Comment s'en sortir avec sortie

By Marie-Claire Lander

When you want to exit a building, look for a sign that says Sortie (Exit). Based on the past participle of the verb sortir (to go out), la sortie is a very versatile word that can be used in many different ways, both literally and figuratively.

As mentioned earlier, la sortie refers to “the exit” of a building. The studio in the video below has several sorties, which may explain André’s wife’s mysterious disappearance:

Ah ben... parce qu'il y a d'autres sorties...

Oh, well... because there are other exits...

Caption 24, Le Jour où tout a basculé Ma femme est-elle réellement morte ? - Part 2
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Just as in English, you can combine sortie with faire (to make): faire sa sortie (to make one's exit), like singers and superstars do.

Voici comment toutes les grandes superstars font leur sortie.

Here's how all the big superstars make their exit.

Captions 64-65, Extr@ Ep. 5 - Une étoile est née - Part 3
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Speaking of singers, we also use the word sortie to talk about an album release:

Sortie de l'album le vingt-sept février deux mille douze

Album release February twenty-seventh, two thousand twelve

Caption 1, Boulbar New York, 6 heures du matin
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Sortie is also a verb form meaning "released." In this case, it's the feminine past participle of the verb sortir (to be released). Remember that sortir belongs to the small group of verbs that go with the auxiliary être and take agreement in the past tense. In the video below, sortie agrees with the feminine noun chanson (song):

Cette chanson est sortie en deux mille onze.

This song was released in two thousand eleven.

Caption 134, Français avec Nelly 12 Songs to Improve Your French - Part 1
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It’s not just songs or movies that can be released. People can too! In the example below, it’s a prisoner who is being freed.

Dès sa sortie de prison, Brice contacte Enzo.

As soon as he is released from prison, Brice contacts Enzo.

Caption 1, Le Jour où tout a basculé À la recherche de mon père - Part 9
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The recently released prisoner would no longer need permission for chaque sortie (each outing), unlike French residents during the early COVID pandemic:

Il faut signer une attestation, surtout attester de chaque sortie.

You have to sign a certificate, above all register every outing.

Captions 54-55, Lionel L La pandémie
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As for poor Barbara, she has to beg her mother for la permission de sortie:

Il fallait passer par d'interminables négociations pour obtenir la permission de sortie.

I had to go through endless negotiations to obtain permission to go out.

Captions 26-27, Mère & Fille La soirée
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Unlike Barbara, our former prisoner is free to enjoy être de sortie (being out and about), like the people in this Christine and the Queens song:

Nous et la "man", on est de sortie

We and the man, we are out and about

Caption 25, Christine and the Queens Christine
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Être de sortie can also just mean “to be out,” as opposed to being home:

J'aurais pu refuser et prétexter que j'étais de sortie

I could've refused on the pretext that I was out

Caption 72, Le Jour où tout a basculé Ma mère fait tout pour briser mon couple - Part 5
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Interestingly, when sortie is preceded by the definite article la (the), as in à la sortie, the phrase usually signals the end of an activity:

À la sortie, cette idée semble avoir été abandonnée

In the end, they seem to have abandoned this idea

Caption 6, Le Journal Enseigner l'Holocauste en classe
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À la sortie de la séance, certains n'en reviennent toujours pas.

At the end of the showing, some still can't believe it.

Caption 27, Le Journal Les Ch'tis
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...et de me les communiquer à la sortie du conseil de classe.

...and communicate them to me at the end of the teachers' conference.

Captions 54-55, Mère & Fille Le coup de téléphone
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However, note the subtlety here. La sortie des classes doesn’t just mean the end of classes, but also when classes are dismissed:

Ça tombe juste pendant la sortie des classes.

That falls right when classes are dismissed.

Caption 23, Le Jour où tout a basculé Ma mère fait tout pour briser mon couple - Part 3
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And watch out: in a different context, une sortie de classe is a "field trip" or "school trip," like the one Barbara is going on:

Les sorties de classe, c'est l'occasion de découvrir des choses nouvelles

Class field trips are an opportunity to discover new things

Caption 1, Mère & Fille La sortie de classe
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Here are some other uses of the noun sortie. This one is straightforward: à la sortie du four means “out of the oven."

...pour que les manneles à la sortie du four, ils aient une belle croûte.

...so that the mannele out of the oven have a beautiful crust.

Caption 62, Alsace 20 Grain de Sel: le Lycée hôtelier Alexandre Dumas
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In the next example, however, the meaning is not so obvious. Remember earlier when we talked about la sortie d’un album? This time, la sortie sort of means the opposite: "the phaseout" or "the end of an era":

Tu crois que pour toi ça symbolise la sortie du nucléaire, là ?

Do you think this symbolizes the phaseout of nuclear energy for you?

Caption 75, Actus Quartier Manif anti-nucléaire à Bastille
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Another less common meaning of sortie is “output” in an industrial context, as in la sortie de l’électricité:

Dans les batteries, on a des contacteurs qui coupent la sortie de l'électricité

In the batteries, we have contactors that shut off the electricity output

Captions 64-65, Bateau sport 100% électrique Le Nautique 196 E
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And in a commercial context, we have l'entrée et sortie de marchandises:

...logiciels informatiques pour gérer tout ce qui est entrée et sortie de marchandises.

...computing software to manage everything that is about the entry and departure of goods.

Captions 33-34, GO! Formations Présentation du centre
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Indeed, sortie can mean “departure,” as in to leave a place or depart. In the video below, la sortie refers to the time the couple left the hotel:

Au moment de leur sortie, eh bien, cette carte avait disparu.

At the time of their departure, well, this card had gone missing.

Captions 88-89, Le Jour où tout a basculé À l'audience - Arnaque en couple ? - Part 6
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In some cases, sortie doesn’t just mean “departure,” but “quitting,” as in giving up:

C'est-à-dire les différentes épisodes de sortie, ensuite, les envies, et cetera, correspondent en tout point à ce que nous vivons avec...des patients qui fument...

That is, the different quitting episodes, then the cravings, et cetera, correspond point by point with what we experience with...patients who smoke...

Captions 157-160, Le Figaro Elle a banni le sucre pendant un an - Part 2
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So far, we’ve explored many ways of using the word sortie, and like Sacha in the video below, you may be wondering comment vous allez vous en sortir (how you’re going to manage):

Oh là là là là, comment vont-ils s'en sortir ?

Oh dear, how are they going to manage?

Caption 10, Extr@ Ep. 6 - Le jour du loto - Part 1
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Just keep in mind that the main meanings of sortie are “exit," "departure," and "outing." However, pay close attention to context to interpret the less common uses of sortie. And remember that Yabla videos are at your disposal pour vous aider à vous en sortir (to help you cope). Thanks for reading!

Topics Vocabulary