malheur

Inherited from Middle French mal-heur; univerbation of mal +‎ heur, literally “mishap, misfortune”.

• IPA^(key): /ma.lœʁ/

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malheur m (plural malheurs)

1. (original sense) mishap, misfortune

   Il y a eu beaucoup de malheurs dans ma vie. Ça craint mais j'en ai beaucoup appris.

   There have been a lot of misfortunes in my life. It sucks but I've learned a lot from them.

2. sadness, unhappiness

   Synonym: tristesse

   J’étais tellement déçue qu’il ait plu le jour de notre mariage ! C’était vraiment un malheur.

   I was so disappointed that it rained on our wedding day! It was truly a sad [moment].

• bonheur

• Czech: malér
• German: Malheur
• Hungarian: malőr
• Swedish: malör

• “malheur”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.