👂❌

How to Say ‘To have trouble hearing someone’ in French

Avoir du mal à entendre quelqu'un

ah-vwahr dyuh mal ah ahn-tahn-dr kelk uhn

[ah-vwahr dyuh mal ah ahn-tahn-dr kelk uhn]

💬 Usage Tip: Avoir du mal à plus a verb is the everyday way to say you struggle with something. For example, j'ai du mal à dormir "I have trouble sleeping".

Phrase Breakdown

Avoir du mal

ah-vwahr dyuh mal

To have trouble

'Avoir du mal à' + infinitive means 'to struggle to do something'.

Example

J'ai du mal à dormir.

I have trouble sleeping.

Words in this phrase

Avoir

[ah-vwahr]

to have

Infinitive verb meaning 'to have'; also used as an auxiliary verb in many tenses.

Example

Il faut avoir du courage.

You need to have courage.

[dyuh]

some

Refers to an unspecified amount in a positive statement.

Example

Il y a du mystère dans votre façon de vous habiller.

There is some mystery in your way of dressing.

mal

[mal]

difficulty / trouble

In avoir du mal, mal means difficulty or trouble, not simply bad.

Example

J'ai du mal en géométrie cette semaine.

I'm having trouble in geometry this week.

à entendre quelqu'un

ah ahn-tahn-dr kelk uhn

hearing someone

'Entendre' means 'to hear'. 'Quelqu'un' sounds like 'kèl-KUN'.

Example

Je n'arrive pas à entendre quelqu'un ici.

I can't hear anyone here.

Words in this phrase

[ah]

Used with infinitive verbs to indicate purpose.

Example

Elle commence à chanter.

She begins to sing.

entendre

[ahn-tahn-dr]

to hear

"Entendre" means to hear or to listen to, depending on context.

Example

À entendre les recruteurs, l'ambiance est excellente.

From hearing the recruiters, the atmosphere is excellent.

quelqu'

[kelk]

Someone

An unknown or unspecified person.

Example

Quelqu'un avec du style se remarque toujours.

Someone with style always stands out.

[uhn]

a / one

Indefinite article used before a masculine singular noun.

Example

Un café peut être une bonne occasion de discuter.

A coffee can be a good opportunity to talk.

Guides for French learners

Ordering in French: Cafés, Bakeries and Restaurants (with Menu Vocabulary)How to order in French at a café, a bakery and a restaurant: the phrases, the questions staff ask, and the menu and food vocabulary to understand the answers.Hello in French: Greetings, Good Evening and How to Answer "How Are You?"How to say hello in French, when to switch to good evening, how to ask how are you and what to answer, with tu vs vous and native audio.

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