à travers
/a tʁa.vɛʁ/
The French phrase for "across" is à travers.
à travers is used to describe movement from one side to another.
Meaning: from one side to another (prep)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the preposition à (at/to) and travers (crossing/traversal).
Which one should you use?
Use à travers when describing movement through an area (like a forest), but use de l'autre côté de if you mean something is located on the opposite side of a boundary (like a street).
How does it change in a sentence?
Unlike English, where 'across' can be a preposition or an adverb, à travers in French almost always functions as a preposition followed by a noun phrase.
How do you pronounce it?
/a tʁa.vɛʁ/. It has 2 syllables.
Did you know?
- In French, if someone takes a comment de travers, it means they have taken offense or misinterpreted it. It is the equivalent of saying you took something 'the wrong way'.
- While à travers means 'across', the phrase de travers describes something that is crooked or slanted. It is often used to describe a crooked smile or a picture frame hanging unevenly.
- The word travers shares the same Latin root as the English word 'transverse', making them linguistic cousins.
Examples in context
- J'ai coupé à travers le parc.I cut across the park.This sentence shows how to use à travers with a park.Tatoeba #6559092 by Aiji, translation #2826260 by CK
- Il marcha à travers le jardin.He walked across the garden.This sentence shows how to use à travers with a garden.Tatoeba #889837 by sacredceltic, translation #301710 by CK
- J'ai couru à travers le champ.I ran across the field.This sentence shows how to use à travers with a field.Tatoeba #5791991 by Aiji, translation #3548419 by CK
- L'église se trouve de l'autre côté de la place.The church is located across the square.
- Je vais te rejoindre de l'autre bord de la rue.I will meet you across the street.
- Je vais voyager à travers le pays.I'm going to travel across the country.
- Je vais traverser la Belgique d'un bout à l'autre.I'm going to cross Belgium from one end to the other.
- 44 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Léa and Lucas are walking in a forest.
- LéaOn marche à travers la forêt ?Are we walking through the forest?
- LucasOui, c'est le chemin le plus court.Yes, it is the shortest way.
- LéaRegarde, le sentier passe à travers les arbres.Look, the path goes through the trees.
- LucasFais attention à ne pas trébucher.Be careful not to stumble.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “across” translations and entries à travers, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries travers, à, à travers, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
