honte à toi
/ɔ̃t a twa/
The English phrase "shame on you" is expressed in French as honte à toi. Wiktionary also lists honte à vous.
Meaning: expression of disapproval (intj)
Ways to say it
| French | IPA |
|---|---|
| honte à toi | /ɔ̃t a twa/ |
| honte à vous | /ɔ̃t a vu/ |
These phrases are used to express disapproval toward someone. To say "I am ashamed of you," you should use J'ai honte de toi/vous!
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is literally "shame to you", where honte means "shame" and à means "to".
Which one should you use?
honte à vous is used when addressing a group of people or a single person in a formal context.
Did you know?
- The root of honte can be traced back to the Proto-Indo-European root kaw-, which meant 'to be evil' or 'make evil'.
Examples in context
- Honte à toi !Shame on you!This is useful for practicing the exclamation honte à toi.Tatoeba #129318 by Rovo, translation #277287 by CK
- Honte à vous, les gars.Shame on you guys.This shows how to use honte à vous when addressing a group.Tatoeba #8342437 by Aiji, translation #2648459 by CK
- Honte à toi à cause de ton découragement !Shame on you for your discouragement!This demonstrates the use of honte à toi to express shame regarding someone's discouragement.Tatoeba #1970089 by Sbgodin, translation #2824672 by mervert1
- 4 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Léa catches Nathan lying about finishing his chores.
- LéaTu as menti sur le ménage, honte à toi !You lied about the cleaning, shame on you!
- NathanJe suis désolé, je vais le faire maintenant.I'm sorry, I'll do it now.
- LéaC'est toujours la même chose avec toi.It's always the same thing with you.
- NathanPromis, je ne recommencerai plus.I promise, I won't do it again.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “shame on you” translations and entries honte à toi, honte à vous, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries honte, toi, vous, à, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
