se lever
To get up in French is se lever.
se lever is used to describe the physical action of rising from one's bed.
Meaning: to rise from one's bed (verb)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the reflexive pronoun se (oneself) and the verb lever (to raise or lift).
Which one should you use?
Do not confuse se lever with se réveiller. While se lever refers to the physical act of getting out of bed, se réveiller refers specifically to the act of waking up from sleep.
How does it change in a sentence?
Because this is a reflexive verb, the pronoun must change to match the subject: je me lève, tu te lèves, il/elle se lève, nous nous levons, vous vous levez and ils/elles se lèvent.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid saying just lever when you mean to get up. lever alone means to lift an object, whereas se lever means to raise oneself.
Did you know?
- In historical French royalty, le lever was a formal ceremony where attendants would help the king get out of bed.
- The root of lever is the Latin word levis, which means 'light' in weight. This is the same ancestor that gave English the word 'levity'.
- While se lever means to get up, the phrase le lever du soleil refers specifically to the sunrise.
Examples in context
- Tom essaye de se lever.Tom tries to get up.This sentence shows Tom attempting to use se lever.Tatoeba #6564429 by felix63, translation #6579422 by Eccles17
- Il est temps de se lever.Time to get up.This sentence describes the time for se lever.Tatoeba #457162 by sacredceltic, translation #20090 by CM
- Elle eut du mal à se lever.She struggled to get up.This sentence illustrates someone having difficulty with se lever.Tatoeba #1330194 by sacredceltic, translation #317404 by CK
- Vous devez vous lever tôt demain matin.You must get up early tomorrow morning.
- Je me lève tard le week-end.I get up late on weekends.
- J'aime me lever du lit doucement le matin.I like to get up from bed slowly in the morning.
- 44 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Gabriel and Emma are in the kitchen for breakfast.
- GabrielÀ quelle heure vas-tu te lever demain ?What time are you going to get up tomorrow?
- EmmaJe vais me lever à sept heures.I am going to get up at seven o'clock.
- GabrielC'est tôt ! Je préfère me lever plus tard.That's early! I prefer to get up later.
- EmmaIl faut se lever tôt pour travailler.You have to get up early to work.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “get up” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries lever, se, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
