DEATH and GRIEF in French
à l’article de la mort - at death’s door
casser sa pipe - to kick the bucket (argot)
clampser - to die/snuff it (very familiar)
claquer - to die (familiar)
une surdose - an overdose
décéder - to pass away (more formal)
décéder de mort naturelle - to die of natural causes (more formal)
mordre la poussière - to bite the dust
mourir (de) - to die (of)
mourir de mort naturelle - to die of natural causes
mourir de sa belle mort - to die a natural death (familiar)
mourir prématurément - to die an early death
nous quitter - to be taken away (euphemism for dying) e.g. un ami nous a quitté
partir - to depart this life (euphemism)
passer de vie à trépas - to pass on
passer l’arme à gauche - to go west (euphemism for dying)
perdre sa vie - to lose your life
rendre l’âme - to breathe/take your last breath
rendre son dernier souffle - to breathe/take your last breath
s’éteindre - to pass away (generally of old age)
s’en aller - depart this life (euphemism)
tomber raide mort - to drop dead
trouver sa mort - to pass away (generally because of an accident)
une mort paisible - a peaceful death
y laisser sa peau - to cost (sb) their life/to lose your life
y rester - to die/kick the bucket
accablé par le chagrin - grief-stricken
accablé de chagrin/douleur - grief-stricken
de chagrin - in grief (when mourning the death of sb)
en être tout retourné - to be bowled over/to be devastated~shocked by
être anéanti - to be torn in two
faire le deuil de (qqn) - to grieve/mourn (sb)
faire son deuil - to grieve/mourn
fou/folle de chagrin - mad with grief
la perte (d’un être cher) - bereavement
un psychologue spécialiste du deuil - a grief counselor
se complaire dans le malheur - to wallow in your grief
A lot of my French posts are related to how I feel when I write them.
My uncle found my cousin dead in his apartment yesterday. Apparently he looked like he was sleeping. We lived in different cities and he was about 15 years older than me so we didn’t know each other very well. But my brother remembers that he gave him a tiger when he was little and that he was very kind to him.
Some of the phrases I have provided may seem a little crass in light of this, but this post is still a learning tool and I want everyone to have a full and nuanced understanding of the vocabulary related to the subject.
Here is an example of some of the words in context:
Mon cousin s’en est allé hier. J’espère que c’était une mort paisible. Nous en étions tout retourné quand mon oncle nous a donné la nouvelle. Il est accablé de chagrin. Sa perte touche toute la famille, qui est maintenant plus petite qu’elle ne devrait être.
Feel free to remove this part when you reblog.
turnnoffyourmind
prguitarman
theartofmadeline
izzy806
gummygunk
baratheonpilled
