mourir
/mu.ʁiʁ/
The French phrase for 'to die' is mourir.
mourir is the standard verb used to describe the act of stopping living.
Which one should you use?
mourir is the standard way to express death, whereas the slang phrase passer l'arme à gauche is a common idiomatic way to say someone has died.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
For a more formal or clinical tone, you can use décéder, which is equivalent to 'to pass away' or 'to decease'. Conversely, passer l'arme à gauche is an informal, idiomatic expression.
How does it change in a sentence?
When forming compound past tenses, mourir uses the auxiliary verb être rather than avoir (for example, est mort means 'has died'). Additionally, the past participle mort can function as an adjective meaning 'dead'.
How do you pronounce it?
/mu.ʁiʁ/. It has 2 syllables.
Did you know?
- In casual speech, mourir is frequently used as a hyperbole for laughter, such as je suis mort de rire, which is why the common internet abbreviation 'lol' is often replaced by 'mdr' in French.
- The slang idiom passer l'arme à gauche literally translates to 'to pass the weapon to the left'.
- The phrase passer l'arme à gauche is thought by some to refer to a duelist or soldier being disarmed or striking a final, awkward blow.
Examples in context
- On va tous mourir !We're all going to die!This sentence shows the use of mourir to express a collective fate.Tatoeba #11166986 by lbdx, translation #2436483 by Hybrid
- J'ai peur de mourir.I'm afraid to die.This sentence illustrates using mourir to express fear.Tatoeba #335203 by TRANG, translation #7114508 by CK
- J'ai hâte de mourir.I can't wait to die.This sentence shows mourir used to express an eagerness for death.Tatoeba #5658072 by Yemana, translation #3777844 by CM
- La reine est décédée hier.The queen passed away yesterday.
- La tragédie l'a emporté prématurément.The tragedy took him prematurely.
- Je vais crever de faim !I'm going to die of hunger!
- 201 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Chloé and Lucas are discussing a character in a movie.
- ChloéLe personnage principal va mourir ?Is the main character going to die?
- LucasOui, il va mourir à la fin.Yes, he is going to die at the end.
- ChloéC'est tellement triste pour lui.It is so sad for him.
- LucasC'est une histoire très tragique.It is a very tragic story.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry mourir, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
