Je me déteste
The English phrase "I hate myself" is translated into French as Je me déteste.
You can also use the informal phrase Je me déteste trop to say "I hate myself so much", or the informal Je me déteste à mort to say "I hate myself to death".
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase Je me déteste is composed of the subject Je (I), the reflexive pronoun me (myself) and the verb déteste (detest/hate).
How does it change in a sentence?
Because détester is a reflexive verb in this context, the reflexive pronoun me must be used to indicate the object of the hatred is the speaker. To express hating yourself for a specific action, use the preposition de followed by an infinitive verb, such as in the structure Je me déteste de + infinitive.
Did you know?
- While détester is the direct translation for 'hate', French speakers often use the phrase je m'en veux to express self-hatred or guilt after making a mistake.
- In French, using trop in Je me déteste trop does not always mean 'too much' in a negative sense, but often acts as a slang intensifier similar to 'so much'.
- The word je evolved from the Late Latin eo, which was a shortened version of the Classical Latin egō̆.
Examples in context
- Je me déteste parfois.I hate myself sometimes.Tatoeba #5552213 by sacredceltic, translation #3064280 by Hybrid
- Je me déteste.I hate myself.Tatoeba #1784021 by sacredceltic, translation #1779951 by Spamster
- Je me déteste de ne pas avoir la volonté d'arrêter de manger des cochonneries.I hate myself for not having the will power to quit eating junk food.This sentence shows how to use the phrase to express hating yourself for a specific action using Je me déteste.Tatoeba #1404939 by sacredceltic, translation #953471 by CK
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Chloé is feeling frustrated after making a mistake at work.
- ChloéJ'ai encore fait une erreur, je me déteste !I made another mistake, I hate myself!
- HugoNe dis pas ça, Chloé.Don't say that, Chloé.
- ChloéC'est vrai, je me déteste quand je suis si distraite.It's true, I hate myself when I'm so distracted.
- HugoTout le monde fait des erreurs, Hugo te soutient.Everyone makes mistakes, Hugo supports you.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries je, me, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
