French Phrase
Un disque dur qui cliquette, c’est grave.
Meaning
The sentence warns that a hard drive making a clicking noise is a serious problem, often indicating imminent hardware failure. In French, the structure emphasizes the cause (the clicking) and the consequence (it’s serious).
When to use
Use this phrase when you notice a computer’s hard drive making repetitive clicks and want to alert a colleague, a tech support person, or a friend that the issue should be addressed immediately.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Undisquedurquicliquette,c’estgrave.
Un (indefinite article)
Used before a masculine singular noun to mean 'a' or 'one'.
disque dur (noun)
Compound noun meaning 'hard drive', masculine.
qui (relative pronoun)
Introduces a relative clause describing the noun that precedes it.
cliquette (verb)
Third‑person singular present of the verb *cliqueter* (to click, to make a clicking sound).
c’est (contraction)
Contraction of *ce* + *est*, meaning 'it is' or 'this is'.
grave (adjective)
Means 'serious' or 'severe' when describing a situation.
🗨In Conversation
Un disque dur qui cliquette, c’est grave.
A hard drive that clicks, that's serious.
Oui, il faut le sauvegarder et le remplacer au plus vite.
Yes, you should back up the data and replace it as soon as possible.
✕Common Mistakes
Un disque dur qui cliquette, c’est grave.
The verb is *cliqueter*; the correct third‑person singular form is *cliquette* (with one ‘t’ at the end).
Un disque dur qui cliquette, c’est très grave.
Do not add an extra *très* before *grave*; *c’est très grave* changes the nuance to ‘very serious’, which is redundant here.
↔Alternatives
Un disque dur qui fait des clics, c’est problématique.
A hard drive that makes clicks is problematic.
Si le disque dur cliquette, il faut agir rapidement.
If the hard drive clicks, you need to act quickly.
Un disque dur qui cliquette indique souvent une panne imminente.
A clicking hard drive often signals an imminent failure.
Cultural Tip
In French tech circles, the phrase *cliqueter* is commonly used to describe the dreaded "click of death" of a hard drive. It’s considered informal but perfectly acceptable in everyday conversation. Avoid using overly formal language like *défaillance mécanique* unless you’re speaking to a specialist.