How do you say "understand" in French?

comprendre

Verb Noun

In French, "understand" is comprendre.

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Pronunciation

Say cohm-prahndr, with a nasal middle sound and the ending dr said quickly as one unit.

Grammar notes

comprendre is a verb used the same way as its English equivalent.

Example sentence

Je comprends la leçon maintenant.

I understand the lesson now.

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How to remember comprendre

To comprehend something is to understand it, and comprendre looks nearly the same as comprehend.

Related words

Browse all French words in the glossary.

Questions about comprendre

How do you pronounce comprendre?

Say cohm-prahndr, with a nasal middle sound and the ending dr said quickly as one unit.

Is comprendre formal or casual?

comprendre is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech.

How is comprendre used in French?

comprendre is used the same way as the equivalent English verb. For example: Je comprends la leçon maintenant. (I understand the lesson now.).

Where can I practice French words for free?

You can play free French minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, no sign-up required. Every word in the French glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.

"Understand" in other languages

Curated by Callan Ratcliffe

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