Can you tell me if this sentence makes sense? I want to say something like "Sometimes husbands tire of domestic life and they go out with other women to have fun." Here's the phrase I wrote: "Parfois les maris s'ennuient de la vie domestique et ils y ajoutent la galanterie pour s'amuser."
Your sentence has two problems : “S’ennuyer de” = to miss something/someone and “galanterie” which sounds outdated.
“S’ennuyer” is a tricky verb since the meaning changes very easily.
Ennuyer : To bore / To bother (the context indicated
- Ce travail m’ennuie = This work is boring me.(1)
- Tu m’ennuies à tout le temps me poser des tonnes de questions = You’re bothering me, you’re always asking tons of questions.
- Tu m’ennuies à me parler de ce film que j’ai déjà vu = You’re boring me talking about this movie I already saw.
- Paris m’ennuie = Paris is boring me.
S’ennuyer : To be bored / To get bored
- Je m’ennuies = I am bored
- Tu t’ennuies = You are bored
- Je me suis ennuyée = I got bored.
S’ennuyer de : To miss (sort of languishing/it’s quite a poetic meaning)
- Je m’ennuie de Paris = I miss Paris. (unlike
To express your idea, you have two options. You still can use the verb Ennuyer with the (1) structure - hence you got to switch the order > “La vie domestique ennuie les maris.”
Or second option (what I think is best), you can use the verb “se lasser” which is actually the best translation for “to tire”. > “Les maris se lassent de la vie domestique.” It feels much more natural, yet both are correct. It’s up to you.
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On the “galanterie” case, again, few options are available.
“Les maris se lassent de la vie domestique et…”
- the most literal : “…vont voir d’autres femmes pour s’amuser.”
- the most natural but it can sound informal : “… vont voir ailleurs pour aller prendre du bon temps.” (Lit., they go see elsewhere to have some good time. “Aller voir ailleurs” is an idiom for cheating/dating when they shouldn’t.)
- the most formal : “… recherchent la compagnie d’autres femmes pour s’évader.” (Lit., they look for some other women’ company to get away [from domestic life])
“Galanterie” doesn’t mean to go out with women. The Galanterie is the set of rules men should use when they are with women. Like opening the door for her, pull the chair away from the table so she can seat more easily and then push her closer to the table so she’s comfortable at the table etc. It indeed used to be a polite way to speak about affairs but it was a long time ago. Using it in that sense today sounds utterly formal, way too formal for a young lady. It conveys a sort of shyness.
Hope that helps!
