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on n'y arrive pas

we can't manage

→ on
phrase Rare #32,883
we can't manage A common way to say that something is too difficult or that you are unable to succeed. “On” often means “we” in everyday French, and “y arriver” means “to manage” or “to succeed.” The phrase can change with the tense, as in “On n'y arrivera pas” (“We won't manage”).
FR: On essaie depuis une heure, mais on n'y arrive pas.
EN: We've been trying for an hour, but we can't manage.

Mais on n'y arrive pas.

But we just can't do it.

— La Chute (2004)

Pourquoi on n'y arrive pas ?

Why can't we do it?

— Harry Potter et la Chambre des secrets (2002)

Mais si on n'y arrive pas malgré tout ?

But what if we still can’t manage it?

— Kiki la petite sorcière (1989)

Tu ne piges pas que si dehors on n'y arrive pas, personne ne repartira.

Don’t you get that if we can’t make it out, no one’s getting out?

— Salyut-7 (2017)

Solly, si on n'y arrive pas avec la livre, il faudra nous organiser.

Solly, if we can’t make it work with the pound, we’ll have to figure something out.

— Les Faussaires (2007)

Et si on n'y arrive pas ?

And what if we can't do it?

On n'y arrive pas.

We can't do it.

— La Cité de Dieu (2002)