mal des transports
/mal de tʁɑ̃s.pɔʁ/masculine
The English phrase 'motion sickness' is translated into French as mal des transports. Wiktionary also lists cinétose and cinépathie.
Meaning: nausea or dizziness in a moving vehicle (noun)
Ways to say it
| French | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| mal des transports | /mal de tʁɑ̃s.pɔʁ/ | masculine |
| cinétose | feminine | |
| cinépathie | feminine |
The term refers to the nausea or dizziness experienced during travel. You can use the phrase avoir le mal des transports to say someone 'has' motion sickness. It is important to use the verb avoir (to have) rather than être (to be) when describing this condition.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase mal des transports literally translates to 'illness of transport' or 'travel sickness'.
Which one should you use?
You may encounter the technical medical terms cinétose or cinépathie.
Is it said differently in some regions?
The phrase avoir le mal de bagnole is used mainly in France.
How does it change in a sentence?
Mal des transports is a masculine noun phrase. When referring to the condition in general, it is almost always preceded by the definite article le, forming le mal des transports.
How do you pronounce it?
/mal de tʁɑ̃s.pɔʁ/
Did you know?
- The French word mal is used in many phrases to describe a specific longing or ache, such as le mal du pays for homesickness.
- In French, the phrase avoir le mal de mer for seasickness is so common that mal de mer is sometimes used metaphorically to describe feeling unstable in a new situation.
- The word mal in mal des transports is a cognate of the English word 'malady'. Both stem from the Latin 'malus' meaning 'bad'.
Examples in context
- Ziri avait le mal des transports.Ziri had motion sickness.This sentence shows how to use mal des transports to describe someone experiencing the condition.Tatoeba #12481989 by always, translation #10296682 by Amastan
- avoir le mal des transportsTo have motion sicknessThis is the common verbal phrase used to say 'to have motion sickness'.
- Je souffre du mal des transports en voitureI suffer from motion sickness in the car
- J'ai toujours le mal de bagnole quand je suis passagerI always get car sick when I'm a passenger
- Désolé, j'ai un peu le mal de l'airSorry, I'm feeling a bit airsick
- J'ai souvent mal au cœur en bateauI often feel nauseous on a boat
- Je déteste le mal des transports.I hate motion sickness.
Example conversation
Manon and Gabriel are on a long boat trip.
- GabrielEst-ce que tu vas bien, Manon ?Are you okay, Manon?
- ManonNon, j'ai un peu le mal des transports.No, I have a bit of motion sickness.
- GabrielTu veux un médicament ?Do you want some medicine?
- ManonOui, s'il te plaît.Yes, please.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “motion sickness” translations and entries mal des transports, cinétose, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries des, mal, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR, Wiktionary CC BY-SA 4.0.
