The expression avoir le cafard means to be sad, demoralized, with low morale. It is used to talk about a bout of blues, a moment when one feels drained or discouraged. One can say: « Since his move, he has le cafard. » Here, it is not about an insect, but a state of mind. The expression often describes a calm sadness, without anger and without major drama, like a drop in inner form.

Coup de bluesMoroseTristesseDémoraliséCafardAbattuAvoir le moral bas

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Qui exprime un état très fatigué et tristeMoment de petit chagrin passagerDans cette expression, mot qui évoque une baisse de moral et non l insecteQui décrit une personne sans entrain et un peu sombreÉtat où l’on ressent une peine douce ou lourde dans le cœurQui veut dire touché dans son énergie ou son courageExpression qui signifie ne pas se sentir joyeux ni confiant

Vocabulary for low spirits in French

Word	Definition
Tristesse	A state in which one feels a gentle or heavy sorrow in the heart.
Morose	Describing a person who is without enthusiasm and a little gloomy.
Démoralisé	Meaning affected in one’s energy or courage.
Abattu	Expressing a state of being very tired and sad.
Avoir le moral bas	An expression meaning not to feel joyful or confident.
Coup de blues	A moment of a little passing sadness.
Cafard	In this expression, a word evoking a drop in morale and not the insect.

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Taken literally, avoir + le cafard could suggest possessing a cafard, the insect. In reality, the image is fixed and has no direct link to the animal. French keeps here an old expression where le cafard evokes something dark, heavy, that gnaws at mood. You cannot break it down word by word to understand the meaning. In the sentence, the verb avoir simply serves to express a state: subject + avoir le cafard.

Rules about the figurative sense of the expression

Idea
The expression have the cafard means to be sad or demoralized.
The word cafard does not refer to a real insect in this sense.
The expression rests on a fixed image with the verb have.
It is not taken in the literal sense.

We mainly use avoir le cafard in speech, in an informal register. We use it among friends, with family, or to speak gently about someone who is not doing well. « J’ai le cafard ce soir » sounds natural in conversation, but not in administrative text. The expression fits well when talking about oneself or a close one with empathy. For other familiar French idioms, one can also see Être Dans La Lune or Avoir La Pêche, which are used in very different situations.

Informal use of the expression in speech

Usage	Explanation
Talking about oneself	We use have the cafard to naturally say that we feel a little sad.
Talking about a close one	One can use have the cafard to talk about another person with empathy.
Informal context	We choose have the cafard mainly in daily conversation.
Affectionate tone	The expression is often used to show that we understand the other person’s state.

We often say avoir le cafard after a disappointment, a breakup, a solitary evening, or bad news. A gray day, an empty home, a departure for travel, or an argument can also bring this feeling up. “After her daughter's departure, she had the cafard for several days.” The mood drop may stay light, like a small lull, or become stronger if the person feels truly isolated. In a scene of breakups or longing, the expression sometimes approaches Tomber dans les pommes in the sense of a difficult moment, but here it talks about mood, not physical discomfort.

Avoir le cafard is close to avoir le blues. Both expressions talk about a low mood, but avoir le blues is often a bit softer, sweeter, while avoir le cafard may feel heavier, darker. You can say: “I have the blues” for light nostalgia, and “I have the cafard” when sadness weighs more. In everyday language, you also hear variants like “being depressed,” but this latter is more direct and stronger. If someone makes up a story to hide their mood, one might think of Raconter des salades, which speaks of lies rather than sadness.

Être déçuAvoir le bluesAvoir un coup de mouAvoir un petit moralAvoir le cafardÊtre démotivé

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Expression qui veut dire ressentir une petite mélancolieSituation où l’on n’a plus envie de faire d effortsExpression qui marque une tristesse plus ou moins passagèreÉtat où l’on ressent de la peine après une attente non satisfaiteFormule qui exprime une baisse de forme affectiveExpression qui signifie manquer d énergie pendant un moment

Expressions close to the slump

Word	Definition
Avoir le blues	Expression that means feeling a little melancholy.
Avoir un coup de mou	Expression that means lacking energy for a moment.
Être démotivé	A situation where one has no longer the desire to make efforts.
Avoir un petit moral	A phrase that expresses a dip in emotional form.
Être déçu	A state where one feels sadness after an unmet expectation.
Avoir le cafard	Expression that marks a sadness more or less temporary.

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