How do you say “Bucket list” in French?
The closest natural French equivalent is liste de choses à faire avant de mourir, which literally means “list of things to do before dying”. English speakers use bucket list to mean a list of things you hope to do in your lifetime. This French wording says “before dying” openly, so it can sound more serious than the English. Register: neutral. Usage frequency: common.
Closest natural French
liste de choses à faire avant de mourir
/list də ʃoz a fɛʁ avɑ̃ də muʁiʁ/
- Literal meaning
- “list of things to do before dying”
- Register
- neutral
- How often it's used
- common
- Equivalence
Near-exact equivalent
94 out of 100
What a native French speaker would actually say
This longer wording makes the idea immediately clear. Once you have introduced it, “ma liste” is enough if the reader knows which list you mean.
For a lighter tone, you can describe “mes rêves à réaliser”, my dreams to fulfil. That does not necessarily imply a written list.
How close is the meaning?
- Meaning5 out of 5
- Tone3 out of 5
- Context5 out of 5
- Literal similarity2 out of 5
These ratings are editorial approximations, not measurements.
In context
English
Seeing the northern lights has always been on my bucket list.
French
Voir les aurores boréales a toujours figuré sur ma liste de choses à faire avant de mourir.
English
Learning to swim was the first thing I crossed off my bucket list.
French
Apprendre à nager était la première chose que j'ai rayée de ma liste de choses à faire avant de mourir.
Related expressions
- What “Bucket list” means in English
- Kick the bucket, Die, said jokingly or bluntly.
Last updated 2026-11-04