The French word malgré is a preposition meaning “despite” or “in spite of.” It is used to express contrast or opposition between two ideas. Malgré is always followed by a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase, and it is commonly used in both written and spoken French.

Basic usage of malgré

Malgré introduces a circumstance that does not prevent the main action from happening. Here are some simple examples:

Malgré la pluie, nous sommes sortis.
Despite the rain, we went out.

Ils sont partis en randonnée, malgré le froid.
They went hiking, despite the cold.

Elle a pris la parole, malgré ses craintes.
She spoke up, despite her fears.

Le projet a réussi, malgré les obstacles.
The project succeeded, despite the obstacles.

Malgré son âge, il court très vite.
Despite his age, he runs very fast.

Malgré ses efforts, elle n’a pas réussi.
Despite her efforts, she did not succeed.

Il a continué à travailler, malgré tout.
He kept working, despite everything.

Elle a souri, malgré sa tristesse.
She smiled, despite her sadness.

Nous avons terminé à temps, malgré les retards.
We finished on time, despite the delays.

Malgré with pronouns

When used with pronouns, malgré is followed by a stressed pronoun (moi, toi, lui, elle, nous, vous, eux, elles).

Malgré lui, il a dû accepter.
In spite of himself, he had to accept.

Malgré eux, ils ont perdu le match.
Despite themselves, they lost the match.

Malgré elle, la décision a été prise.
Despite her, the decision was made.

Examples with varying placement

Malgré la pluie, le match a eu lieu. (Beginning)
Despite the rain, the match took place.

Le match a eu lieu, malgré la pluie. (End)
The match took place, despite the rain.

Le match, malgré la pluie, a eu lieu. (Middle)
The match, despite the rain, took place.

Malgré with noun phrases

Malgré can also introduce longer noun phrases to provide more context.

Malgré les difficultés financières, l’entreprise a survécu.
Despite the financial difficulties, the company survived.

Malgré le manque de temps, il a terminé son projet.
Despite the lack of time, he finished his project.

Malgré les avertissements, il a continué.
Despite the warnings, he continued.

Malgré in formal and literary contexts

In more formal or literary writing, malgré can be used to convey a stronger sense of opposition.

Malgré tout, elle gardait espoir.
Despite everything, she kept hope.

Malgré les apparences, il était innocent.
Despite appearances, he was innocent.

Malgré les siècles, la tradition persiste.
Despite the centuries, the tradition persists.

Common expressions with malgré

Some fixed expressions use malgré to convey specific meanings.

Malgré moi (against my will)
Il a agi malgré moi.
He acted against my will.

Malgré tout (despite everything)
Malgré tout, je t’aime.
Despite everything, I love you.

Malgré cela (despite that)
Malgré cela, il a refusé.
Despite that, he refused.

Malgré vs. en dépit de

Malgré is more common in everyday speech, while en dépit de is slightly more formal but means the same thing.

En dépit de la fatigue, il a continué.
Despite the fatigue, he continued.

Malgré la fatigue, il a continué.
Despite the fatigue, he continued.