The translational gas temperature was measured in 13.56 MHz radio-frequency (rf) discharges in CF4 and CHF3. Infrared absorption spectra of CF4 and CF2 were recorded using a tunable diode laser and the gas temperature was deduced from the linewidths of the absorption lines of these molecules. It is shown that linewidth measurements yield a simple and direct method to determine the gas temperature, with an accuracy up to similar to 10 K. The results obtained in CF4 and CHF3 plasmas indicate that the translational temperatures of all particles investigated in these plasmas are, at most, 50 K above the room temperature. The temperature increases with increasing gas pressure and rf power, but it is independent of the flow rate. This is attributed to an increased heating rate of the gas. Moreover, it was found that the temperature rise is significantly smaller in CHF3 than in CF4, under the same plasma conditions. This can be attributed to a higher power dissipation by chemical conversion of the parent gas in a CHF3 discharge, as compared with a CF4 plasma.