réinventer la roue
/ʁe.ɛ̃.vɑ̃.te la ʁu/
To reinvent the wheel in French is réinventer la roue.
This idiom is used to criticize someone for wasting time and effort by trying to create something that already exists or is already well-established.
Meaning: do work unnecessarily (verb)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is a literal translation of the English idiom, where réinventer means 'to reinvent' and la roue means 'the wheel'.
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb réinventer is a regular '-er' verb. In the present tense, it conjugates as je réinvente, tu réinventes, il/elle réinvente, nous réinventons, vous réinventez and ils/elles réinventent.
How do you pronounce it?
/ʁe.ɛ̃.vɑ̃.te la ʁu/
Did you know?
- The French word 'roue' also has a secondary, much darker meaning in certain contexts related to a historical method of torture, which is a sharp contrast to the harmless 'wheel' in this idiom.
- The term roue can also refer to a 'libertine' or a man of loose morals in older French literature, adding a completely different layer to the word than the mechanical object.
- The word roue shares a common ancestor with the English word 'rote', which is used in the phrase 'learning by rote'. Both stem from the Latin 'rota', meaning 'wheel'.
Examples in context
- Inutile de réinventer la roue.You don't need to reinvent the wheel.Tatoeba #12949255 by lbdx, translation #1953269 by marafon
- Nous avons la solution. Inutile de réinventer la roue avec des éléments dangereux.We have the solution. There's no need to reinvent the wheel with dangerous elements.Tatoeba #13303912 by carlosalberto, translation #13303885 by carlosalberto
- Il est inutile de réinventer la roue. Utilisons plutôt des méthodes éprouvées.It is unnecessary to reinvent the wheel. Let's rather use proven methods.
- Cette solution existe déjà depuis longtemps, il ne sert à rien de réinventer l'eau chaude.This solution has been around for a long time, there's no need to reinvent the wheel.
- Pas la peine de chercher plus loin, tu n'as pas à réinventer la poudre !No need to look any further, you don't have to reinvent the wheel!
- Ne perdons pas de temps à réinventer la roue.Let's not waste time reinventing the wheel.
Example conversation
Two colleagues are discussing a new project plan.
- ChloéJe vais créer un nouveau système de classement.I'm going to create a new filing system.
- GabrielMais on a déjà un modèle efficace, Chloé.But we already have an efficient model, Chloé.
- ChloéJe veux juste l'améliorer un peu.I just want to improve it a bit.
- GabrielNe cherche pas à réinventer la roue, Gabriel conseille.Don't try to reinvent the wheel, Gabriel suggests.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “reinvent the wheel” translations and entries réinventer la roue, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries la, roue, réinventer, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
