Dictionary / French / I'm sick
How to Say "I'm sick" in French
Je suis malade
/ʒə sɥi ma.lad/
Literally: I am ill
Je
I
suis
am
malade
ill
Good to know
Malade is the same for men and women. For a specific pain, use j'ai mal à: j'ai mal à la tête, j'ai mal au ventre. To say you feel unwell without being clearly ill, je ne me sens pas bien works well.
Correct
Je suis malade
What people say wrong
Je suis malade de ça
Not how French says I'm sick of it; use j'en ai marre
The mistake to avoid. Je suis malade means you are ill, with a cold, the flu or something similar. It does not cover the English I feel sick when you mean you might throw up. For that, say j'ai la nausée, or the everyday j'ai mal au cœur, which is about your stomach, not your heart. The other trap is I'm sick of it. Je suis malade de ça does not mean fed up. Say j'en ai marre, which is casual, or j'en ai assez, which is a little more neutral.
In context
Je suis malade, je reste à la maison aujourd'hui.
I'm sick, I'm staying home today.
J'ai mal au cœur, on peut s'arrêter ?
I feel sick, can we stop?
J'en ai marre de cette pluie.
I'm sick of this rain.