French · Hand Gestures · hand gesture
Mon œil
My eye! / Yeah, right! / I don't believe you
1/5 Grandma-safe
mild, playful; fine on daytime TV
The gesture
"Pull down the skin below one eye with an index finger while saying 'mon œil'"
What your hand is actually doing.
How to use it
Tug the skin under your eye and say (or don't) "mon œil" to signal cheerful disbelief — "yeah, right," "pull the other one." Completely harmless, a bit playful, and one gesture you can actually use with anyone. The verbal "mon œil !" works fine on its own.
Heard in the wild
Il était malade, mon œil, je l'ai vu à la plage !
He was sick, yeah right — I saw him at the beach!
Where it lands
France (universal)
Quick answers
- What does "Mon œil" mean?
- In French, "Mon œil" means "My eye! / Yeah, right! / I don't believe you". Literally it's "Pull down the skin below one eye with an index finger while saying 'mon œil'". Tug the skin under your eye and say (or don't) "mon œil" to signal cheerful disbelief — "yeah, right," "pull the other one." Completely harmless, a bit playful, and one gesture you can actually use with anyone. The verbal "mon œil !" works fine on its own.
- Is "Mon œil" offensive?
- It's on the mild end — 1/5 (Grandma-safe) on the Punch-o-Meter. mild, playful; fine on daytime TV.
- How do you pronounce "Mon œil"?
- This one's a hand gesture — there's nothing to pronounce. Pull down the skin below one eye with an index finger while saying 'mon œil'.
Related in French
Le doigt d'honneur gesture The finger / flipping the bird Il est fou (se visser la tempe) gesture He's crazy / a screw loose Le bras d'honneur gesture Up yours! — the forearm jerk (the big French one) Avoir les boules gesture To be fed up / furious / freaked out (gesture + phrase) Con KOHN Idiot / dumbass — the single most useful insult in French Ta gueule ! ta GUHL Shut up! / Shut your mouth!
The same idea, elsewhere
Via concepts like "No way".
- German Quatsch! Nonsense! / Rubbish! / No way!
- Greek έλα ρε Come on! / No way! / You're kidding — disbelief, protest, or delight depending on tone.
- Italian Dai! Come on! / Come off it! / Please!
- Japanese マジ Seriously / for real / no joke
- Korean 헐 Whoa / no way / I can't even — the all-purpose stunned noise.
- Polish no co ty! No way! / Come on! / You can't be serious.
- Portuguese Porra nenhuma! Bullshit! / Like hell! / Not a damn thing
- Russian Офигеть! Wow! / Holy cow! / No way!
Reviewed by native speakers. Rate it differently? Tell us what we got wrong.