regretter
/ʁə.ɡʁɛ.te/
To regret something in French is to regretter.
The verb regretter is used to express the feeling of being sorry about a past event or action. It can also be used as a noun, regret, to refer to an instance of that emotion.
Meaning: feel sorry about some past thing (verb)
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The infinitive form of the verb is regretter. The past participle is regretté and the present participle is regrettant.
How do you pronounce it?
{'ipa': '/ʁə.ɡʁɛ.te/', 'syllables': 3}
When do people say it?
Depending on the nuance of your feeling, you might use different phrases: Je m'en veux is used when you want to say 'I blame myself', while Ça me fait de la peine is used to say 'It saddens me'.
Did you know?
- In formal French obituary notices or tributes, the phrase le regretté is used as an adjective to refer to a deceased person, similar to the English 'the late'.
- The French verb regretter is actually a distant linguistic relative of the English word 'greet'. While they sound different today, they both share a root meaning 'to weep' or 'to lament'.
- While regretter translates to 'regret', French speakers often use dommage to express regret about a situation, such as saying c'est dommage for 'it is a pity'.
Examples in context
- Il va le regretter.He's going to regret this.This sentence demonstrates the use of regretter for a third-person singular subject.Tatoeba #1790154 by sacredceltic, translation #1789315 by Spamster
- Tu vas le regretter.You're going to regret this.This sentence demonstrates the use of regretter for a second-person singular subject.Tatoeba #1790157 by sacredceltic, translation #1789312 by Spamster
- Tom va le regretter.Tom will regret this.This sentence demonstrates the use of regretter with a proper noun.Tatoeba #5372010 by Aiji, translation #2821633 by CK
- 109 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Chloé and Gabriel are talking about a missed opportunity.
- ChloéJe vais regretter d'avoir manqué ce concert.I am going to regret missing this concert.
- GabrielC'est vrai, c'était une occasion unique.It's true, it was a unique opportunity.
- ChloéEst-ce que tu penses que je vais regretter mon choix ?Do you think I will regret my choice?
- GabrielNe regretter nothing, tout ira bien.Don't regret anything, everything will be fine.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “regret” translations and entries regretter, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries regretter, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
