Ways to say it
| French | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| raid | /ʁɛd/ | masculine |
| razzia | /ʁa.zja/ | feminine |
| descente | /de.sɑ̃t/ | feminine |
| rafle | /ʁafl/ | feminine |
The term raid is used primarily in military or technical contexts. In computing, the English acronym RAID is used directly in French to refer to redundant arrays of independent disks. For a more formal description of a sudden and brief incursion, you may use Incursion. For a swift, targeted police or military operation, the term opération coup de poing is appropriate.
Which one should you use?
While raid is often used for military or technical purposes, other forms carry specific connotations. Rafle is used specifically for a large-scale roundup or mass arrest of people, often carrying a connotation of historical or political oppression. Razzia is an informal term that often implies a raid characterized by looting, pillaging or an indiscriminate search and seizure.
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun raid is masculine and is used as un raid. The forms razzia, descente and rafle are all feminine.
How do you pronounce it?
/ʁɛd/
Did you know?
- While raid in English usually means a sudden attack, in French it is frequently used to describe a long-distance endurance challenge, such as a multi-day cycling or hiking trek.
- The word razzia has roots in Algerian Arabic, specifically the word ḡazwa, which refers to a military campaign or raid.
- The term opération coup de poing is a colorful way to describe a 'punch' operation, meaning a sudden, high-impact, and targeted strike.
Examples in context
- Ils ont abattu deux avions ennemis pendant le raid.They shot down two enemy planes during the raid.This sentence is useful for seeing how to use raid in a military context.Tatoeba #10318077 by lbdx, translation #306400 by CK
- Le RAID-1 se focalise sur la fiabilité, au détriment de la capacité de stockage.RAID-1 focuses on reliability, at the expense of storage size.This sentence shows the technical use of raid in computing.Tatoeba #1270333 by sysko, translation #1270330 by sysko
- Le RAID-1 accomplit la redondance en dupliquant les données sur plusieurs disques.RAID-1 achieves redundancy by mirroring data on several disks.This sentence demonstrates the technical use of raid regarding data redundancy.Tatoeba #1270373 by sysko, translation #1270369 by sysko
- Le raid militaire a été mené avec succès.The military raid was carried out successfully.
- Les forces de police ont repoussé cette incursion violente.The police forces repelled this violent raid.
- Le raid aérien a causé d'importants dégâts sur la base ennemie.The air raid caused significant damage to the enemy base.
- L'opération policière avait été minutieusement planifiée avant le raid.The police operation had been carefully planned prior to the raid.
- 3 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two colleagues are talking about a police action they saw on the news.
- ChloéTu as vu le raid de police ce matin ?Did you see the police raid this morning?
- HugoOui, Hugo, c'était impressionnant.Yes, Hugo, it was impressive.
- ChloéLe raid a duré plusieurs heures.The raid lasted several hours.
- HugoIls ont arrêté beaucoup de gens.They arrested a lot of people.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “raid” translations and entries raid, razzia, descente, rafle, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries descente, rafle, raid, razzia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
