exaspéré
The English phrase 'exasperated' is translated into French as exaspéré.
Use exaspéré to describe someone feeling intensely irritated and frustrated, often due to a difficult situation or the behavior of others. For less intense feelings, you might use agacé(e) for 'annoyed' or 'exasperated' or the informal énervé(e) to mean 'annoyed' or 'irritated'. If you want to express being completely fed up or having had enough in an informal way, you can use marre or the extremely informal ras le bol.
Which one should you use?
It is important to distinguish between the person feeling the emotion and the cause of it. While exaspéré describes the person who is exasperated, exaspérant is used to describe the person or thing that is causing the exasperation.
How does it change in a sentence?
As an adjective, exaspéré must agree in gender and number with the person experiencing the feeling. Use the feminine form exaspérée if the subject is female, the masculine plural form exaspérés if the subject is a group of men or a mixed-gender group and the feminine plural form exaspérées if the subject is a group consisting only of women.
Did you know?
- To show exasperation non-verbally, French speakers often perform a 'gallic shrug' combined with a loud exhale or a specific sound made by clicking the tongue against the roof of the mouth.
- The word énervé is often used where English speakers would use 'exasperated', but its literal meaning is 'to have the nerves stripped away'.
- In French, the verb exaspérer was originally used in a medical sense to describe the aggravation of a disease or the worsening of a symptom.
Examples in context
- Avoir devant lui plus d'un problème à la fois le rend irritable, contrarié et exaspéré.To have more than one problem before him at one time makes him irritable, upset and exasperated.This sentence shows how multiple problems can make a person feel irritable, upset and exaspéré.Tatoeba #1036415 by sacredceltic, translation #847250 by Source_Benedict_1921
- Je suis agacé(e) par cette situation !I am exasperated by this situation!
- Je suis consterné(e) par leur manque de coopération !I am appalled by their lack of cooperation!
- Je suis épuisé(e) par leurs constantes demandes !I am exhausted by their constant demands!
- Je suis énervé(e) par son comportement !I am exasperated by his/her behavior!
- J'en ai ras le bol de leurs excuses constantes !I am fed up with their constant excuses!
- J'en ai marre de cette situation !I've had enough of this situation!
- Je suis vraiment exaspéré(e) par leur manque de professionnalisme !I am truly exasperated by their lack of professionalism!
- Je n'en peux plus !I can't take it anymore!
- Je suis agacé(e)I am annoyed
- Il est complètement exaspéré par le bruit.He is completely exasperated by the noise.
- Elle semble exaspérée par cette situation.She seems exasperated by this situation.
Example conversation
Nathan and Chloé are discussing a broken coffee machine at work.
- NathanLa machine à café est encore en panne !The coffee machine is broken again!
- ChloéJe vois que tu es exaspéré, Nathan.I see that you are exasperated, Nathan.
- NathanC'est vraiment frustrant tous les matins.It is really frustrating every morning.
- ChloéOn va appeler un technicien bientôt.We will call a technician soon.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
