rire
/ʁiʁ/
To laugh in French is to rire.
rire is the most common and general term for laugh in French. It can function as a verb to describe the act of emitting sounds of mirth, or as a noun, le rire, to describe the expression of mirth itself. Other ways to describe laughing include pouffer de rire for a soft or stifled laugh, and éclater de rire to mean burst into laughter. If you are laughing so hard that you cry, you can use the idioms rire aux larmes or pleurer de rire.
Meaning: show mirth by peculiar movement of the muscles of the face and emission of sounds (verb)
Which one should you use?
While rire is the standard verb for the act of laughing, note that sourire is used specifically for smiling. For a more light-hearted or playful form of laughter, you might use rigoler.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
rire is an irregular verb in the present tense. For example, je ris means I laugh. To express that laughter is happening right now, you can use the construction je suis en train de rire (I am laughing). In the past tense, j'ai ri means I laughed.
How do you pronounce it?
/ʁiʁ/
Did you know?
- In French, the phrase rire jaune literally means to 'laugh yellow' and is used when someone laughs forcedly or bitterly to hide their disappointment.
- The phrase rire dans sa barbe means to laugh secretly to oneself, translating literally to 'laughing in one's beard'.
- The verb rire shares the same Latin root as the English word 'ridicule'.
Examples in context
- Tu veux rire ?Do you want to laugh?This sentence shows how to ask if someone wants to laugh using rire.Tatoeba #805654 by siggg, translation #11952589 by Fenrir
- Ça me fit rire.It made me laugh.This sentence shows how to say something made you laugh using rire.Tatoeba #2000813 by sacredceltic, translation #1853755 by Spamster
- Tu me fais rire.You make me want to laugh.This sentence shows how to say someone makes you want to laugh using rire.Tatoeba #4779374 by Oql, translation #2288202 by CK
- Elle rit de bon cœurShe laughs heartily
- Nous rigolons beaucoup ensembleWe laugh a lot together
- Quand il a entendu la blague, il a éclaté de rireWhen he heard the joke, he burst into laughter
- Les enfants rigolaient à gorge déployée devant le spectacle comiqueThe children were laughing heartily at the comedy show
- Je me marre toujours en regardant cette sérieI always laugh when watching this series
- 175 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucas and Emma are watching a funny video.
- LucasRegarde ça, on ne peut pas s'empêcher de rire !Look at this, you can't help but laugh!
- EmmaC'est vrai, c'est vraiment hilarant.It's true, it's really hilarious.
- LucasPourquoi est-ce que tu ne ries pas ?Why aren't you laughing?
- EmmaJe ris, mais je suis essoufflée !I am laughing, but I'm out of breath!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “laugh” translations and entries rire, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries rire, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
