Here’s a quick guide to 30 sad French idioms. We’ll give you their English pronunciation, literal translation, and what they mean. This will help you understand how sadness is expressed in French. Perfect for learners and curious minds alike!
30 Sad French idioms
Here are the 25 idioms:
Avoir le cafard
- Pronunciation: ah-vwar luh kah-far
- Literal Translation: to have the cockroach
- Meaning: to feel down or depressed
Avoir le cœur gros
- Pronunciation: ah-vwar luh kurr groh
- Literal Translation: to have a big heart
- Meaning: to feel very sad or heavy-hearted
Avoir l’âme en peine
- Pronunciation: ah-vwar lahm ahn pehn
- Literal Translation: to have the soul in pain
- Meaning: to be deeply saddened or distressed
Avoir le moral dans les chaussettes
- Pronunciation: ah-vwar luh moh-ral dahn lay show-set
- Literal Translation: to have the morale in the socks
- Meaning: to feel very down or disheartened
Être au bout du rouleau
- Pronunciation: et-ruh oh boo doo roo-low
- Literal Translation: to be at the end of the roll
- Meaning: to be at one’s wit’s end or exhausted
Pleurer comme une madeleine
- Pronunciation: pluh-ray kuhm oon mah-duh-len
- Literal Translation: to cry like a madeleine
- Meaning: to cry profusely or very easily
Avoir les yeux plus gros que le ventre
- Pronunciation: ah-vwar lay zyeuh ploo gro kuh luh von-truh
- Literal Translation: to have eyes bigger than the stomach
- Meaning: to bite off more than one can chew (often used in the context of overeating)
Avoir un chagrin d’amour
- Pronunciation: ah-vwar uh shah-gran dah-moor
- Literal Translation: to have a grief of love
- Meaning: to suffer from a broken heart or lovesickness
Porter le deuil
- Pronunciation: por-tay luh duh-yul
- Literal Translation: to wear mourning
- Meaning: to be in mourning
Être en pleine déprime
- Pronunciation: et-ruh ahn plen day-preem
- Literal Translation: to be in full depression
- Meaning: to be deeply depressed
Être au trente-sixième dessous
- Pronunciation: et-ruh oh tront-sis-yem duh-soo
- Literal Translation: to be at the thirty-sixth below
- Meaning: to be extremely downcast or disheartened
Avoir le cœur brisé
- Pronunciation: ah-vwar luh kurr bree-zay
- Literal Translation: to have the heart broken
- Meaning: to have a broken heart
Être à bout de souffle
- Pronunciation: et-ruh ah boo duh soof-luh
- Literal Translation: to be at the end of breath
- Meaning: to be out of breath or exhausted (can be figurative)
Perdre pied
- Pronunciation: pair-druh pee-yed
- Literal Translation: to lose foot
- Meaning: to lose one’s footing or become overwhelmed
Se sentir vide
- Pronunciation: suh son-teer veed
- Literal Translation: to feel empty
- Meaning: to feel empty or hollow inside
Être au fond du gouffre
- Pronunciation: et-ruh oh fohn doo goof-ruh
- Literal Translation: to be at the bottom of the abyss
- Meaning: to be in a deep state of despair
Avoir un coup de blues
- Pronunciation: ah-vwar uh coo duh blooz
- Literal Translation: to have a stroke of blues
- Meaning: to feel suddenly sad or melancholic
Traîner des pieds
- Pronunciation: trah-nyay day pee-yed
- Literal Translation: to drag the feet
- Meaning: to be sluggish or reluctant
Avoir la gorge nouée
- Pronunciation: ah-vwar lah gorzh noo-ay
- Literal Translation: to have the throat knotted
- Meaning: to feel a lump in one’s throat (often from emotion)
Sentir le poids du monde sur ses épaules
- Pronunciation: son-teer luh pwah doo mohnd sir say zay-pole
- Literal Translation: to feel the weight of the world on one’s shoulders
- Meaning: to feel overwhelmed with burdens or responsibilities
Être dans tous ses états
- Pronunciation: et-ruh dahn too say zay-ta
- Literal Translation: to be in all one’s states
- Meaning: to be in a state of extreme agitation or distress
Avoir un pincement au cœur
- Pronunciation: ah-vwar uh pahn-smon oh kurr
- Literal Translation: to have a pinching at the heart
- Meaning: to feel a twinge of sadness or emotion
Laisser son cœur quelque part
- Pronunciation: lay-say sohn kurr kel-kuh par
- Literal Translation: to leave one’s heart somewhere
- Meaning: to be deeply affected or to miss a place dearly
Marcher la tête basse
- Pronunciation: mar-shay lah tet bahs
- Literal Translation: to walk with the head low
- Meaning: to be downcast or ashamed
Se morfondre
- Pronunciation: suh mor-fond-ruh
- Literal Translation: to mope
- Meaning: to mope or brood
Avoir le blues
- Pronunciation: ah-vwar luh blooz
- Literal Translation: to have the blues
- Meaning: to feel melancholic or sad
Soupirer après quelque chose
- Pronunciation: soo-peer-ay ah-pray kel-kuh shows
- Literal Translation: to sigh after something
- Meaning: to long for something
Ruminer son chagrin
- Pronunciation: roo-mee-nay sohn shah-gran
- Literal Translation: to ruminate one’s grief
- Meaning: to dwell on one’s sorrow
Se noyer dans ses larmes
- Pronunciation: suh nwa-yay dahn say lar-muh
- Literal Translation: to drown in one’s tears
- Meaning: to be overwhelmed by one’s tears
Avoir le cœur serré
- Pronunciation: ah-vwar luh kurr seh-ray
- Literal Translation: to have the heart tightened
- Meaning: to feel tightness or constriction in the chest due to emotion
We hope this guide to 30 sad French idioms enhances your understanding of how emotions are expressed differently in French. Use these expressions to deepen your language skills or simply appreciate the poetic ways sadness can be conveyed. Happy learning!