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malheur
/malœʁ/
misfortune
Le malheur a frappé sa famille.
Misfortune struck his family.
general
An unfortunate event or series of events causing distress or suffering.
Il a connu beaucoup de malheurs dans sa vie.
He has experienced many misfortunes in his life.
Often used to describe personal tragedies or hardships.
informal
Bad luck or an unlucky situation.
Quelle malheur d'avoir raté le train !
What bad luck to have missed the train!
Can be used to express frustration or disappointment.
Collocations
avoir du malheurto have bad luckporter malheurto bring bad luck
Related Phrases
Pro Tip
Common Usage
'Malheur' is often used to describe personal tragedies or hardships, but can also refer to bad luck in general.
Gold Rule
Gender and Number
'Malheur' is a masculine noun and does not change in the plural form.
Word Origin
From Old French 'malheur', from 'mal' (bad) + 'heur' (luck).
Usage Notes
Can be used both as a noun and in expressions to describe unfortunate events or situations.
Word Breakdown
mal
bad
prefixheur
luck
rootDictionnaire Français-Anglais