bonne humeur
The English phrase 'good mood' is translated into French as bonne humeur.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the feminine adjective bonne (good) and the feminine noun humeur (mood/temperament).
Which one should you use?
The opposite of bonne humeur is mauvaise humeur, which means bad mood.
How does it change in a sentence?
To say someone is 'in' a good mood, you use the preposition de rather than dans (e.g., de bonne humeur).
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use dans instead of de when expressing being in a certain mood.
Did you know?
- In French, you can describe someone as d'une humeur massacrante, which literally means they have a 'slaughtering mood'. It is a common way to say someone is in an incredibly foul or irritable mood.
- A person in a very bad mood is sometimes called un ours, meaning 'a bear'. This animal metaphor is frequently used to describe someone who is the opposite of de bonne humeur.
- The word humeur comes from the ancient medical theory of 'humorism'. This theory claimed that a person's mood depended on the balance of four bodily fluids: blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile.
Examples in context
- Je suis de bonne humeur.I'm in a good mood.Tatoeba #7414858 by lbdx, translation #2548714 by CK
- Tom est de bonne humeur.Tom is in a good mood.Tatoeba #9416370 by Micsmithel, translation #3444652 by CK
- Est-elle de bonne humeur ?Is she in a good mood?Tatoeba #5760245 by Yemana, translation #5760080 by Hybrid
- Marie est de très bonne humeur aujourd'hui.Marie is in a very good mood today.
- Paul est toujours joyeux le matin.Paul is always in a good mood in the morning.
- Sophie est toujours de bonne humeur.Sophie is always in a good mood.
- 31 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucas and Léa are meeting for coffee in the morning.
- LucasSalut Léa ! Tu es de bonne humeur aujourd'hui.Hi Léa! You are in a good mood today.
- LéaOui, j'ai bien dormi cette nuit.Yes, I slept well last night.
- LucasC'est super, ça fait plaisir à voir.That's great, it's a pleasure to see.
- LéaMerci Lucas, toi aussi tu as l'air ravi.Thanks Lucas, you look delighted too.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
