French · Emotions & Descriptions
"Serious" in French: sérieux / sérieuse
sérieux / sérieuse
Serious in French is sérieux for masculine and sérieuse for feminine. It can mean solemn or important: un problème sérieux.
Work talk
C'est un sujet sérieux, parlons-en calmement.Speak with an AI partner · 7 days free
How to pronounce sérieux / sérieuse
Say it
say-RYUH / say-RYUZ
/se.ʁjø/ /se.ʁjøz/
Sérieux: say-RYUH. Sérieuse: say-RYUZ. É like ay; eu like the vowel in "hurt" lightly.
"Serious" in French: quick reference
| French | English | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| sérieux / sérieuse | serious Main adjective. | Main adjective. |
| un problème sérieux | a serious problem Importance. | Importance. |
| prendre au sérieux | to take seriously Verb phrase. | Verb phrase. |
| rester sérieux | to keep a straight face Not laughing. | Not laughing. |
How to use sérieux / sérieuse in real life
- 1Work talk
C'est un sujet sérieux, parlons-en calmement.
It's a serious topic; let's talk calmly.
Sérieux agrees with sujet.
- 2About a person
Elle est sérieuse dans son travail.
She's serious about her work.
Sérieuse feminine.
- 3Warning
Ne ris pas, je suis sérieux.
Don't laugh; I'm serious.
Je suis sérieux.
Mistakes English speakers make with sérieux / sérieuse
Incorrect: Elle est sérieux.
Correct: Elle est sérieuse.
Feminine form is sérieuse.
Incorrect: C'est serious.
Correct: C'est sérieux.
Use sérieux.
Good to know
Sérieux can praise reliability (un type sérieux) or flag gravity (blessure sérieuse). Tone of voice tells friends whether you mean "stop joking" or "this matters".
Try it in a ChatPal conversation
Switching from jokes to a real issue
ChatPal
Attends, je suis sérieux maintenant.
Wait, I'm serious now.
You
OK. C'est sérieux à quel point ?
OK. How serious is it?
ChatPal
Assez. Il faut qu'on en parle ce soir.
Quite. We need to talk tonight.
You
D'accord. Je t'écoute.
Alright. I'm listening.
This is a sample. In ChatPal you have this conversation out loud and get feedback on what you say.
Practice this conversation in ChatPal"Serious" in other languages
FAQ
Common questions about "Serious" in French
Forms?
Sérieux / sérieuse.
How do I say I'm serious?
Je suis sérieux / je suis sérieuse.
Take seriously?
Prendre au sérieux.
Pronunciation?
Say-RYUH / say-RYUZ.
Learn a word, then use it out loud
- Step 1: See it in context
- Step 2: Say it out loud
- Step 3: Get feedback
- Step 4: Use it in real scenarios
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