décevoir
/de.sə.vwaʁ/
To disappoint in French is décevoir. Wiktionary also lists désappointer.
Meaning: to displease by underperforming etc (verb)
Ways to say it
| French | IPA |
|---|---|
| décevoir | /de.sə.vwaʁ/ |
| désappointer | /de.za.pwɛ̃.te/ |
The primary way to express the act of disappointing someone or something is through the verb décevoir, which means to displease by underperforming etc.
Which one should you use?
While décevoir is the standard verb, you may also encounter désappointer.
How does it change in a sentence?
Décevoir is an irregular verb in the present tense. The stem changes to décev- for the forms je déçois, tu déçois, il déçoit and ils déçoivent. Additionally, the past participle déçu is used as an adjective to mean 'disappointed'.
How do you pronounce it?
/de.sə.vwaʁ/
What mistakes should you avoid?
Be careful not to confuse the adjective décevant, which means 'disappointing', with the past participle déçu, which means 'disappointed'.
Did you know?
- In French, the concept of 'disappointment' is linguistically tied to the idea of being trapped, as décevoir comes from the Latin decipere, meaning 'to ensnare' or 'to cheat'.
- Because of its history, décevoir can be used to describe a betrayal of trust or a scam, moving far beyond the mild sense of 'underperforming' found in English.
- The word désappointer is an 'imposter' verb. It was created by mimicking the English structure of 'disappoint' and is generally considered an unnatural anglicism by native speakers.
Examples in context
- Je ne veux pas la décevoir.I don't want to disappoint her.This sentence is useful for expressing a desire not to disappoint a female person using décevoir.Tatoeba #9707111 by lbdx, translation #3918561 by CH
- Je ne veux pas te décevoir.I don't want to disappoint you.This sentence is useful for expressing a desire not to disappoint you using décevoir.Tatoeba #12428912 by Orange, translation #3918558 by CK
- Je ne voulais pas la décevoir.I did not mean to disappoint her.This sentence is useful for expressing a past intention not to disappoint a female person using décevoir.Tatoeba #458397 by sacredceltic, translation #317560 by CK
- J'ai été déçu par ton comportementI was disappointed by your behavior.
- Ton refus a causé de la déception chez tes collègues.Your refusal has caused disappointment among your colleagues.
- Ils n'ont pas été à la hauteur des attentes de leur public.They did not live up to their audience's expectations.
- Je suis vraiment déçu(e) par ta décision.I'm really disappointed by your decision.
- Le film était censé être génial, mais ça m'a déçu(e) au final.The movie was supposed to be amazing, but it disappointed me in the end.
- Les résultats du match étaient vraiment décevants.The results of the match were really disappointing.
- 22 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Chloé is talking to Gabriel about his test results.
- ChloéTu as eu une mauvaise note.You got a bad grade.
- GabrielJe ne veux pas décevoir mes parents.I don't want to disappoint my parents.
- ChloéIls vont comprendre, Gabriel.They will understand, Gabriel.
- GabrielJ'espère que je ne vais pas les décevoir.I hope I won't disappoint them.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “disappoint” translations and entries décevoir, désappointer, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries décevoir, désappointer, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
