acheter
/aʃ.te/
To buy in French is acheter.
The verb acheter is used to express the act of obtaining something by paying money for it.
Meaning: to obtain something with money (verb)
Which one should you use?
While acheter is the standard verb used in most situations, in very informal or slang contexts you might hear the word choper, which means to grab or get, though it does not specifically imply paying for an item.
How does it change in a sentence?
The past participle is acheté, which is used with the auxiliary verb avoir to form compound tenses like the passé composé.
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation of acheter is /aʃ.te/. It has 2 syllables.
Did you know?
- The word acheter is a doublet of the word accepter. This means they both originate from the same Latin root, acceptāre, but evolved into two different meanings in French.
- In old legal French, the act of acheter was sometimes used to describe the redemption of a person from slavery or captivity.
- If you are 'buying' a lie or a story in French, you might use the verb acheter metaphorically, but it is more common to say you are 'swallowing' it.
Examples in context
- Tu veux l'acheter ?Do you want to buy it?The first sentence uses acheter to ask if someone wants to buy an item.Tatoeba #8666775 by Micsmithel, translation #2011640 by CK
- Je veux acheter ça.I want to buy this.The second sentence uses acheter to express a desire to buy something.Tatoeba #12666864 by Olcyx, translation #8833746 by CK
- Vas-tu acheter cela ?Are you going to buy that?The third sentence uses acheter to ask about a future intention to buy something.Tatoeba #6210389 by Aiji, translation #3738672 by CK
- Je vais acheter un livre demain.I'm going to buy a book tomorrow.
- J'ai fait l'acquisition d'une nouvelle voiture.I have purchased a new car.
- J'ai acheté des bonbons pour la fête.I bought some candies for the party.
- 953 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Manon and Lucas are in a clothing store.
- ManonOn va acheter ce pull ?Are we going to buy this sweater?
- LucasOui, il est très beau.Yes, it is very beautiful.
- ManonTu veux acheter les chaussures aussi ?Do you want to buy the shoes too?
- LucasNon, je n'ai plus d'argent.No, I don't have any more money.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “buy” translations and entries acheter, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries acheter, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
