Another weird one, but how would you say you're not looking forward to a certain day? For instance, if you were not looking forward to Easter (since its coming soon haha), would it be something like "je n'ai pas hâte à Pâques" or something entirely different?
3 Answers
You were close. Something like this would do
Je n'ai pas hâte d'être à Pâques.
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I don't think you can say être à [holiday] like that. It's not idiomatic in French.– LambieCommented Feb 1, 2016 at 22:36
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Too bad then that so many french people are using it, isn't it?– oldergodCommented Feb 2, 2016 at 3:45
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Franchement? être à Pâques? être à Noel? être aux vacances? Et non.– LambieCommented Feb 2, 2016 at 15:14
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@Lambie je tiens a vous corriger, nous disons "être en vacances".– oldergodCommented Feb 3, 2016 at 9:46
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Vous n'avez pas compris mon sarcasme? On ne dit pas "avoir hâte d'être à [x]. C'était pour montrer le ridicule de la chose...– LambieCommented Feb 3, 2016 at 14:29
In addition to your near miss in your question and the good accepted answer, the following constructions could also capture the general sentiment of "not looking forward to something":
Je ne suis pas pressé(e) de voir Pâques [arriver]. ('I’m not in a hurry to see Easter come.')
or
Je n’ai pas vraiment envie de voir Pâques arriver. ('I really don’t want Easter to come.')
or
Ça ne me dit rien de voir Pâques arriver. ('I don't care much about the coming of Easter.')
The following one would probably be hyperbolic exaggeration and probably not extremely suitable when discussing religious holidays (unless one is terrified of some of the unbelievable paranormal events historically associated with these holidays, e.g., egg-bearing rabbits; chocolate-bearing flying bells; red-suited intruders descending chimneys), but I’ve heard Students use it at Summer’s end:
J’ai la hantise de La Rentrée ('I absolutely dread the beginning of school' [which in most cases actually just means 'I’m not looking forward to the end of Summer']).
answered Apr 4, 2015 at 3:59
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1Thanks, @Amphiteóth for pointing it out & Charlie for fixing it! I was so proud of remembering the circumflex that I forgot that it wasn’t spelled like “Jacques”! “Appréhender” certainly works well to express the opposite of “avoir hâte” w/out having to use “ne pas” (& w/out having to exaggerate like with “avoir la hantise”). I wasn’t even aware of this 2d meaning of the verb (in either French OR English), meaning that I’ve been using its root to express this “anxiety” notion all my life in my own language as a noun (apprehension) & an adjective (apprehensive) w/out even knowing why! Thanks! Commented Apr 4, 2015 at 15:14
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You're most welcome!– user3177Commented Apr 4, 2015 at 18:05
Je n'ai pas hâte à Pâques.
Indeed avoir hâte à + (nom, infinitif) is simply more usual in Québec (see "hâte" in Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, sous la dir. d'A. Rey, ed. Le Robert), but correct nevertheless.
