15.2. Ça me touche

Expressing One’s Emotional Reaction to a Topic

15.2.1. The Main Idea

To express an emotional reaction in French, you can use expressions such as ça me touche, ça me rend triste, ça m’inquiète, and je trouve ça…

Ça me touche.	That touches me / moves me.
Ça me rend triste.	That makes me sad.
Ça m’inquiète.	That worries me.
Je trouve ça important.	I find that important.

These expressions help you say how a topic affects you emotionally.

15.2.2. Asking About Emotional Reactions

Ça te touche ?	Does that touch / move you?
Ça t’inquiète ?	Does that worry you?
Ça te rend triste ?	Does that make you sad?
Qu’est-ce que tu ressens ?	What do you feel?
Comment tu te sens ?	How do you feel?
Comment ce sujet te fait réagir ?	How does this topic make you react?

15.2.3. Expressing Positive Reactions

Ça me touche.	That moves me.
Ça me rend heureux.	That makes me happy. masculine speaker
Ça me rend heureuse.	That makes me happy. feminine speaker
Ça me donne de l’espoir.	That gives me hope.
Ça m’encourage.	That encourages me.
Je trouve ça inspirant.	I find that inspiring. masculine object
Je trouve ça intéressant.	I find that interesting.

15.2.4. Expressing Negative Reactions

Ça me rend triste.	That makes me sad.
Ça m’inquiète.	That worries me.
Ça me fait peur.	That scares me.
Ça me choque.	That shocks me.
Ça me dérange.	That bothers me.
Je trouve ça difficile.	I find that difficult.
Je trouve ça stressant.	I find that stressful.

15.2.5. Expressing Mixed or Moderate Reactions

Ça me touche un peu.	That moves me a little.
Ça m’inquiète un peu.	That worries me a little.
Je trouve ça intéressant, mais difficile.	I find that interesting, but difficult.
Je comprends, mais ça me dérange.	I understand, but that bothers me.
Je ne sais pas quoi penser.	I do not know what to think.

15.2.6. Useful Emotion Words

heureux	happy, masculine
heureuse	happy, feminine
triste	sad
inquiet	worried, masculine
inquiète	worried, feminine
touché	moved / touched, masculine
touchée	moved / touched, feminine
choqué	shocked, masculine
choquée	shocked, feminine
inspiré	inspired, masculine
inspirée	inspired, feminine
stressé	stressed, masculine
stressée	stressed, feminine

15.2.7. Using Rendre + Adjective

Use rendre + adjective to say that something makes someone feel a certain way.

Ça me rend triste.	That makes me sad.
Ça me rend heureux.	That makes me happy. masculine speaker
Ça te rend inquiète ?	Does that make you worried? feminine
Ce sujet nous rend tristes.	This topic makes us sad.

With rendre, the adjective agrees with the person who feels the emotion.

15.2.8. Using Faire + Infinitive or Noun

Use faire to describe the effect something has.

Ça me fait peur.	That scares me. / That makes me afraid.
Ça me fait réfléchir.	That makes me think.
Ça me fait sourire.	That makes me smile.
Ça me fait de la peine.	That makes me sad / hurts me emotionally.

15.2.9. Giving a Reason

Use parce que, car, or puisque to explain your emotional reaction.

Ça m’inquiète parce que c’est sérieux.	That worries me because it is serious.
Ça me touche parce que c’est personnel.	That moves me because it is personal.
Ça me rend triste car beaucoup de personnes souffrent.	That makes me sad because many people are suffering.
Puisque ce sujet est important, il faut en parler.	Since this topic is important, we have to talk about it.

15.2.10. With Social or Environmental Topics

La pauvreté me rend triste.	Poverty makes me sad.
Le changement climatique m’inquiète.	Climate change worries me.
L’injustice me choque.	Injustice shocks me.
La pollution me dérange.	Pollution bothers me.
Ce problème me fait réfléchir.	This problem makes me think.
Ce sujet me touche beaucoup.	This topic moves me a lot.

15.2.11. Core Patterns

Ça me touche.	That moves me.
Ça m’inquiète.	That worries me.
Ça me rend + adjective.	That makes me ___.
Ça me fait + infinitive.	That makes me ___.
Ça me fait peur.	That scares me.
Je trouve ça + adjective.	I find that ___.
parce que / car / puisque	because / since

15.2.12. Practice

That moves me.
That worries me.
That makes me sad.
That scares me.
That makes me think.
I find that inspiring.
Climate change worries me.
Poverty makes me sad.
That moves me because it is personal.

15.2.13. Answers

That moves me.	Ça me touche.
That worries me.	Ça m’inquiète.
That makes me sad.	Ça me rend triste.
That scares me.	Ça me fait peur.
That makes me think.	Ça me fait réfléchir.
I find that inspiring.	Je trouve ça inspirant.
Climate change worries me.	Le changement climatique m’inquiète.
Poverty makes me sad.	La pauvreté me rend triste.
That moves me because it is personal.	Ça me touche parce que c’est personnel.

15.2.14. Short Dialogue

A : Ce sujet t’intéresse ?	A: Are you interested in this topic?
B : Oui, il m’intéresse beaucoup. Il me touche aussi.	B: Yes, it interests me a lot. It also moves me.
A : Pourquoi ?	A: Why?
B : Parce que c’est personnel et important. Et toi ?	B: Because it is personal and important. And you?
A : Moi, ça m’inquiète un peu, mais ça me fait réfléchir.	A: Me, it worries me a little, but it makes me think.

15.2.15. Checkpoint

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to express emotional reactions to a topic with ça me touche, ça m’inquiète, ça me rend triste, ça me fait peur, and je trouve ça…, and explain your reaction with parce que, car, or puisque.