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

porter malheurphrase
to bring bad luck
avoir du malheurphrase
to have bad luck

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
prefix
+
heur
luck
root
Dictionnaire Français-Anglais