Récupérer is not just a near-cognate of “recuperate” in English. This versatile verb has a wide range of meanings: “to collect," "to pick up," to recover,” and much more. Let's explore how récupérer translates in different situations through Yabla videos.
The closest translation to English of récupérer is “recuperate.” In the sense of physical recovery, récupérer is used on its own and is intransitive just like in English:
Elle a pris une journée de congé pour récupérer.
She took a day off to recuperate.
Since the verb “recuperate” is a lot less common in English, récupérer is more likely to translate as “to recover." In the example below, Joanna wants to récupérer musculairement (her muscles to recover):
Alors pour mieux récupérer, pour faciliter la récupération... -Oui. on va faire quelques étirements, quelques assouplissements qui vont te permettre de récupérer musculairement.
So to recover better, to facilitate the recovery... -Yes. we're going to do some stretches, some limbering-up exercises that are going to allow your muscles to recover.
Captions 5-7, Joanna La course à pied: Récupération
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But récupérer does not only mean “to recover physically.” Récupérer can also be a transitive verb, in which case it means “to recover” an object. Depending on what type of object is being recovered, you will notice that the translation will vary. In this video, the speaker talks about récupérer des œufs de poisson (recovering fish eggs):
Les œufs des poissons sont récupérés, sont mis à part.
The fish eggs are, uh recovered, are set apart.
Captions 9-10, Lionel à Lindre-Basse - Part 5
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Instead of récupérer des œufs de poisson (recovering fish eggs), the cook in this next video récupère la pulpe des pamplemousses (collects grapefruit pulp). This time, récupérer means “to collect”:
Puis elle récupère la pulpe des pamplemousses qu'elle ajoute dessus
Then she collects the pulp from the grapefruits, which she adds on top
Caption 80, KTOTV Recettes traditionnelles de Noël - Part 1
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Moving on from food, we can also récupérer objects like un trousseau de clés:
Alerté par un message de Mathieu, son complice récupère le trousseau afin d'en faire un double.
Alerted by a message from Mathieu, his accomplice retrieves the set of keys in order to make a duplicate of them.
Captions 65-67, Le Jour où tout a basculé Je me suis fait voler ma musique - Part 4
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In another video, a fan is told to go récupérer des photos at an actress’s home. This time the verb translates as “pick up”:
Euh... si tu veux, tu peux passer à la maison les récupérer.
Uh... if you want, you can drop by my house to pick them up.
Caption 73, Le Jour où tout a basculé J'ai piégé mon fan - Part 4
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In a political context, we have the phrase récupérer des voix (to pick up votes):
C'est... je crois pour récupérer les voix de l'extrême droite et... -Oui.
It's... I think to pick up votes from the far right and... -Yes.
Caption 23, Sophie et Patrice Le port de l'abaya à l'école
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And in a legal context, officials might need to récupérer des témoignages (gather testimonies):
Une fois que les policiers ont récupéré les témoignages de ces messieurs, ils ont estimé que Madame Berdil était coupable.
Once the police gathered these gentlemen's testimonies, they considered Ms. Berdil guilty.
Captions 66-67, Le Jour où tout a basculé À l'audience - Arnaque en couple ? - Part 5
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However, when referring to objects that would otherwise be discarded, récupérer can have a different meaning, “to salvage." In the video below, the artist récupère de la tapisserie (salvages tapestries) for his creations:
Donc c'est de la tapisserie qu'il récupère sur lequel [sic: laquelle] il peint et sur certaines même il refait des empiècements en tissu...
So it's tapestry that he salvages on which he paints and on some he even remakes fabric inserts...
Captions 36-39, Le saviez-vous? L'art figuratif de Lucien Murat
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You can also récupérer animals instead of objects, though you wouldn't "salvage animals" in English. Rather, you'd "rescue" them:
Depuis deux mille huit, une équipe de bénévoles qui s'occupent de récupérer et de soigner les animaux sauvages qui ont été blessés.
Since two thousand eight, [it's] a team of volunteers who are concerned with rescuing and taking care of wild animals that have been injured.
