# More problems with word daily (French) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 23, 2023, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-problems-with-word-daily-french/993581 "2023-11-23T12:38:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2023, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-problems-with-word-daily-french/993581/21 "2023-11-23T15:34:47Z")
“Unhappily” applies to the wandering, “Unhappy” to the wanderer’s state of mind, and “Unfortunately” to his situation, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Tusculan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Tusculan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tusculan)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2023, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-problems-with-word-daily-french/993581/22 "2023-11-23T15:46:26Z")
I’m not sure I understand what it means to wander unhappily. Doesn’t it simply mean that the wanderer is in an unhappy state of mind? I do agree that the phrasing in English has a somewhat different meaning, but what is actually going on seems to be the same action and the same state of mind. ---
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2023, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-problems-with-word-daily-french/993581/23 "2023-11-23T16:30:35Z")
It’s a fine distinction, but a real one. “Unhappy” denotes the nature of the wanderer’s mind, “unhappily” the nature of his wanderings. Not much difference in this instance between the two, but there are some. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2023, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-problems-with-word-daily-french/993581/24 "2023-11-23T17:17:27Z")
My big dictionary gives “malheureusement” as “unfortunately”, but as an adverb in the sense of someone’s mood, “d’un air malheureux” (or “d’un ton” if referring to something spoken. “Malheureux” can be the adjective for both “unhappy” and “unfortunate”. But for the sense of personal unhappiness, you could perhaps use “mécontent” for the adjective or “avec mécontentement” for the adverb. ---
**Author:** ![FrenchDunadan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frenchdunadan/32/5449_2.png) [@FrenchDunadan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FrenchDunadan)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2023, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-problems-with-word-daily-french/993581/25 "2023-11-23T19:51:31Z")
“malheureux” is both a noun and an adjective, applied to someone who is in a state of unhappiness, or suffering bad luck. “malheureusement” describe circumstances that are not optimal, as in “malheureusement il n’a pas survécu” = “unfortunately, he didn’t survived” ---
**Author:** ![Moonrise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonrise/32/14764_2.png) [@Moonrise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonrise)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2023, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-problems-with-word-daily-french/993581/26 "2023-11-24T08:48:19Z")
> [@Tusculan](#): > > “Unhappily, I wandered through the cold dark streets” _J’errais **tristement** par les rues froides et sombres._ This allows you to translate an English adverb with a French adverb, but one that sounds more intense to me than the original. _J’errais **sans joie** par les rues froides et sombres._ This is closer to the intensity of the original, but you have substituted the adverb for a noun phrase (“without joy”). In other words, it depends on whether you prefer sticking as closely as possible to the syntax or to the connotation. ---
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2023, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-problems-with-word-daily-french/993581/27 "2023-11-24T08:57:40Z")
Does “sadly” mean “unhappily”? ---
**Author:** ![Moonrise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonrise/32/14764_2.png) [@Moonrise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonrise)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2023, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-problems-with-word-daily-french/993581/28 "2023-11-24T09:01:00Z")
To me, sadly is more intense than unhappily. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-problems-with-word-daily-french/993581.md?page=1)