Right, so I was trying to figure out how to say “you are tired” in French the other day. Honestly, I was feeling pretty wiped myself, juggling work and trying to actually get some French practice in. It always feels like one step forward, two steps back with languages, you know?
Anyway, I needed the phrase. Can’t remember exactly why now, maybe wanted to ask a French friend if they were okay, or maybe I was just drilling phrases in my head while feeling completely drained. So, first thought, just translate it directly piece by piece. My brain goes “you” is either “tu” or “vous”, “are” is “es” or “êtes”, and “tired” is “fatigué”. Seemed straightforward enough at first glance.
Well, turns out it’s a bit more fiddly than that, like most things in French.
Figuring out the bits and pieces
I did what most folks do, I suppose. Just looked it up. Didn’t take long to get the basic translations bouncing around my screen:
- Tu es fatigué
- Vous êtes fatigué
Okay, simple enough. The first one, tu es fatigué, that’s for talking to one person you know well, like a friend or family member, if they’re a guy. The second one, vous êtes fatigué, that’s the tricky one. It can be for talking to one man you don’t know well (being formal), OR talking to a group of guys, OR a group of guys and girls mixed together.
But then, French throws in the gender thing for adjectives. Always gotta remember that. So, if you’re talking to a female:
- Tu es fatiguée (see that extra ‘e’ on the end? Yep, gotta add that for feminine singular)
- Vous êtes fatiguée (this is if you’re talking formally to just one woman)
And wait, there’s more! If you’re talking to a group that happens to be all female:
- Vous êtes fatiguées (you need the ‘e’ for feminine AND the ‘s’ for plural)
Why it gets tricky in real life
Honestly, trying to keep all that straight in your head when you just want to quickly ask someone if they need to sit down? It’s a bit much. Especially that vous form. You have to stop and think: Is it formal singular? Plural? What’s the gender mix? My brain just short-circuits sometimes.
It really brought me back to this time I was trying to chat in French after a ridiculously long day at work, feeling like my brain was running on fumes. I think I just ended up pointing and saying something like “Toi… fatigué?” because trying to conjugate the verb ‘être’ correctly AND get the right ending for ‘fatigué’ felt like too much effort. Luckily, they got the gist. Sometimes, communication beats perfect grammar, especially when you’re knackered.
It’s kind of funny when you think about it. You put all this effort into learning a language, which is tiring work in itself, memorizing verb tables and noun genders (seriously, why does ‘table’ need to be feminine?). And one of the phrases you learn is how to point out that someone else looks exhausted. The irony isn’t lost on me.
So, yeah. That’s my little adventure figuring out “you are tired” in French. Basically, it’s Tu es fatigué (or fatiguée) for pals, and vous êtes fatigué(e)(s) for being polite or talking to crowds. Just gotta pause, think about who you’re talking to, and hope you nail the ending. Easier said than done when your own eyes are drooping.