Captions 11-14, Le Monde Sauver les animaux sauvages ? C'est la mission de cette clinique - Part 1
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Sometimes récupérer is not so much an intentional act. In some circumstances, it just means that something ends up in your possession, like the parents in this video, who become the proud owners of a piano:
Je suis né à Paris en France et j'ai commencé à faire du piano vers l'âge de huit ans, un petit peu par hasard, puisque j'ai récupéré, euh... Mes parents ont récupéré un piano...
I was born in Paris, France, and I started to play the piano at around eight years of age, kind of by accident, because I, came into possession of... My parents came into possession of a piano...
Captions 3-4, Alex Terrier Le musicien et son jazz
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Indeed, some of the things we récupère, or end up with, are outside of our control. As Lionel points out in his video, we don’t always récupère (inherit) the same characteristics as our siblings:
Moi, mes origines, euh... même si j'ai appris récemment que face à nos parents, on ne récupère pas la même chose avec nos frères et sœurs...
Me, my origins, uh... even though I recently learned that vis-à-vis our parents, we don't get [inherit] the same thing as our brothers and sisters...
Captions 39-41, Sara et Lionel Le bronzage
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On the other hand, we often do want to récupérer or regain what used to belong to us. In the example below, the city of Soissons récupéra l'abbaye (got the abbey back) after a long occupation during the French Revolution:
Ce n'est qu'en mille neuf cent soixante-dix que la ville de Soissons récupéra l'abbaye.
It's only in nineteen seventy that the town of Soissons got the abbey back.
Captions 27-28, Voyage en France Soissons - Part 4
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That said, though récupérer can mean “to get something back," it can also mean the complete opposite! Sometimes, the idea “of picking up” or “retrieving” is completely lost, and in familiar language, récupérer simply means “to find”:
Il a récupéré l'adresse du bureau de la jeune femme.
He found the young woman's office address.
Caption 4, Le Jour où tout a basculé Mes parents se préparent à la fin du monde - Part 5
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Récupérer has yet another meaning that may surprise you. It can mean “to make up for something," like loss of sleep for Sophie, who hopes to make up for it tomorrow:
Non, non, non. Je me dis que je récupérerai le lendemain...
No, no, no. I tell myself that I'll make it up the next day...
Caption 19, Sophie et Patrice Je n'ai pas beaucoup dormi
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As you can see, récupérer has a wide range of meanings best determined by context. The good news is that you can use this handy verb for just about any situation, as our many Yabla examples will attest. We hope you have récupéré a lot of interesting ideas!
Did you know that there are beaucoup (many) ways of saying "many" in French? In fact, French offers an abundance of terms to suit various styles, from common, conversational, colloquial to more formal and literary. In this lesson we will explore alternatives to the ubiquitous beaucoup.
But first, let's take a quick look at beaucoup (many, a lot). In Yabla videos, you will often come across the construction beaucoup de (a lot of/a great deal of). Here is one example:
Ben, on te souhaite, ben, beaucoup de réussite
Well, we wish you, well, a great deal of success
Caption 106, 4 Mains pour 1 Piano Médaillon de Homard - Part 3
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As an adverb, beaucoup can also stand on its own. You are probably familiar with the polite expression merci beaucoup (thank you very much):
Ben merci beaucoup, hein. C'était un plaisir.
Well thank you very much, you know. It's been a pleasure.
Caption 108, 4 Mains pour 1 Piano Médaillon de Homard - Part 3
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A close cousin to beaucoup de is plein de (plenty of), which is slightly more casual. In this cheerful video, the weather forecaster wishes her viewers a Happy Halloween, which, of course, involves eating plein, plein de bonbons:
Alors je vous souhaite une super fête et mangez plein, plein, plein de bonbons. Tchao-tchao.
So I wish you a great holiday and eat lots and lots and lots of candies. Ciao-ciao.
