tristesse
/tʁis.tɛs/feminine
The French word for sadness is tristesse.
tristesse names the feeling of being sad. For feeling down or blue, French speakers often use the idiom avoir le cafard.
Meaning: state/emotion (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The noun is built on the adjective triste, meaning sad.
Which one should you use?
For a deep, lasting sadness you can say se sentir déprimé(e), to feel depressed. The adjective morose describes someone who looks gloomy or sullen.
How does it change in a sentence?
tristesse is feminine, so with the definite article it is la tristesse.
How do you pronounce it?
It is pronounced /tʁis.tɛs/, in two syllables.
When do people say it?
The expression être en berne comes from sailing, where a flag lowered on a ship was a sign of mourning.
Did you know?
- While tristesse is the standard term, French has a specific word spleen borrowed from English to describe a very particular type of melancholic sadness and boredom, popularized by the poet Charles Baudelaire.
- The idiom avoir le cafard literally translates to 'having the cockroach', which is a colorful way to say you are feeling down or blue.
- In French literature and poetry, la tristesse is often personified as a physical weight or a shroud that envelopes the speaker, reflecting a cultural tendency to describe emotion through tactile sensations.
Examples in context
- Ziri a ressenti de la tristesse.Ziri experienced sadness.de la tristesse uses the partitive article, some sadness.Tatoeba #10241709 by Amastan, translation #10191605 by Amastan
- Tes yeux étaient pleins de tristesse.Your eyes were full of sadness.pleins de tristesse means full of sadness, with no article after de.Tatoeba #4446947 by sicerabibax, translation #3614792 by panamicua
- Ses yeux étaient remplis de tristesse.Her eyes were full of sadness.remplis de tristesse is another way to say filled with sadness.Tatoeba #867899 by sysko, translation #867904 by sysko
- La tristesse m'envahit après cette nouvelle.Sadness overwhelms me after this news.
- Sa vie est teintée de tristesse depuis la perte de son travail.His life is tinged with sadness since losing his job.
- Je suis triste de ne pas pouvoir te voir ce soir.I'm sad that I can't see you tonight.
- Elle est triste depuis sa rupture.She has been sad since her breakup.
- Il est morose depuis le début de la journée.He has been gloomy since the beginning of the day.
- Je me sens déprimé depuis mon échec à l'examen.I feel depressed since I failed the exam.
- Cela fait plusieurs semaines qu'il se sent déprimé sans raison apparente.He has been feeling depressed for several weeks without any apparent reason.
- J'ai le cafard depuis que j'ai perdu mon emploi.I've been feeling down since I lost my job.
- Il a souvent le cafard le dimanche soir.He often feels sad on Sunday evenings.
- Elle est tristounette depuis que son ami est parti.She's a little sad since her friend left.
- 11 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Gabriel and Chloé are talking about a movie they just watched.
- GabrielCe film dégage une profonde tristesse.This movie exudes a deep sadness.
- ChloéOui, j'ai ressenti beaucoup de tristesse en le regardant.Yes, I felt a lot of sadness while watching it.
- GabrielL'actrice principale joue sa tristesse avec talent.The lead actress plays her sadness with talent.
- ChloéC'est vrai, elle est très émouvante.It is true, she is very moving.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “sadness” translations and entries tristesse, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
