How do you say “Wear your heart on your sleeve” in French?
The closest natural French equivalent is montrer ouvertement ses sentiments, which literally means “to show one's feelings openly”. English speakers use wear your heart on your sleeve to mean to let other people see your feelings openly. A direct description rather than a matching image-based idiom. It covers feelings shown through words or expressions. Register: neutral. Usage frequency: common.
Closest natural French
montrer ouvertement ses sentiments
/mɔ̃tʁe uvɛʁtəmɑ̃ se sɑ̃timɑ̃/
- Literal meaning
- “to show one's feelings openly”
- 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 French wording is useful when someone’s happiness or disappointment is easy to read. It does not imply that the person is unusually kind.
“Avoir le cœur sur la main” means being generous. Despite the shared heart image, it would change the meaning here.
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.
Common translation traps
avoir le cœur sur la main
This means being generous, not showing your emotions openly.
The notes above explain why these versions do not work in this context in French.
In context
English
I wear my heart on my sleeve, so everyone knew I was disappointed.
French
Je montre ouvertement mes sentiments, alors tout le monde savait que j'étais déçu.
English
She wears her heart on her sleeve and tells us when she feels lonely.
French
Elle montre ouvertement ses sentiments et nous dit quand elle se sent seule.
Related expressions
Last updated 2026-10-01