Caption 18, Alsace 20 Météo des Maquilleurs
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Slightly more colloquial than plein de (plenty of) is un tas de or des tas de, literally "a load of" or "heaps of." Take a look at the two examples below:
Mais on peut lui demander des tas d'autres choses
But we can request loads of other things from it
Caption 20, Il était une fois: Notre Terre 25. Technologies - Part 7
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Si vous êtes végétarienne, y a des tas d'autres choses
If you're vegetarian, there're heaps of other things
Caption 28, Mon Lieu Préféré Rue des Rosiers - Part 2
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Un tas de can also be translated as “plenty of”:
Ah, c'est bien simple. Il peut y avoir des tas de raisons
Ah, it's quite simple. There could be plenty of reasons for that
Caption 39, Il était une fois: la vie 6. Les petites plaquettes - Part 1
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There's also the expression pas mal de (a great deal of), which we've explored before. In the video below, the person interviewed has pas mal de problèmes de santé (quite a few health problems):
J'ai un pacemaker et pas mal de choses.
I have a pacemaker and quite a few things.
Caption 20, Actu Vingtième Le Repas des anciens
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Moving up a rung on the formality ladder, we have the idiomatic expression bien d’autres (many others), which has a more neutral tone (note that bien in this case no longer means “well," but “many”):
...telle cette espèce de saladier que vous voyez là à l'image, et bien d'autres.
...such as this sort of salad bowl that you see here in the picture, and many others.
Caption 13, David La calebasse
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Similarly, énormément de (an emormous amount of) followed by a noun is used to emphasize quantity:
énormément de musique
an enormous amount of music
Caption 32, Alex Terrier Le musicien et son jazz
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Depending on context, it's sometimes better to translate énormément de as “(so) many” or “a great deal of”:
Donc ce sera une ligne très intéressante parce qu'il y a énormément de personnes qui vont travailler en dehors de Paris
So it will be a very interesting line because there are so many people who go to work outside of Paris
Captions 46-48, Adrien Le métro parisien
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Vous allez découvrir d'autres petits secrets de cette rue parce qu'il y en a énormément.
You're going to discover other little secrets of this street because there are a great deal of them.
Captions 63-64, Adrien Rue des Martyrs
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On a more formal register, you may come across the adjective maint, which is etymologically related to the English "many." Interestingly, maint does not need to be followed by de (of), unlike other adverbs of quantity. Maintes (the feminine plural of maint) is often combined with fois to form the expression maintes fois (many times):
Elles ont d'ailleurs été maintes fois représentées par des célèbres peintres
Incidentally, they've been depicted many times by famous painters
Caption 10, Voyage en France La Normandie: Honfleur
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There is also a more obscure equivalent to maint: the archaic adjective moult, dating back to the 16th century. It's no longer in use, but it might be a good word to know if you want to impress your professors with your knowledge! To quote French writer Gustave Flaubert, you could derive moult satisfaction (much satisfaction) from their reaction:
J'embrasserai ta vieille trombine avec moult satisfaction.
I will kiss your old face with much satisfaction.
While people seldom use the word moult other than for effect, young people especially might like to use a little slang and say pas des masses (not many/not much). Interestingly, the expression is always in the negative form:
Il n’y en a pas des masses.
There are not many.
As you can see, there are beaucoup de façons (many ways) to say beaucoup, and if you wish to know even more, see this Larousse entry. You now have plenty to choose from, as there are different options for all contexts, from casual settings to more formal ones. Just be aware of the tone you wish to use. Save des tas de for friends, and moult for literary buffs.
Wishing you beaucoup de satisfaction in your French learning, and merci beaucoup or moult remerciements (many thanks) for reading!
In our last lesson on the difference between the verbs habiter and vivre, we mentioned that habiteris often followed by a preposition such as à or dans, but it doesn't always require one. So if you live in Paris, you could either say j'habite à Paris (I live in Paris) or simply j'habite Paris (I live in Paris). But in this lesson, we'll focus on instances in which the choice of preposition is very important. Take a look at this example:
Je suis né à Paris en France
I was born in Paris, in France,
et j'ai commencé a faire du piano vers l'âge de huit ans.
and I started to play the piano at around eight years of age.
