perdre du poids
To lose weight in French is to say perdre du poids or maigrir.
Meaning: to become less heavy or obese (verb)
Ways to say it
| French | IPA |
|---|---|
| perdre du poids | |
| maigrir | /mɛ.ɡʁiʁ/ /me.ɡʁiʁ/ |
The phrase is used to describe the process of becoming less heavy or reducing obesity. If you are referring to the concept of weight loss itself, you can use the noun phrase perte de poids. Other related terms include régime for a diet and objectif for a goal.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase perdre du poids literally translates to 'to lose some weight'.
Which one should you use?
Perdre du poids focuses specifically on the loss of weight, using the noun poids (weight). In contrast, maigrir is a single verb that focuses on the physical process of becoming thin.
How does it change in a sentence?
In the phrase perdre du poids, the word du is a partitive article meaning 'some'.
Did you know?
- If you want to say 'to lose weight' in a very colloquial or slang way, you might hear people use the term fondre, which literally means 'to melt'.
- In French, the word régime describes both a weight loss diet and a political system of government.
- The word poids is a linguistic relative of the English word 'pendulum', as both derive from the Latin root 'pendō' meaning 'to weigh' or 'to hang'.
Examples in context
- Tom doit perdre du poids.Tom has to lose weight.This sentence shows how to express necessity regarding perdre du poids.Tatoeba #5822147 by Yemana, translation #1177563 by CK
- Veux-tu perdre du poids ?Do you want to lose weight?This sentence is a way to ask a question about the desire to perdre du poids.Tatoeba #7862502 by Aiji, translation #6049169 by CK
- Elle veut perdre du poids.She wants to lose weight.This sentence describes a person's desire to perdre du poids.Tatoeba #11188907 by lbdx, translation #9366997 by DJ_Saidez
- 49 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Emma and Hugo are talking in a gym.
- EmmaJe veux perdre du poids cette année.I want to lose weight this year.
- HugoTu devrais manger plus sainement, Emma.You should eat more healthily, Emma.
- EmmaC'est difficile de perdre du poids rapidement.It is difficult to lose weight quickly.
- HugoSois patiente, tu vas y arriver.Be patient, you will get there.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “lose weight” translations and entries maigrir, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries du, maigrir, perdre, poids, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
