rire at C2 — literary & formal
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Scorn in print: literature, courts and press.
The written register
In literary French the verb turns pronominal: « se rire de » means to make light of, to brush aside — « le héros se rit des obstacles ». It takes de, never à, and it belongs to novels and speeches. Everyday French would use « se moquer de », which is not at all the same shade: se moquer mocks, se rire dismisses.
Two derivatives carry the cold register. « Risible » does not mean funny: it means derisory, an offer or an excuse too small to take seriously. « La risée de » names public humiliation — « le maire est devenu la risée de la presse ». Add « un rire homérique », the vast literary laugh that runs through a whole room.
💡 Focus at this level: Formal — se rire de, risible, la risée de
👨🏫 How to use « rire » at this level
1. « Se rire de » = to make light of. Literary, and only pronominal.
2. « Risible » = laughable, derisory. Cold and dismissive, never funny.
3. « La risée de » = the laughing stock of. Press and biography.
🔊 Example sentences
✍️ Practice
Which is more formal: « il se moque des difficultés » ou « il se rit des difficultés » ?
Show answer
« Il se rit des difficultés ». Se rire de is literary; se moquer de is the everyday verb.
A tribunal calls an offer insultingly small. Which adjective: « drôle » ou « risible » ?
Show answer
« Risible ». Here it means derisory; « drôle » would say the offer was genuinely funny.
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