garder
/ɡaʁ.de/
To say keep in French, use garder. It means to keep possession of something.
garder is the common verb for keeping something. With people it can also mean to look after or to babysit, as in garder des enfants.
Meaning: to maintain possession of (verb)
Which one should you use?
conserver is used in more formal or technical contexts to mean to preserve or to maintain the state of something. maintenir means to keep something in a certain condition. As a noun, the keep of a castle is donjon.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The past participle is gardé, used to form compound past tenses.
How do you pronounce it?
The IPA is /ɡaʁ.de/. The r is the French throat sound, and the stress falls on the last syllable.
Did you know?
- The French expression garder son sang-froid literally means to keep one's cold blood, which is the equivalent of the English phrase 'to keep one's cool'.
- If you want to say you are 'keeping' a promise, French speakers avoid garder and instead use the verb tenir, as in tenir une promesse.
- The French verb garder is a cognate of the English word 'ward', as in 'warden' or 'guardian'. Both words share a common ancestor meaning to watch over or protect.
Examples in context
- Je veux le garder.I want to keep it.Here garder follows Je veux to say I want to keep it.Tatoeba #10158564 by Aiji, translation #6274676 by CK
- Je le lui garderai.I'll keep it for him.Here the future form garderai means I'll keep.Tatoeba #6865528 by GB3, translation #3917595 by CH
- Je la lui garderai.I'll keep it for her.Here garderai is used with la for a feminine object.Tatoeba #6865529 by GB3, translation #3917596 by CH
- S'il vous plaît, gardez votre ticket jusqu'à la fin du voyage.Please keep your ticket until the end of the journey.
- Il est important de maintenir votre véhicule en bon état.It is important to keep your vehicle in good condition.
- Garde cette place pour moi, s'il te plaît.Keep this seat for me, please.
- Garde en tête que tout est possible si tu y crois.Keep in mind that anything is possible if you believe.
- 251 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Nathan and Chloé are talking in a café about a book.
- NathanTu peux garder ce livre ?Can you keep this book?
- ChloéOui, je vais le garder.Yes, I am going to keep it.
- NathanD'accord, garde-le s'il te plaît.Okay, please keep it.
- ChloéMerci, je le garderai précieusement.Thank you, I will keep it carefully.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “keep” translations and entries garder, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries garder, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
