Rire, rigoler or se marrer: laughing and joking in French
Choose between rire, rigoler and se marrer with a register comparison, a joking exchange, useful verb forms and four quick practice questions.
In short
Rire is the neutral verb for laughing. Rigoler and se marrer are informal: use them for having a laugh with friends. Je rigole can also mean “I’m joking”.
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What is the difference between rire, rigoler and se marrer?
rireto laugh
Focus: A neutral description, suitable in conversation or writing.
rire avec quelqu’un
Léo rit avec ses colocataires.
Léo is laughing with his flatmates.
rigolerto laugh; to joke
Focus: An informal conversation, including a remark made for fun.
rigoler avec quelqu’un
On a bien rigolé pendant la pause.
We had a good laugh during the break.
se marrerto have a laugh
Focus: A familiar, relaxed way to describe amusement.
se marrer avec quelqu’un
Je me marre avec Nora.
I’m having a laugh with Nora.
How do you say “I’m joking” in French?
- Nora
Demain, on commence à cinq heures du matin !
Tomorrow we start at five in the morning!
- Samir
Tu rigoles ? C’est beaucoup trop tôt !
Are you joking? That’s far too early!
- Nora
Oui, je rigole. On commence à neuf heures, comme d’habitude.
Yes, I’m joking. We start at nine, as usual.
Here, Tu rigoles ? reacts to a surprising suggestion. Nora’s je rigole tells Samir how to take her words. For a neutral written account of the exchange, use Nora plaisante (Nora is joking).
Keep the forms with the verb
| Subject | rire | rigoler | se marrer |
|---|---|---|---|
| je | je ris | je rigole | je me marre |
| nous | nous rions | nous rigolons | nous nous marrons |
| ils | ils rient | ils rigolent | ils se marrent |
| Past with on | on a ri | on a rigolé | on s’est marrés |
In the last row, on means a group including at least one man; an all-female group writes on s’est marrées. The past participle of rire is ri: Nous avons beaucoup ri.
How do you say “laugh at” and “laugh with” in French?
Nous avons ri avec Léo.
We laughed with Léo.
Avec identifies a companion in the shared laugh.
Ils ont ri de Léo quand il est tombé.
They laughed at Léo when he fell.
In this scene, Léo is the target of their laughter.
Changing avec to de changes the relationship. To make mockery explicit, use se moquer de: Ils se moquent de Léo. A familiar verb can describe a friendly laugh; the scene shows who is being included or targeted.