avoir le nez qui coule
verb
To say you have a runny nose in French, use avoir le nez qui coule. French describes it with a verb phrase rather than a single noun.
In everyday speech you say J'ai le nez qui coule when your nose is running. Casual speech adds grave for a bad case: J'ai le nez qui coule grave.
Meaning: condition of discharge of mucus from the nose (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally means to have the nose that flows. coule comes from the verb meaning to flow or run.
Which one should you use?
In a medical or formal setting you may hear J'ai une rhinorrhée or Je souffre d'un écoulement nasal, which means I am suffering from nasal discharge.
How does it change in a sentence?
Only avoir changes to match the person, as in J'ai le nez qui coule.
Did you know?
- The word qui in this phrase is thought by some linguists to be an onomatopoeic word.
- The word nez traces back to the Latin nāsus, which is the same root found in the English word 'nasal'.
- While rhinorrhée is the formal term for a runny nose, it is derived from Greek and is used almost exclusively by doctors.
Examples in context
- J'ai le nez qui coule avec des éternuementsI have a runny nose with sneezing
- Je ne peux pas venir car j'ai le nez qui coule.I cannot come because I have a runny nose.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “runny nose” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries avoir, le, nez, qui, CC BY-SA 4.0.
