comprendre
/kɔ̃.pʁɑ̃dʁ/
To grasp the meaning or nature of something is comprendre in French.
The phrase comprendre is used to describe the act of understanding or grasping the nature of a concept or situation. In certain contexts, it can also mean to include or comprise something.
Which one should you use?
While it primarily means to understand, comprendre can also be used to mean 'to include' in specific contexts.
How does it change in a sentence?
The third-person singular present indicative form is comprend (he/she/it understands) and the third-person plural present indicative form is comprennent (they understand). The past participle is compris (understood).
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation of comprendre is /kɔ̃.pʁɑ̃dʁ/. It has two syllables.
Did you know?
- If a French person says Je ne comprends pas, they might be signaling a social disagreement or a refusal to accept a situation rather than a literal lack of linguistic comprehension.
- While 'understand' focuses on the mind, the French comprendre carries a physical sense of 'embracing' or 'enveloping' something within its bounds.
- While comprendre covers most situations, a French speaker will often switch to the verb saisir to describe that sudden, electric moment of a 'eureka' flash of insight.
Examples in context
- Je ne comprends pasI don't understand.
- Je comprends parfaitement ce que tu veux dire.I understand perfectly what you mean.
- Je n'arrive pas à saisir l'essence de cette philosophie.I can't grasp the essence of this philosophy.
- Je ne peux pas comprendre cette règle.I cannot understand this rule.
- Il cherche à comprendre le problème.He is trying to understand the problem.
- Elle veut comprendre le fonctionnement de la machine.She wants to understand how the machine works.
Example conversation
Hugo and Léa are studying a difficult text together.
- HugoLéa, est-ce que tu arrives à comprendre ce passage ?Léa, are you able to understand this passage?
- LéaNon, je ne peux pas comprendre cette phrase.No, I cannot grasp this sentence.
- HugoJe vais t'expliquer pour t'aider à comprendre.I will explain it to help you understand.
- LéaMerci Hugo, c'est beaucoup plus clair maintenant.Thank you Hugo, it is much clearer now.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry comprendre, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
