How do you say “Take the bull by the horns” in French?
The closest natural French equivalent is prendre le taureau par les cornes, which literally means “to take the bull by the horns”. English speakers use take the bull by the horns to mean to face a difficult or dangerous situation directly and with courage. This is a rare case where the literal translation matches the native French idiom perfectly. It is universally understood and used regularly. Register: neutral, informal. Usage frequency: common.
Closest natural French
prendre le taureau par les cornes
/pʁɑ̃dʁ lə to.ʁo paʁ le kɔʁn/
- Literal meaning
- “to take the bull by the horns”
- Register
- neutral, informal
- How often it's used
- common
- Equivalence
Near-exact equivalent
100 out of 100
What a native French speaker would actually say
Both French and English share this exact agricultural metaphor, derived from the idea of confronting a dangerous animal head-on rather than running away. In both languages, the idiom highlights moving past avoidance, procrastination, or fear to tackle a complicated problem directly and courageously.
The pragmatic overlap is virtually seamless across registers. Whether chatting with friends or navigating workplace challenges, native French speakers use 'prendre le taureau par les cornes' in the exact same contexts where an English speaker would say 'take the bull by the horns.'
How close is the meaning?
- Meaning5 out of 5
- Tone5 out of 5
- Context5 out of 5
- Literal similarity5 out of 5
These ratings are editorial approximations, not measurements.
What are other ways to say it in French?
prendre le problème à bras-le-corps
Literally: “to tackle the problem bodily / with both arms”
Very common in business or professional settings.
affronter la situation
Literally: “to face the situation”
A neutral, non-idiomatic alternative.
Common translation traps
attraper le taureau par les cornes
The fixed idiomatic verb is 'prendre'; using 'attraper' or 'saisir' sounds awkward and non-native.
The notes above explain why these versions do not work in this context in French.
In context
English
We need to stop putting this off and take the bull by the horns.
French
Il faut arrêter de repousser et prendre le taureau par les cornes.
English
She decided to take the bull by the horns and talk to her boss about a raise.
French
Elle a décidé de prendre le taureau par les cornes et de parler d'augmentation à son patron.
Related expressions
Last updated 2026-09-11