What does it mean word for word?
The phrase joins je (I), the helper verb avoir (to have) and rencontré, the past participle of rencontrer (to meet or encounter). Word for word it reads I have encountered.
Which one should you use?
J'ai fait la connaissance de means I made the acquaintance of and sounds formal. tomber sur is an informal way to say you ran into someone by chance.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Quebec you may hear j'ai fait la rencontre de.
How does it change in a sentence?
When a direct object pronoun comes before the verb and refers to a woman, the past participle adds an e, as in je l'ai rencontrée for I met her.
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often use rencontrer for meeting up with a friend at a planned time. For that, French speakers prefer a different verb meaning to meet up with and keep j'ai rencontré for first meetings or chance meetings.
Did you know?
- While rencontrer means 'to meet', it is also the word French speakers use when they 'encounter' a problem or an obstacle.
- The informal phrase tomber sur used for running into someone literally translates to 'falling on' them.
- The verb rencontrer shares a root with the English word 'encounter', though it is used more broadly in French for both planned and unplanned first meetings.
Examples in context
- J'ai rencontré ta sœur.I met your sister.Here J'ai rencontré describes meeting a sister.Tatoeba #1081916 by nimfeo, translation #12199585 by Miktsoanit
- J'ai rencontré Ken hier.I met Ken yesterday.Here the sentence adds when the meeting happened, yesterday.Tatoeba #1120172 by Sibelius, translation #244377 by CN
- J'ai rencontré mes amis.I met my friends.Here J'ai rencontré is used for meeting friends.Tatoeba #2836907 by Julien_PDC, translation #2836915 by CM
- J'ai rencontré votre professeur aujourd'hui. Il est très courtois.I met your professor today. He is very polite.
- J'ai fait la connaissance de notre nouveau voisin hier soir. Il est très aimable.I made the acquaintance of our new neighbor last night. He is very friendly.
- J'ai rencontré Pierre au supermarché ce matin.I bumped into Pierre at the supermarket this morning.
- J'ai croisé Sophie dans la rue hier. On a discuté pendant un moment.I crossed paths with Sophie in the street yesterday. We chatted for a while.
- J'ai rencontré Pierre dans un café hier soir.I met Pierre at a café last night.
- Je suis tombé sur mes anciens collègues au parc. C'était une belle surprise !I stumbled upon my former colleagues at the park. It was a nice surprise!
- 114 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Manon and Gabriel are talking at a café about their day.
- ManonJ'ai rencontré quelqu'un d'intéressant aujourd'hui.I met someone interesting today.
- GabrielAh bon ? Qui est-ce ?Oh really? Who is it?
- ManonC'est un musicien que j'ai rencontré au concert.It's a musician I met at the concert.
- GabrielIl a l'air très sympa, ce musicien.This musician sounds very nice.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
