s'étirer
To say stretch in French, use s'étirer. It means to stretch your limbs or body, for example to loosen your muscles.
s'étirer describes stretching your own body, such as after waking up or before exercise. The related noun étirement means the act of stretching.
Meaning: to extend one’s limbs or body, for example in order to improve the elasticity the muscles (verb)
What does it mean word for word?
The verb is reflexive. It is made of s', meaning oneself and étirer, meaning to stretch.
Which one should you use?
Use s'étirer for stretching your body. étirer without the reflexive pronoun is used for stretching an object, like a piece of fabric. se dégourdir is an informal verb meaning to loosen up or to stretch your limbs.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Canada, particularly in Quebec, faire des assouplissements is used to talk about stretching.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The reflexive pronoun changes with the subject in the present tense, as in je m'étire for I stretch.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Do not drop the reflexive pronoun when you mean stretching yourself. Say je m'étire, not just the bare verb.
Did you know?
- French uses s'étirer to describe a cat waking up, but the phrase faire le gros dos describes a cat arching its back in a stretch, which literally means 'to make a big back'.
- The verb s'étirer can be used metaphorically to describe a person's time or a period of a meeting. If a meeting 'stretches', a French speaker might say that it s'étire en longueur, meaning it is dragging on and becoming tedious.
- French uses étirer not just for physical objects, but also for the act of prolonging a specific sound or syllable to make it last longer.
Examples in context
- Avant de faire de l'exercice, il est important de bien s'étirer.Before exercising, it's important to stretch properly.
- Pour éviter les crampes, il est recommandé de faire des étirements réguliers.To avoid cramps, it is recommended to do regular stretching.
- Je m'étire toujours le matin pour bien commencer ma journée.I always stretch in the morning to start my day off right.
- Après une longue journée de travail assis, il est bon de se dégourdir un peu.After a long day of sitting at work, it's good to stretch a bit.
- Il s'étire après son réveil.He stretches after waking up.
- Il aime s'étirer le matin au réveil.He likes to stretch in the morning when he wakes up.
Example conversation
Léa and Lucas are at the gym.
- LéaTu veux t'étirer avec moi ?Do you want to stretch with me?
- LucasOui, j'ai les muscles tendus.Yes, my muscles are tight.
- LéaOn va s'étirer pendant dix minutes.We will stretch for ten minutes.
- LucasC'est une bonne idée, Léa.That is a good idea, Léa.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “stretch” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
