French Expression of the Day: En colère
This French expression is likely to be in the headlines whenever large protests are going on in France.
Why do I need to know en colère?
Because this expression is often wheeled out during turbulent times.
What does it mean?
En colère – roughly pronounced ahn coe-lair – means to be angry, it literally translates as 'in anger'.
It can be used to describe personal feelings, as well as collective ones. During times of turbulence and amid protest movements in France, you will likely hear or see news media describe either certain sectors or the entire country as en colère.
You will also see en colère on banners at protests, for example les profs en colère tells you that the teaching profession is unhappy or angry.
Similarly, the French press may describe a protest movement this way - a headline might read agriculteurs en colère followed by a description of the disruption caused by demonstrations. In this sense, en colère does refer to anger, but it is more-so a signal of the passion and level of mobilisation behind the protest.
It is also used in interpersonal situations, if someone is simply complaining about being upset or frustrated. Typically, this word is strong in French, it means that someone is genuinely very angry, perhaps even furious.
If you want to describe being somewhat angry or a bit upset, you might say énervé or vénère (the verlan slang version).
For a colloquial way to describe being pissed off in an informal, social context, you might also opt for the reflexive verb soûler (also sometimes spelled saouler). Luckily, French has a lot of options for describing being annoyed, pissed-off or furious (we're not sure if that says something about the national character).
READ ALSO 9 of the best French phrases for when you're really, really angry
Use it like this
Il a claqué la porte bruyamment. On peut dire qu'il était très en colère. – He slammed the door loudly. You can tell he was very angry.
Le titre était le suivant : "Agriculteurs en colère : blocages dans toutes les régions" – The headline read "Protesting farmers: blockades in every region"
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Why do I need to know en colère?
Because this expression is often wheeled out during turbulent times.
What does it mean?
En colère – roughly pronounced ahn coe-lair – means to be angry, it literally translates as 'in anger'.
It can be used to describe personal feelings, as well as collective ones. During times of turbulence and amid protest movements in France, you will likely hear or see news media describe either certain sectors or the entire country as en colère.
You will also see en colère on banners at protests, for example les profs en colère tells you that the teaching profession is unhappy or angry.
Similarly, the French press may describe a protest movement this way - a headline might read agriculteurs en colère followed by a description of the disruption caused by demonstrations. In this sense, en colère does refer to anger, but it is more-so a signal of the passion and level of mobilisation behind the protest.
It is also used in interpersonal situations, if someone is simply complaining about being upset or frustrated. Typically, this word is strong in French, it means that someone is genuinely very angry, perhaps even furious.
If you want to describe being somewhat angry or a bit upset, you might say énervé or vénère (the verlan slang version).
For a colloquial way to describe being pissed off in an informal, social context, you might also opt for the reflexive verb soûler (also sometimes spelled saouler). Luckily, French has a lot of options for describing being annoyed, pissed-off or furious (we're not sure if that says something about the national character).
READ ALSO 9 of the best French phrases for when you're really, really angry
Use it like this
Il a claqué la porte bruyamment. On peut dire qu'il était très en colère. – He slammed the door loudly. You can tell he was very angry.
Le titre était le suivant : "Agriculteurs en colère : blocages dans toutes les régions" – The headline read "Protesting farmers: blockades in every region"
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