Ways to say it
| French | IPA |
|---|---|
| prendre sa retraite | /pʁɑ̃.dʁə sa ʁə.tʁɛt/ |
| se retirer |
The standard way to express the act of retiring from a career is the phrase prendre sa retraite. You can also use the noun la retraite to refer to retirement itself. In an informal context, you might hear the idiom raccrocher les gants, which literally means "to hang up the gloves".
Which one should you use?
While se retirer can be used to mean retiring from a job, it more commonly means to withdraw from a place or a situation.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Quebec, Canada, the term prendre sa retraite is often replaced with prendre sa pension.
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun form used to describe the state of being retired is la retraite.
How do you pronounce it?
/pʁɑ̃.dʁə sa ʁə.tʁɛt/
What mistakes should you avoid?
Do not use the verb retraiter to mean retiring from a job. While it looks similar to the word for retirement, it actually means "to re-treat".
When do people say it?
When someone reaches retirement, they might be described as being ready to couler des jours heureux, an idiom meaning to live a happy life.
Did you know?
Examples in context
- Jonas a décidé de prendre sa retraite.Jonas decided to retire.This sentence shows how to use prendre sa retraite to describe a decision.Tatoeba #11756767 by Amastan, translation #11632540 by Amastan
- Il a déclaré vouloir prendre sa retraite.He said he wants to retire.This sentence illustrates expressing a desire to prendre sa retraite.Tatoeba #9552685 by sacredceltic, translation #7402979 by CH
- Tom a dit qu'il voulait prendre sa retraiteTom said that he wants to retire.This sentence demonstrates using prendre sa retraite in reported speech.Tatoeba #13938497 by Pony, translation #6652038 by CK
- Il a pris sa retraite l'année dernièreHe retired last year
- Elle a cessé son activité professionnelle à l'âge de 65 ansShe retired at the age of 65
- Mon grand-père a finalement décidé de raccrocher les gants à 70 ansMy grandfather finally decided to retire at 70
- 7 more sentences on Tatoeba
Sources
- Wiktionary, “retire” translations and entries prendre sa retraite, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries prendre, prendre sa retraite, retirer, sa, se, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
