Learning French: when and why do we say rendre la monnaie de sa pièce?

What you give is what you get. What goes around comes around. 

There are many expressions surrounding the idea of payback, both in English and French.

We will focus on ‘rendre la monnaie de sa pièce’ as well as sharing French synonyms, and look at how their origins stem from the law of retaliation. 

What does rendre la monnaie de sa pièce mean?

This colloquial expression literally translates as: to return someone’s change in their own coin.

The figurative meaning, however, is closer to well-known English phrases such as ‘to get pay back’, or ‘to give someone a taste of their own medicine’.

Similar synonyms include:

• Rendre la pareille - To give back what you get

• Répondre du tac au tac - To give tit for tat

• Faire un juste retour des choses - To get what is coming/To get karma

• Donner un coup pour un coup - To give a pinch for a punch

• Prendre sa revanche - To take revenge

• Œil pour œil, dent pour dent - An eye for an eye

• Garder un chien de sa chienne - begrudging resentment awaiting vengeance

It is often used in a negative context when someone experiences the consequences of their own actions or gets what they deserve.

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What are the origins of rendre la monnaie de sa pièce?

The origins of this phrase are traced to the law of retaliation, also known as talion law. 

This law expresses that punishment should be equal to the harm suffered by the victim, connecting rendre la monnaie de sa pièce to the idea of paying back what is owed.

Another theory comes from when pirates would insert a coin bearing the king’s portrait into their gunpowder, so that when a cannonball hit an enemy ship, the coin was literally and metaphorically returned and revenge taken.

The essence of this phrase can also be traced to religious texts such as the Book of Exodus or the Quran, although interpretations differ. 

Roman law favoured financial compensation as suitable revenge for wrongdoings, however the law of retaliation was still permitted if someone broke another’s limb.

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When do you say rendre la monnaie de sa pièce?

You can say this when seeking revenge for an act of injustice: 

• Mon frère a raconté tous mes secrets à ses amis. J'ai voulu rendre la monnaie de sa pièce en révélant ses secrets à lui aussi. - My brother told all my secrets to his friends. I wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine by revealing his secrets too.

It could also be used in the context of teaching someone a lesson:

• Le serveur s'étant montré impoli, la femme a décidé de lui rendre la monnaie de sa pièce pour lui montrer ce que ça fait. - The waiter was impolite so the woman decided to give tit for tat to show him how it feels. 

Use this phrase to highlight the importance of respecting others and reminding that actions have consequences:

• Tu devrais arrêter de te faire des ennemis ou un jour quelqu'un va te rendre la monnaie de ta pièce. - You should stop making enemies or one day someone is going to seek pay back. 

To whom do you say rendre la monnaie de sa pièce?

This expression is considered colloquial, everyday language. It can be used in informal conversation with friends and family.

It could cause offence or be considered disrespectful if said in a formal situation.

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