se bousculer
To jostle in French is se bousculer.
The verb is used to describe moving through by pushing and shoving. In an informal context, you can use the phrase Bousculer un peu to mean "jostle a little".
Meaning: move through by pushing and shoving (verb)
What does it mean word for word?
The base verb bousculer means to push or shove someone. The reflexive form se bousculer implies a mutual or collective jostling, meaning people are jostling one another.
Which one should you use?
While se bousculer can refer to physical jostling, it is also frequently used figuratively to mean "to rush" or "to hurry", such as in the phrase se bousculer pour finir (to rush to finish).
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb is pronominal, which means it is used with a reflexive pronoun to indicate that people are jostling one another.
Did you know?
- Using 'bousculer' in a professional context to describe a person's ideas is a way to say those ideas are being 'challenged' or 'shaken up'.
- The reflexive pronoun se in se bousculer shares a linguistic ancestor with the English word 'self', as both stem from the Latin 'sē'.
- The verb bousculer can be used to describe a clumsy or hurried way of speaking, implying the words are tripping over one another.
Examples in context
- Il faut éviter de bousculer les personnes dans la foule.It is important to avoid jostling people in the crowd.
- Malgré la foule, il est préférable de ne pas pousser les autres.Despite the crowd, it is best not to jostle others.
- On s'est poussoté gentiment pour se frayer un chemin dans la foule.We jostled each other kindly to make our way through the crowd.
- Les gens se bousculent dans le métro.People are jostling each other in the subway.
- Il ne faut pas se bousculer dans les escaliers.You shouldn't shove each other on the stairs.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “jostle” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries se, CC BY-SA 4.0.