Caption 3, Alex Terrier - Le musicien et son jazz
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You'll notice that Alex uses two different prepositions here (à and en) that both translate as "in." So why does he say à Paris but en France? It all has to do with the types of places he's describing. When you're talking about being in a city, you use à:
Je suis né à Paris mais j'habite à Lyon.
I was born in Paris but I live in Lyon.
When you're talking about being in a feminine country (usually ending in e, such as la France), you use en (je suis né en France). But when you're talking about being in a masculine country, you use au, unless the name of the country begins with a vowel, in which case you use en:
Ma famille habite au Botswana et en Angola.
My family lives in Botswana and in Angola.
And for a plural country of either gender, you use aux:
Donc, treize, quatorze jours de vacances aux États-Unis.
So, thirteen, fourteen days of vacation in the United States.
Caption 5, Interviews à Central Park - Différences culturelles
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These prepositions are translated as "in" in the above examples, but they can all mean "to" as well:
Aujourd'hui nous sommes à Londres et demain nous irons à Dublin.
We're in London today and we're going to Dublin tomorrow.
When you're talking about coming from a place, the rules are a bit more straightforward. For cities, feminine countries, and masculine countries beginning with a vowel, you use de/d'. For masculine countries beginning with a consonant, you use du. And for plural countries, you use des:
Je viens (I come)... de New York (from New York).
d'Athènes (from Athens).
de Chine (from China).
d'Iran (from Iran).
du Canada (from Canada).
des Pays-Bas (from the Netherlands).
Knowing these prepositions will make it easier to describe where you're from, where you are, and where you're going in French!
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Chez is one of those few French words with no exact English equivalent. It’s a preposition that can be literally translated as "at the home of" or "at the establishment of," as Alex Terrier uses it when describing his early music influences.
Ensuite j'ai découvert chez mes parents
Then I discovered at my parents' place
des disques trente-trois tours...
some thirty-three rpm records...
Caption 11, Alex Terrier - Le musicien et son jazz
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It can also be used in front of a surname to indicate a family household:
Chez les Marchal, le bac c'est une affaire de famille.
At the Marchals', the bac is a family affair.
Caption 23, Le Journal - Le baccalauréat
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(Note that French surnames don’t take an extra s when pluralized: les Marchal.)
Or it can be used with disjunctive pronouns (moi, toi, soi, etc.) to mean "at my house," "at your house," or even just "at home":
L'hiver, les gens préfèrent rester chez eux...
In the winter, people prefer to stay at home...
Caption 1, Fanny parle des saisons - La Bouffe
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You can also use chez for businesses, offices, restaurants, and other commercial locations:
Je suis pizzaman chez F&F Pizza, un shift par semaine.
I'm a pizza man at F&F Pizza, one shift per week.
Caption 2, F&F Pizza - Chez F&F
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J'ai rendez-vous chez le dentiste et je suis en retard!
I have an appointment at the dentist and I'm late!
Caption 10, Micro-Trottoirs - Art ou science?
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But chez doesn’t only refer to buildings! Quite often, you will also see it used more figuratively. For example, just as "at home" can mean "in one’s house," "in one's country/native land," and just "familiar" in general, chez soi (or chez nous, chez moi, etc.) carries all those meanings as well:
On se sentait absolument chez nous.
We felt right at home.
Caption 23, Les Nubians - Le multiculturalisme
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Finally, when describing something "about" or "in" a person, "among" a group of people, or "in the work of" an author or artist, chez is the word to use:
Je l'ai retrouvée, je l'ai vue chez toutes les femmes, toutes les filles.
I recognized it, I saw it in all the women, all the girls.
Caption 53, Alphabétisation - des filles au Sénégal
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Les pâtes sont très populaires chez les Italiens.
Pasta is very popular among Italians.
Il y a beaucoup de figures bizarres chez Salvador Dalí.
There are many bizarre figures in the work of Salvador Dalí.
We chez Yabla encourage you to speak French as much as you can chez vous!
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