'Proud of', 'happy to', 'sorry to': emotion adjectives that take 'de'
In English, the little word after a feeling changes all the time: you are happy to see someone, proud of your work, satisfied with a result, sorry about a mistake. French is much simpler. Adjectives like content, heureux, fier, satisfait and désolé nearly always use the same preposition, de, whether the cause is a noun or a verb.
English speakers tend to translate the English preposition word for word and end up with content pour, satisfait avec or heureux à. Once you know that de does almost all the work here, these phrases become easy.
Word list
contentmA1happycontent de te revoir = happy to see you againdésoléA1sorrydésolé de vous déranger = sorry to bother youheureuxmA1happyheureux de vous rencontrer = pleased to meet youtristeA1sadtriste de partir = sad to leaveétonnémA2surprisedétonné de + infinitive = surprised tofâchémA2angryfâché de ce retard = annoyed about this delayinquietmA2worriedinquiet de son silence = worried about his silencemalheureuxmA2sadmalheureux de + infinitive = unhappy tosurprismA2surprisedsurpris de te voir = surprised to see youagacémB1annoyedagacé de devoir attendre = annoyed at having to waitanxieuxmB1anxiousanxieux de connaître les résultats = anxious to know the resultscontentmB1satisfiedcontent de son travail = satisfied with his workcurieuxmB1curiouscurieux de savoir = curious to knowdéçumB1disappointeddéçu du film = disappointed with the filménervémB1annoyedénervé d'attendre = annoyed at waitingenvieuxmB1enviousenvieux de sa réussite = envious of his successfiermB1proudfier d'avoir réussi = proud to have succeededfurieuxmB1angryfurieux d'avoir perdu = furious at losinghonteuxmB1ashamedhonteux de son comportement = ashamed of his behaviorinsatisfaitmB1dissatisfiedinsatisfait de son salaire = dissatisfied with his salaryjalouxmB1jealousjaloux de son frère = jealous of his brothermécontentmB1dissatisfiedmécontent du service = dissatisfied with the servicereconnaissantmB1gratefulreconnaissant de + reason = grateful forsatisfaitmB1satisfiedsatisfait du résultat = satisfied with the resultavideB2greedyavide de pouvoir = greedy for powerdésireuxmB2willingdésireux de + infinitive = eager toembarrassémB2embarrassedembarrassé de vous demander ça = embarrassed to ask youfrustrémB2frustratedfrustré de ne pas comprendre = frustrated at not understandinggênémB2embarrassedgêné de vous déranger = embarrassed to bother youimpatientmB2impatientimpatient de + infinitive = can't wait toirritémB2annoyedirrité d'attendre = irritated at waitingsoulagémB2relievedsoulagé d'avoir fini = relieved to have finishedflattémC2flatteredflatté de votre confiance = flattered by your trust
How it works
The pattern is être + emotion adjective + de + the cause of the feeling. The cause can be an infinitive (what you do or did) or a noun (what the feeling is about).
Je suis content de te revoir.
(I'm happy to see you again.)
Elle est satisfaite du résultat.
(She is satisfied with the result.)
Remember the usual contractions: de + le becomes du, de + les becomes des, and de becomes d' before a vowel or a mute h. When the feeling is about something already done, use the past infinitive: d'avoir or d'être + past participle.
Ils sont fiers d'avoir gagné.
(They are proud to have won.)
Rule of thumb: where English says to, of, with or about after a feeling, French says de.
The words
Happiness and satisfaction
Content, heureux and satisfait are the everyday ones. Heureux de vous rencontrer is a classic polite phrase when meeting someone.
Nous sommes heureux de vous rencontrer.
(We are happy to meet you.)
Pride and shame
Fier (feminine fière) and honteux (feminine honteuse) work the same way. Note that the h of honteux is aspirated, but that only matters after an article: after de it changes nothing.
Il est honteux de son comportement.
(He is ashamed of his behavior.)
Sadness and apology
Triste, malheureux and désolé take de too. Désolé de is how you apologize for what you are doing or about to do.
Désolée de vous déranger.
(Sorry to bother you.)
Je suis triste de partir.
(I'm sad to leave.)
Surprise, disappointment and relief
Surpris, étonné, déçu and soulagé all introduce their cause with de.
Tu es surprise de me voir ?
(Are you surprised to see me?)
Je suis déçu du film.
(I'm disappointed with the film.)
Elle est soulagée d'avoir fini ses examens.
(She is relieved to have finished her exams.)
Looking forward
Impatient and désireux are followed by de + infinitive. Impatient de is the natural way to say you can't wait.
Je suis impatient de commencer.
(I can't wait to start.)
Gratitude and flattery
Reconnaissant and flatté are more formal, but they follow the same pattern.
Je suis flatté de votre invitation.
(I'm flattered by your invitation.)
Outside this word list, ravi and mécontent behave the same way: ravi de vous voir.
Watch out
The person and the reason are different things
With reconnaissant, the person you thank takes à (often as a pronoun like vous or lui), and the reason takes de. Before a noun, pour is also possible.
Je vous suis reconnaissant de votre aide.
(I'm grateful to you for your help.)
A new subject needs que
De + infinitive only works when the person feeling the emotion is also the person doing the action. If someone else does it, switch to que + subjunctive.
Je suis content que tu sois là.
(I'm happy that you're here.)
De is the safe choice, not always the only one
With a noun, some adjectives also accept other prepositions: déçu par or surpris par is common when a person or a specific event is the cause. However, de is always correct in these patterns, while content pour te voir or satisfait avec le résultat are typical mistakes.
Summary
When a French adjective expresses a feeling such as happiness, pride, shame, sadness, surprise or relief, introduce the cause with de: de + infinitive (content de te voir, fier d'avoir gagné) or de + noun (satisfait du résultat). Forget the English to, of, with or about. If someone else does the action, use que + subjunctive instead.
'Proud of', 'happy to', 'sorry to': emotion adjectives that take 'de'