How do you say “Fall off the wagon” in French?
The closest natural French equivalent is recommencer à boire, which literally means “to start drinking again”. English speakers use fall off the wagon to mean to start drinking alcohol again after a period without it. A plain, specific equivalent for the alcohol sense. Name the other habit when the English is being used more loosely. Register: neutral. Usage frequency: common.
Closest natural French
recommencer à boire
/ʁəkɔmɑ̃se a bwaʁ/
- Literal meaning
- “to start drinking again”
- Register
- neutral
- How often it's used
- common
- Equivalence
Near-exact equivalent
94 out of 100
What a native French speaker would actually say
“Recommencer à boire” is direct and avoids making relapse sound like a joke. In this context, “boire” refers to alcohol.
For sweets or another habit, replace the activity after “recommencer à”. The second example makes that change rather than suggesting alcohol is involved.
How close is the meaning?
- Meaning5 out of 5
- Tone4 out of 5
- Context5 out of 5
- Literal similarity1 out of 5
These ratings are editorial approximations, not measurements.
In context
English
After six months without alcohol, he fell off the wagon and asked for support.
French
Après six mois sans alcool, il a recommencé à boire et a demandé de l'aide.
English
I fell off the wagon with my no-sweets plan and bought a bag of chocolates.
French
J'ai recommencé à manger des sucreries malgré ma résolution et j'ai acheté un sachet de chocolats.
Related expressions
Last updated 2026-10-01