elle me manque
In French, the phrase to say "I miss her" is elle me manque.
The phrase is used to express sadness because a female person is not present. You might also use the related phrase Son absence me pèse. to say "Her absence weighs on me."
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is structured so that the person being missed is the subject, literally meaning "she is lacking to me".
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly try to use je (I) as the subject of the sentence. Instead, remember that in French, the person who is missed must be the subject.
Did you know?
- The root of manque comes from the Latin mancus, which referred to being maimed or missing a limb.
- Because the structure is inverted, saying Je la manque would actually mean 'I am missing her' in the sense of 'I am failing to hit her' or 'I am missing a target'.
- French has no single word that perfectly maps to the English verb 'to miss' because manquer can also mean 'to fail' or 'to aim and miss'.
Examples in context
- Elle me manque fort.I miss her a lot.Tatoeba #2180441 by sacredceltic, translation #2179504 by Hybrid
- Elle me manque déjà.I miss her already.Tatoeba #13270470 by lbdx, translation #3911990 by CH
- Elle me manque tellement.I miss her so much.Tatoeba #133620 by Aiji, translation #307995 by CK
- 4 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about a mutual friend who moved away.
- ManonElle me manque beaucoup.I miss her a lot.
- LucasJe comprends, elle était très gentille.I understand, she was very kind.
- ManonOui, elle me manque énormément.Yes, I miss her enormously.
- LucasTu devrais l'appeler ce soir.You should call her tonight.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries elle, manque, me, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
