L’expression française « faire les cent pas » expliquée
A2 French luyện nghe · Tiếng Pháp Pháp · Phù hợp với người mới bắt đầu
What does “faire les cent pas” mean in French?
Faire les cent pas means to pace restlessly up and down, the way you walk a corridor while anxiously waiting for news. Literally “to do the hundred steps,” it captures the impatient, stressed back-and-forth of someone who would rather move than sit and wait. It is the exact gesture French reaches for around hospital waiting rooms, late guests, or exam results — being in motion to make the time pass faster.
You pace les cent pas dans les couloirs de l’hôpital waiting on a relative’s surgery, or because your dinner guests are thirty minutes late. The “hundred” is figurative — nobody counts — it just paints a long, repetitive shuffle. It pairs naturally with attendre and being stressé(e) or impatient(e).