devenir
/də.v(ə).niʁ/
To become in French is devenir.
The verb devenir is used to describe the process of beginning to be something.
Meaning: to begin to be (verb)
How does it change in a sentence?
When using the past tense, devenir uses the auxiliary verb être. The past participle is devenu. Because it uses être, the past participle must agree in gender and number with the subject. For example, est devenu means 'has become' and est devenue means 'has become' in a feminine context.
How do you pronounce it?
/də.v(ə).niʁ/. The word has 3 syllables.
Did you know?
- The root of devenir is venir, meaning 'to come'. In a literal sense, the French language describes the process of becoming as 'coming to' a certain state.
- The word devenir can also be used in the sense of 'what happened to', such as in the question Que sont-ils devenus? meaning 'What became of them?'
- In formal writing, devenir can be replaced by s'avérer when the 'becoming' is actually a discovery of a pre-existing truth, such as a plan 'becoming' or 'turning out to be' useless.
Examples in context
- Que veut-il devenir ?What does he want to become?Tatoeba #5691781 by nimfeo, translation #9926306 by sundown
- Je veux devenir riche.I want to become rich.Tatoeba #4092239 by sbamsbamsbam, translation #4091865 by andymakespasta
- Veux-tu devenir père ?Do you want to become a father?Tatoeba #5386377 by Aiji, translation #4685157 by Hybrid
- Elle est en train de devenir une experte en finance.She is becoming an expert in finance.
- Ils deviennent de plus en plus compétents.They are becoming more and more competent.
- Le vilain caneton se transforma finalement en un magnifique cygne.The ugly duckling finally became a beautiful swan.
- Ce quartier autrefois industriel s'est transformé en un nouveau centre-ville.This once-industrial neighborhood has become a new downtown.
- Je vais devenir dingue si ça continue!I'm going to go crazy if this continues!
- 271 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about a changing weather pattern.
- LucasLe ciel va devenir très sombre.The sky is going to become very dark.
- ManonTu penses qu'il va pleuvoir ?Do you think it is going to rain?
- LucasOui, l'air devient froid d'un coup.Yes, the air is becoming cold all of a sudden.
- ManonJe devrais prendre mon parapluie.I should take my umbrella.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “become” translations and entries devenir, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
