Even though this expression uses the former French currency, it is still used today.
Why do I need to know trois francs six sous?
This expression is quite old-fashioned but still common today.
What does it mean?
The French expressions trois francs six sous, roughly pronounced trwah frahn sees soo (listen here), literally translates to “three francs and six sous” but it really is used to describe “a very small amount of money” or “something of little value”.
Francs is the former French currency and sous is an old subdivision, a very small unit – the combination in this expression emphasises a very small sum.
To understand this expression, we need to go back to the time of the sou, the name given to various coins since ancient times. In the 19th century, a sou was worth one-twentieth of a franc, and trois francs six sous corresponded to a day’s wages for a worker. Twelve hours of hard labour for such a modest sum – enough to buy food, certainly, but not much more.
And even with France’s transition to the euro in 2002, the expression has stuck. You might also hear pas de sous to mean having nothing, not even a single penny.
The likely equivalent in British English would be ‘tuppence ha’penny’ – two and a half pennies in pre-decimal currency – which can again be used as a generic expression to mean that something is very cheap. Like trois francs six sous, it’s somewhat old-fashioned but still in use.
Use it like this
Il a vendu sa voiture pour trois francs six sous. – He sold his car for next to nothing.
Ça ne vaut pas trois francs six sous. – That’s not worth a penny.
Elle gagnait trois francs six sous dans son premier travail – She made peanuts in her first job.
