refer to a single stubborn person, even if the person is male. To refer to multiple stubborn people, only the word tête takes an "s" to become des têtes de mule. The word mule remains singular in this standard idiom.
Did you know?
- In Old French, the word chef was used to mean 'head' before tête took over. Today, chef is still used in specific expressions and to describe a leader.
- The word tête actually comes from the Latin word for a pottery vessel or jug, rather than the biological word for a head.
- Even when describing a man, you must use the feminine form une tête de mule because the noun tête is grammatically feminine.
Examples in context
- Mon collègue est une vraie tête dure, il ne change jamais d'avis.My colleague is a real hard head, he never changes his mind.
- Malgré les conseils de tout le monde, il reste têtu comme une mule.Despite everyone's advice, he remains as stubborn as a mule.
- Mon ami est têtu comme une bourrique, il ne veut jamais admettre qu'il a tort.My friend is stubborn as a donkey, he never wants to admit he's wrong.
- Ne sois pas une telle tête de mule !Don't be such a hard head!
- Cette tête de mule ne veut rien entendre.This hard head won't listen to anything.
Example conversation
Hugo and Chloé are debating which movie to see.
- HugoOn devrait voir ce film, Chloé.We should see this movie, Chloé.
- ChloéNon, je refuse, c'est une perte de temps.No, I refuse, it's a waste of time.
- HugoTu es une vraie tête de mule !You are a real hard head!
- ChloéPeut-être, mais je sais ce que je veux.Maybe, but I know what I want.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries de, mule, tête, CC BY-SA 4.0.
