How do you say “Spill the beans” in French?
The closest natural French equivalent is vendre la mèche, which literally means “to sell the wick”. English speakers use spill the beans to mean to reveal information that was supposed to stay secret. "Vendre la mèche" is the standard informal idiom used when someone prematurely ruins a surprise or betrays a secret. If the context involves pressuring someone to confess, "cracher le morceau" is often preferred. Register: informal. Usage frequency: common.
Closest natural French
vendre la mèche
/vɑ̃dʁ la mɛʃ/
- Literal meaning
- “to sell the wick”
- Register
- informal
- How often it's used
- common
- Equivalence
Near-exact equivalent
95 out of 100
What a native French speaker would actually say
"Vendre la mèche" originates from 16th-century military slang, where a traitor would literally sell or wet the fuse (mèche) of an explosive charge to sabotage an attack and warn the enemy. Over time, it came to mean giving away any secret plan, plotting, or surprise.
Both "spill the beans" and "vendre la mèche" share an informal register and refer to letting a secret slip. However, while "spill the beans" can also mean confessing to a wrongdoing under interrogation, French speakers usually shift to "cracher le morceau" in criminal or confession contexts, reserving "vendre la mèche" primarily for ruined surprises and exposed plots.
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?
cracher le morceau
Literally: “to spit out the piece”
More informal, often implies confessing or giving up information under pressure.
découvrir le pot aux roses
Literally: “to discover the pot of roses”
Focuses on uncovering a concealed secret rather than intentionally or accidentally leaking it.
Common translation traps
renverser les haricots
This is a meaningless word-for-word translation of the English idiom that native French speakers will not understand.
The notes above explain why these versions do not work in this context in French.
In context
English
We wanted to keep the party a secret, but Paul spilled the beans.
French
On voulait garder la fête secrète, mais Paul a vendu la mèche.
English
Don't spill the beans before tomorrow's announcement.
French
Ne vends pas la mèche avant l'annonce de demain.
Related expressions
- What “Spill the beans” means in English
- Let the cat out of the bag, To accidentally reveal a secret.
Last updated 2026-09-11