How do you say “Hit on someone” in French?
The closest natural French equivalent is draguer quelqu’un, which literally means “to dredge someone”. English speakers use hit on someone to mean to show someone that you are romantically or sexually interested in them. A familiar French way to say someone is trying to attract another person romantically. It need not mean the attention is welcome. Register: informal. Usage frequency: common.
Closest natural French
draguer quelqu’un
/dʁaɡe kɛlkœ̃/
- Literal meaning
- “to dredge someone”
- Register
- informal
- How often it's used
- common
- Equivalence
Near-exact equivalent
94 out of 100
What a native French speaker would actually say
“Il me drague” means he is hitting on me. You do not need a separate word for flirting in that sentence.
The verb also means dredge a river. That literal sense explains the unusual English gloss, but a sentence about a person normally makes the romantic meaning clear.
How close is the meaning?
- Meaning5 out of 5
- Tone5 out of 5
- Context5 out of 5
- Literal similarity1 out of 5
These ratings are editorial approximations, not measurements.
In context
English
I thought she was asking for directions, but she was hitting on me.
French
Je pensais qu’elle demandait son chemin, mais elle me draguait.
English
Please stop hitting on me; I’m not interested.
French
Arrête de me draguer, s’il te plaît ; ça ne m’intéresse pas.
Related expressions
Last updated 2026-11-13