lutte
/lyt/
The English phrase struggle can be translated into French as lutte.
The term lutte can refer to a struggle, a fight or the sport of wrestling. When you want to express the action of struggling against a specific force or an obstacle, you typically use the verb form with the preposition contre.
Meaning: to have difficulty with something (verb)
Which one should you use?
While lutte implies an intense, physical or combat-like struggle, the phrase avoir du mal à is more common when you simply mean having difficulty performing a specific task or experiencing general difficulty.
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun lutte corresponds to the infinitive verb lutter.
How do you pronounce it?
/lyt/
Did you know?
- French distinguishes between lutter, which implies a battle against an external force, and se débattre, which describes a physical struggle to free oneself from a grip.
- The word lutte is a linguistic cousin to the Spanish word lucha and the Italian word lotta.
- In French, if you describe someone as 'un lutteur', you are specifically identifying them as a wrestler rather than just a person who struggles.
Examples in context
- C'est la lutte finale.This is the final struggle.This sentence shows how to use lutte to describe a final struggle.Tatoeba #3704865 by Julien_PDC, translation #3704867 by shekitten
- Felix a commencé à lutter.Felix started to struggle.This sentence shows the use of the verb related to lutte meaning to struggle.Tatoeba #11628467 by Amastan, translation #11624652 by Amastan
- Ce fut une lutte acharnée.It was an uphill struggle.This sentence uses lutte to describe an uphill struggle.Tatoeba #12954981 by lbdx, translation #1226744 by PeterR
- La lutte pour la liberté a été longue et difficile.The struggle for freedom has been long and difficult.
- J'ai galéré pour trouver un emploi.I struggled to find a job.
- 9 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Léa and Nathan are talking about their difficult math homework.
- LéaTu as fini l'exercice de maths ?Did you finish the math exercise?
- NathanNon, je lutte avec le dernier problème.No, I'm struggling with the last problem.
- LéaMoi aussi, c'est vraiment très difficile.Me too, it is really very difficult.
- NathanOn peut essayer de le résoudre ensemble ?Can we try to solve it together?
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry lutte, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries lutte, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
