What does 'c'est dommage' mean in English?

'C'est dommage' means 'that's a shame', 'that's too bad' or 'that's unfortunate'. Literally it says 'it is damage' — 'dommage' is the French noun for damage — but in everyday speech it's simply how you react with mild regret to something disappointing.

How do you pronounce 'c'est dommage'?

It sounds like 'seh do-MAHJ'. The 'c'est' is a short 'seh' (never 'sess'), the final 'e' of dommage is silent, and the 'ge' at the end is the soft J sound of the English word 'measure' — not the hard J of 'jam'.

Does 'dommage que' take the subjunctive?

Yes. 'C'est dommage que' is always followed by the subjunctive: 'C'est dommage que tu ne puisses pas venir' (it's a shame you can't come), not 'tu ne peux pas'. It expresses an emotion, and emotion verbs and expressions trigger the subjunctive in French.

When should you NOT say 'c'est dommage'?

Never use it for genuinely serious bad news — an illness, a death, a job loss. 'C'est dommage' is reserved for small misfortunes like cancelled plans or rain. For serious news say 'Je suis vraiment désolé' or, for a bereavement, 'Toutes mes condoléances'.

C'est Dommage: What It Really Means (and When Never to Say It)

C'est dommageis one of those tiny French phrases that does an enormous amount of work. French people say it dozens of times a week — when a friend cancels, when the bakery is out of croissants, when it rains on a day off. It's in my latest short below, and it takes about ten seconds to learn. But there is one situation where saying it will make you sound cold rather than kind, and there's a grammar trap hiding right behind it. Let's do both.

🎬 French Expression #4 — C'est dommage. Say it out loud after me.

The meaning

C'est dommage = "That's a shame" / "That's too bad" / "That's unfortunate."

Word for word it says something much stranger: dommage is a noun meaning damage, so you are literally announcing "it is damage." That's the same dommage you meet in legal French (dommages et intérêts — damages) and in the news ( dommages collatéraux— collateral damage). Don't translate it that way in conversation. In daily speech it has softened into a simple, warm expression of regret.

The pronunciation: seh do-MAHJ

c'est → a short, clean "seh". Not "sess", not "say".
dommage → do-MAHJ, with the stress landing on the last syllable, as almost always in French.
The final -e is silent. The -ge is the soft J of "measure" or "beige" — never the hard J of "jam".

The four ways you'll actually hear it

Dommage ! — on its own, thrown out fast. The most common form of all: "Shame!"
C'est dommage. — the neutral, full sentence.
Quel dommage ! — "What a pity!" A touch more expressive, more emotional.
C'est vraiment dommage. — "That's a real shame." When you want to show you mean it.

In context:

— Je ne peux pas venir ce soir. — Ah, c'est dommage !
("I can't come tonight." — "Oh, that's a shame!")
— Le musée est fermé le lundi. — Dommage, on reviendra.
("The museum is closed on Mondays." — "Shame, we'll come back.")

The grammar trap: dommage que + subjunctive

The moment you want to say what is a shame, French forces you into the subjunctive — because c'est dommage expresses an emotion, and emotions trigger the subjunctive:

✅ C'est dommage que tu ne puisses pas venir. — It's a shame you can't come.
❌ C'est dommage que tu ne peux pas venir. (the indicative here is a classic learner mistake)
✅ C'est dommage qu'il fasse mauvais. — It's a shame the weather's bad.
✅ C'est dommage que ce soit si cher. — It's a shame it's so expensive.

If the subjunctive scares you, there's a shortcut every French person uses: put a full stop after dommage. Say "Tu ne peux pas venir ? Dommage !"and you've avoided the whole thing while sounding completely native.

The mistake that matters: don't say it for real bad news

This is the part learners get wrong, and it's the one that stings. C'est dommage is for smallmisfortunes: a cancelled dinner, a sold-out concert, a rainy Sunday. Say it to someone who has just lost their job, or their grandmother, and you will sound careless — the English equivalent of shrugging and saying "aw, too bad." For genuinely bad news, use:

Je suis vraiment désolé. — I'm truly sorry.
Je suis de tout cœur avec toi. — My heart goes out to you.
Toutes mes condoléances. — My deepest condolences. (bereavement only)

C'est dommage vs tant pis

These two get confused constantly, and the difference is who is doing the feeling:

C'est dommage = regret. You're sorry the thing happened. It's often about someone else's bad luck, and it's empathetic.
Tant pis = resignation. "Oh well, never mind." You're shrugging and moving on — usually about your own situation.

So: "Il n'y a plus de billets… tant pis, on ira demain."("No tickets left… oh well, we'll go tomorrow.") But if it's your friend who missed out: "Ah, c'est dommage !"

Now say it out loud

Play the video once more and repeat after me until seh do-MAHJ comes out without you thinking about it — that automatic reflex is the whole point of a short expression like this one. Then pick up the next one in the series: Tu me prends la tête, the phrase French people use when someone is doing their head in. And if you want to build a real bank of everyday phrases, start with my French vocabulary hub.

Want someone to correct your pronunciation as you speak — including the subjunctive traps like dommage que? I teach one-to-one online and you can book a free 30-minute trial lesson.