How do you say “Turn the tables” in French?
The closest natural French equivalent is retourner la situation en sa faveur, which literally means “to turn the situation in one's favour”. English speakers use turn the tables to mean to reverse a situation so that you gain the advantage. A close French equivalent that names the reversal directly. It is more neutral than the English image. Register: neutral. Usage frequency: common.
Closest natural French
retourner la situation en sa faveur
/ʁətuʁne la sitɥasjɔ̃ ɑ̃ sa favœʁ/
- Literal meaning
- “to turn the situation in one's favour”
- Register
- neutral
- How often it's used
- common
- Equivalence
Near-exact equivalent
94 out of 100
What a native French speaker would actually say
The phrase makes the change of advantage explicit. “En notre faveur” means in our favour; “en sa faveur” means in his or her favour.
It works for a match, a negotiation or an interview. The outcome should leave the formerly weaker side in a stronger position.
How close is the meaning?
- Meaning5 out of 5
- Tone4 out of 5
- Context5 out of 5
- Literal similarity1 out of 5
These ratings are editorial approximations, not measurements.
In context
English
After two defeats, we turned the tables and beat them in the final.
French
Après deux défaites, nous avons retourné la situation en notre faveur et les avons battus en finale.
English
She turned the tables on the interviewer by asking about his own mistakes.
French
Elle a retourné la situation en sa faveur en interrogeant le journaliste sur ses propres erreurs.
Related expressions
- What “Turn the tables” means in English
- Flip the script, to change the usual approach or reverse expected roles
Last updated 2026-10-01