Ways to say it
| French |
|---|
| se retrouver |
| se rejoindre |
| se donner rendez-vous |
These forms are used when people come face to face with one another because of a prior arrangement. Use se retrouver when the focus is on gathering or socializing, often implying a habitual social meeting. Use se rejoindre when the focus is on two or more people traveling from different locations to converge at a specific point. If you want to express the idea of getting acquainted with someone in a polite or formal way, use the phrase Faire la connaissance de.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase se donner rendez-vous literally translates to to give oneself an appointment/meeting.
Which one should you use?
While se retrouver emphasizes the social act of hanging out or gathering, se rejoindre is used specifically when the emphasis is on people moving from different places to meet at a single point.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid using rencontrer to mean meeting by arrangement. In French, rencontrer usually implies meeting someone for the first time or meeting someone by chance. To express a meeting that was planned, use the forms provided here.
Did you know?
- The term rendez-vous actually comes from a command meaning 'present yourselves' or 'go to' a certain place. It originally used the imperative form of the verb se rendre.
- In France, the social custom of le rendez-vous is often more flexible than in English-speaking cultures, with a 'quarter-hour rule' where arriving slightly late is socially acceptable.
- In English, a 'meeting' can be a formal business event, but if you use rendez-vous in French, it can sometimes carry a romantic or clandestine connotation.
Examples in context
- Une des habitudes des employés est de se retrouver presque chaque jour dans un bar ou un restaurant, à la fin de la journée de travail, pour se saouler et oublier leur vie misérable jusqu'au jour suivant.One of the customs of the employees is to meet almost every day at a bar or restaurant at the end of the workday to get intoxicated with alcohol and forget about their miserable life until the next day.This sentence is useful for seeing how se retrouver is used to describe a habitual social gathering.Tatoeba #4435471 by sacredceltic, translation #4409752 by LB
- Le couple se sépara, pour ne plus jamais se retrouver.The couple parted, never to meet again.This sentence shows how se retrouver can be used to describe people meeting again.Tatoeba #489464 by Goofy, translation #50710 by CK
- J'ai hâte de te rencontrer lors de la conférence.I'm looking forward to meeting you at the conference.
- Je suis ravi de faire votre connaissance.I'm delighted to make your acquaintance.
- Nous nous sommes enfin rencontrés pour la première fois.We finally met for the first time.
- Nous devons nous retrouver pour discuter de notre projet.We need to meet up to discuss our project.
- On se voit au café cet après-midi ?Shall we meet at the café this afternoon?
- Rendez-vous à la plage demain après-midi !Let's meet at the beach tomorrow afternoon!
- On peut se retrouver devant le cinéma.We can meet in front of the cinema.
Example conversation
Emma and Lucas are planning their afternoon.
- EmmaOù est-ce qu'on peut se retrouver ?Where can we meet?
- LucasOn peut se retrouver au parc à midi.We can meet at the park at noon.
- EmmaC'est parfait pour moi, Lucas.That's perfect for me, Lucas.
- LucasD'accord, à tout à l'heure !Okay, see you later!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “meet” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries donner, rejoindre, rendez-vous, retrouver, se, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
