bredouille

empty-handed, unsuccessful

adjective breh-DOO-ee Rare

Usage Note

Bredouille is invariable — it does not change for gender or number — and is almost always used predicatively after rentrer or revenir: rentrer bredouille means to come back with nothing to show for one's efforts, originally from hunting or fishing. It is a colourful, informal word that feels slightly literary.

Examples

"Il est rentré bredouille de la pêche."

Natural Translation

He came back empty-handed from fishing.

Free starter pack

Building your French vocabulary?

Get the 100 most common French words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.

Related Words

Explore French by topic

FrenchNow

Le, La, Un, Du: French Articles Made Simple

Le, la, un, du, des made simple: pick the French article family by meaning, the form by gender, and dodge the two mistakes English speakers always make.

June 4, 2026 5 min read

FrenchNow

French Noun Gender: Rules to Guess Right 80%

Guess French noun gender right 80% of the time using word endings: -age, -ment, -eau are masculine; -tion, -té, -ette are feminine. A high-yield system.

June 3, 2026 5 min read

FrenchNow

Avoir or Être? Picking the Right Past-Tense Helper

Use avoir for the passé composé unless the verb is reflexive or one of ~16 DR MRS VANDERTRAMP motion verbs, which take être and force agreement.

June 4, 2026 5 min read

FrenchNow

French Café Culture: How to Order Like a Local

In a French café, un café means espresso, one drink rents the table for an hour, and you must ask for the bill. Order coffee like a local with these phrases.

June 4, 2026 7 min read