triste
/tʁist/
The French word for 'sad' is triste.
triste is used to describe a person's feelings or a particular atmosphere. It is distinct from malheureux, which implies being unhappy or unfortunate in a more profound, situational sense.
Meaning: feeling sorrow (adj)
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective triste is invariable in gender, meaning it has the same form for both masculine and feminine subjects. To make the adjective plural, add an 's' to form tristes.
How do you pronounce it?
/tʁist/
Did you know?
- While triste describes a mood, French speakers use avoir le cafard (literally 'to have the cockroach') to express a feeling of deep sadness or depression.
- In French, describing a meal as triste does not mean it is depressing, but rather that it is meager, poor, or lacking in substance.
- French has a specific term spleen borrowed from English to describe a profound, existential sadness, popularized by the poet Charles Baudelaire.
Examples in context
- Je me sens triste.I feel sad.This sentence is useful for expressing your own feelings using triste.Tatoeba #10705213 by AutoBot, translation #5263414 by CK
- Tu as l'air triste.You look sad.This sentence is useful for describing how someone appears using triste.Tatoeba #584500 by qdii, translation #2255048 by CK
- Tom a l'air triste.Tom looks sad.This sentence is useful for describing how a third party appears using triste.Tatoeba #6463381 by Aiji, translation #1024528 by CK
- Je me sens triste aujourd'hui.I feel sad today.
- C'est une histoire triste.It's a sad story.
- Nous sommes profondément affligés par cette perte.We are deeply saddened by this loss.
- Elle semblait affligée par la nouvelle.She seemed saddened by the news.
- Ce film m'a profondément contristé.This movie deeply saddened me.
- Le tableau triste contristait tous les spectateurs.The sad painting saddened all the viewers.
- Je suis super triste.I am really sad.
- C'est vraiment trop triste.It's really too sad.
- Je me sens triste comme un jour de pluie.I feel sad like a rainy day.
- Je capote, c'est tellement triste.I'm flipping out, it's so sad.
- Je suis à plat en ce moment, trop de choses tristes se passent.I'm feeling down at the moment, too many sad things are happening.
- 329 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Nathan and Léa are talking at home about a movie.
- NathanC'était un film très triste.It was a very sad movie.
- LéaOui, j'ai pleuré à la fin.Yes, I cried at the end.
- NathanEst-ce que tu es triste maintenant ?Are you sad now?
- LéaNon, je vais bien, merci.No, I am fine, thanks.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “sad” translations and entries triste, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
