How to Say "She Died" in French

elle est morte

The English phrase "she died" is translated into French as elle est morte.

This phrase is used to state that a female person has ceased to live.

Which one should you use?

While elle est morte describes the state or event of dying, elle est décédée is a more formal and polite way to say 'she passed away'.

The phrase uses the auxiliary verb être (to be) rather than avoir (to have) to form the passé composé.

If you were to speak about a person's passing with extreme delicacy, you might avoid elle est morte entirely in favor of elle nous a quittés, which literally means 'she has left us'.
French uses the verb être (to be) for elle est morte because death is viewed as a change of state rather than an action performed by the subject.
The verb est comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₁ésti, which is the same ancient ancestor that gave us the English word 'is'. Despite the thousands of years between them, the core meaning remains identical.

Elle est morte hier.
She died yesterday.
This sentence is useful for stating the time of death using the form elle est morte.
Tatoeba #4758308 by sacredceltic, translation #3034181 by pne
Elle est morte en 1960.
She died in 1960.
This sentence is useful for stating the year of death using the form elle est morte.
Tatoeba #353864 by pierrephi, translation #310081 by pierrephi
Elle est morte asphyxiée.
She died for lack of air.
This sentence is useful for describing the cause of death using the form elle est morte.
Tatoeba #3350034 by Blabla, translation #313882 by Zifre
J'ai appris une triste nouvelle aujourd'hui. Elle est décédée hier soir.
I heard some sad news today. She passed away last night.
C'est avec une grande tristesse que je vous informe qu'elle est morte hier.
It is with great sadness that I inform you that she died yesterday.
On a du mal à croire qu'elle nous a quittés si soudainement.
We find it hard to believe that she left us so suddenly.
25 more sentences on Tatoeba

Two friends are discussing a character from a novel.

Nathan

Est-ce que l'héroïne est morte ?
Did the heroine die?
Léa

Oui, elle est morte à la fin du livre.
Yes, she died at the end of the book.
Nathan

C'est vraiment triste pour elle.
That is really sad for her.
Léa

Je suis d'accord avec toi, Nathan.
I agree with you, Nathan.

Sources

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