How do you say “Pull someone's leg” in French?
The closest natural French equivalent is faire marcher quelqu'un, which literally means “to make someone walk”. English speakers use pull someone's leg to mean to tease someone by telling them something untrue as a joke. This is the universal, everyday French idiom for pulling someone's leg. Native speakers use it constantly when teasing or bluffing in good fun. It is informal, humorous and common in everyday French.
Closest natural French
faire marcher quelqu'un
/fɛʁ maʁ.ʃe kɛl.kœ̃/
- Literal meaning
- “to make someone walk”
- Register
- informal, humorous
- How often it's used
- common
- Equivalence
Near-exact equivalent
95 out of 100
What a native French speaker would actually say
"Pull someone's leg" and "faire marcher quelqu'un" share the exact same pragmatic function: telling someone an outlandish lie or joke to see if they will fall for it. While the English idiom evokes physically tripping someone up, the French expression imagines leading someone down a path or stringing them along (making them walk).
Both idioms are firmly rooted in everyday speech and share an affectionate, harmless tone. When using the French phrase, it takes a direct object pronoun matching the person being teased (e.g., "tu me fais marcher", "je le fais marcher").
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.
What are other ways to say it in French?
mener quelqu'un en bateau
Literally: “to take someone on a boat”
Slightly more elaborate; can mean teasing or leading someone on with a tall tale, but also edging toward deceit.
charrier quelqu'un
Literally: “to cart / haul someone”
Very informal, closer to 'to rib' or 'to take the mickey out of someone'.
taquiner quelqu'un
Literally: “to tease someone”
Standard register; covers teasing generally without the specific bodily idiom.
Don't translate it literally
tirer la jambe de quelqu'un
This is an unidiomatic word-for-word calque of the English expression and makes no sense in French.
Word-for-word versions like these are understood as literal statements in French, not as expressions.
In context
English
Don't get upset, I was just pulling your leg!
French
Ne te fâche pas, je te faisais juste marcher !
English
He told me he won the lottery, but he was just pulling my leg.
French
Il m'a dit qu'il avait gagné au loto, mais il me faisait marcher.
Related expressions
- What “Pull someone's leg” means in English
- Take it with a pinch of salt, To treat a claim with mild scepticism.
Last reviewed 2026-09-11