What does malheur in French mean?

What is the meaning of the word malheur in French? The article explains the full meaning, pronunciation along with bilingual examples and instructions on how to use malheur in French.

The word malheur in French means misfortune, hardship, misfortune, woe, bad luck, misfortune, woe betide, make the mistake of doing, be a huge hit, one man's loss is another man's gain, woe betide, woe betide the loser!, God forbid! Lord save us!, bird of ill omen, by misfortune, bad-luck charm, jinx, bring bad luck, Hold me back, or I'm going to do someone some damage!. To learn more, please see the details below.

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Meaning of the word malheur

misfortune, hardship

nom masculin (affliction, désespoir)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Si tu es dans le malheur, tu peux compter sur tes amis.
You can count on your friends when you are in hardship.

misfortune, woe

nom masculin (accident, épreuve)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Il est arrivé un grand malheur. Robert a perdu son travail et a eu des soucis de santé : on peut dire qu'il a eu son lot de malheurs cette année !
A major accident happened.

bad luck, misfortune

nom masculin (malchance)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Quand la petite fille a eu le malheur de renverser son verre, son père l'a grondée.
When the little girl had the bad luck to spill her drink, she was told off by her father.

woe betide

(soutenu ou humoristique (exprime une menace) (humorous)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
Malheur à toi si tu arrives en retard au travail. Malheur à celui qui osera défier mon autorité !
Woe betide you if you arrive late for work. // Woe betide whoever dares to challenge my authority!

make the mistake of doing

locution verbale (faire l'erreur de)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Marie a eu le malheur de prendre sa voiture alors qu'il neigeait à gros flocons.

be a huge hit

locution verbale (familier (rencontrer un vif succès)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")

one man's loss is another man's gain

(certains profitent du malheur des autres)

woe betide

(de mauvaises choses arriveront)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
Malheur à celui qui franchira cette porte !

woe betide the loser!

(Que les perdant en bavent !)

God forbid! Lord save us!

interjection (N'évoque pas cela !)

bird of ill omen

nom masculin (figuré (porteur de mauvaises nouvelles)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

by misfortune

locution adverbiale (par manque de chance)

(adverb: Describes a verb, adjective, adverb, or clause--for example, "come quickly," "very rare," "happening now," "fall down.")
Par malheur, le capitaine était blessé.

bad-luck charm

nom masculin invariable (objet qui porte malheur) (object)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Ce truc est un porte-malheur, tu devrais t'en débarrasser !

jinx

nom masculin invariable (personne qui porte malheur) (person)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Ce gars porte la poisse, c'est un porte-malheur !

bring bad luck

locution verbale (favoriser les déconvenues)

Hold me back, or I'm going to do someone some damage!

(familier (exaspération)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
Oh ! quel bazar ! Retenez-moi ou je fais un malheur !

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