Avoir honte de = to be ashamed of (French Expressions with avoir)

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To express being ashamed in French, we can use the expression avoir honte de.

How to use 'avoir honte de' in French

Look at these examples:

Il a honte de ses mauvaises habitudes.He's ashamed of his bad habits.

Vous n'avez pas honte ?Aren't you ashamed ?

Vous avez honte de continuer à fumer.You're ashamed to keep on smoking.

Note that the French expression uses avoir (literally "to have shame of"), whereas in English we say to be ashamed.

Here are the different ways to use the expression avoir honte de :

Avoir honte de [quelque chose/quelqu'un] To be ashamed of [something/someone]

J'ai honte de Lucas.I'm ashamed of Lucas.

Elle a honte d'Olivier.She's ashamed of Olivier.

Ils ont honte de leurs notes.They're ashamed of their grades.

J'ai honte de ma belle-sœur.I am ashamed of my sister-in-law.

Thomas a honte des opinions de certains hommes.Thomas is ashamed of some men's opinions.

Nous avons honte du projet final.We are ashamed of the final project.

Note that de + le, la, l', les (= of the) follows the contraction rule of dedu, de la, de l', des.

 

Avoir honte de [faire quelque chose] To be ashamed of [doing something]

Tu as honte de mentir tout le temps.You are ashamed of lying all the time.

Nous avons honte d'être si égoïstes parfois.We are ashamed of being so selfish sometimes.

Il a honte de ne pas plus aider les gens.He's ashamed of not helping people more.

 

Note that avoir honte de is followed by the infinitive of the verb, unlike -ing in English.

 

Avoir honte de [moi, toi, lui, elle, nous, vous, eux, elles] To be ashamed of [me, you, him, her, us, you, them]

Est-ce que tu as honte de moi ?Are you ashamed of me?

Martine a honte d'eux.Martine is ashamed of them.

Vous avez honte de nous.You are ashamed of us.
 

Note that in this case, avoir honte de is followed by a stress pronoun.
See also Moi/toi/lui/elle/soi/nous/vous/eux/elles - advanced usages (French Stress Pronouns)
 

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Examples and resources

Elle a honte d'Olivier.She's ashamed of Olivier.
J'ai honte de ma belle-sœur.I am ashamed of my sister-in-law.
Nous avons honte du projet final.We are ashamed of the final project.
Martine a honte d'eux.Martine is ashamed of them.
Vous avez honte de nous.You are ashamed of us.
Est-ce que tu as honte de moi ?Are you ashamed of me?
Tu as honte de mentir tout le temps.You are ashamed of lying all the time.
Il a honte de ses mauvaises habitudes.He's ashamed of his bad habits.
Nous avons honte d'être si égoïstes parfois.We are ashamed of being so selfish sometimes.
Ils ont honte de leurs notes.They're ashamed of their grades.
Thomas a honte des opinions de certains hommes.Thomas is ashamed of some men's opinions.
Nous avons honte de notre comportement.We are ashamed of our behaviour.
Vous avez honte de continuer à fumer.You're ashamed to keep on smoking.
Vous n'avez pas honte ?Aren't you ashamed ?
Il a honte de ne pas plus aider les gens.He's ashamed of not helping people more.
J'ai honte de Lucas.I'm ashamed of Lucas.
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