How do you say “Like water off a duck's back” in French?
The closest natural French equivalent is glisser sur quelqu'un, which literally means “to slide over someone”. English speakers use like water off a duck's back to mean without upsetting or affecting someone, especially when criticism is involved. A similar image for remarks that leave someone unaffected. Register: neutral. Usage frequency: common.
Closest natural French
glisser sur quelqu'un
/ɡlise syʁ kɛlkœ̃/
- Literal meaning
- “to slide over someone”
- Register
- neutral
- How often it's used
- common
- Equivalence
Near-exact equivalent
93 out of 100
What a native French speaker would actually say
French lets the words slide over the person. “Les critiques glissent sur elle” works when criticism does not seem to reach her feelings.
The sentence needs words such as “critiques” or “remarques” to make the meaning clear. On its own, “glisser” can describe ordinary physical movement.
How close is the meaning?
- Meaning5 out of 5
- Tone4 out of 5
- Context5 out of 5
- Literal similarity4 out of 5
These ratings are editorial approximations, not measurements.
In context
English
The rude comments were like water off a duck's back to her.
French
Les commentaires désagréables glissaient sur elle.
English
His criticism is like water off a duck's back to me.
French
Ses critiques glissent sur moi sans m'atteindre.
Related expressions
Last updated 2026-09-19