un par un
/œ̃ paʁ œ̃/
The English phrase "one by one" is translated into French as un par un.
The phrase is used as an adverb to indicate that things or people are being handled individually.
Meaning: individually (adv)
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase must agree in gender with the noun it modifies, using une par une for feminine nouns.
How do you pronounce it?
/œ̃ paʁ œ̃/
Did you know?
- To describe things happening 'one after another' in a more natural, idiomatic way, French speakers often prefer l'un après l'autre over un par un.
- The word par comes from the Latin 'per', which is also the root of the English word 'per', as in 'miles per hour'.
- If you were to say un par un to describe a series of masculine items, you cannot use the plural uns par uns to mean 'ones by ones'.
Examples in context
- Je vous anéantirai un par un.I'll destroy you one by one.This sentence is useful for seeing how to express the idea of destroying someone or something individually.Tatoeba #12947371 by lbdx, translation #10787931 by ddnktr
- Les enfants sont entrés un par un.The children came in one by one.This sentence shows how the phrase describes children entering a place one after another.Tatoeba #10566109 by lbdx, translation #10565980 by CK
- Veuillez s'il vous plaît entrer un par un.Please come in one by one.This sentence demonstrates a way to request that people enter individually.Tatoeba #5821249 by EvaFranska, translation #38510 by AlanF_US
- Ils sont entrés, un à unThey entered one by one
- Viens, on va rentrer un par unCome on, let's go back one by one
- Le professeur a demandé aux élèves de se présenter un à un.The teacher asked the students to introduce themselves one by one.
- Les ouvriers ont rangé les outils soigneusement, un par un.The workers carefully put away the tools, one by one.
- J'ai suivi les instructions du livre une étape à la fois.I followed the instructions in the book one step at a time.
- Il a perdu du poids peu à peu, kilo par kilo.He lost weight gradually, kilo by kilo.
- 2 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Emma and Nathan are organizing a stack of documents.
- EmmaOn doit vérifier ces dossiers un par un.We have to check these folders one by one.
- NathanC'est long, mais c'est plus sûr ainsi.It's long, but it's safer this way.
- EmmaJe vais les classer un par un alors.I will file them one by one then.
- NathanD'accord, je t'aide pour finir plus vite.Okay, I'll help you to finish faster.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry un par un, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries par, un, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
