How to Say "To Behave" in French

se comporter

To behave is expressed in French as se comporter.

The phrase se comporter is used to describe how someone acts or conducts themselves in a particular way.

Which one should you use?

The synonym se conduire is also common when specifically describing how someone conducts themselves in a social or professional manner.

The verb is reflexive, so it must be used with a reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nous, vous, se) that matches the subject.

While se comporter is a standard way to say 'to behave', if a parent wants to tell a child to 'behave!' as a command, they are much more likely to yell Sois sage! which literally translates to 'Be wise!'
If you want to describe someone's behavior as 'bad' or 'naughty' in a way that implies they are not behaving, you can use the adjective mal élevé, which literally means 'badly raised'.
The verb comporter is used without the reflexive pronoun when it means 'to include' or 'to consist of', such as a book that comporte ten chapters.

Je lui dis constamment de bien se comporter.
I'm constantly telling her to behave herself.
This sentence shows how to tell someone to behave themselves using se comporter.
Tatoeba #449944 by sacredceltic, translation #308870 by CK
Les garçons peuvent être dressés à bien se comporter.
Boys can be trained to behave.
This sentence uses se comporter to describe being trained to behave.
Tatoeba #1225482 by sacredceltic, translation #276838 by CK
C'était très immature de sa part de se comporter ainsi.
It was childish of him to behave like that.
This sentence uses se comporter to describe someone acting in an immature way.
Tatoeba #599584 by qdii, translation #41439 by Swift
vous devez bien vous comporter
You must behave well
il est important d'avoir un bon comportement en société
It is important to have good behavior in society
tu devrais être sage chez le voisin
You should be well-behaved at the neighbor's house
Lors de la réunion, il est essentiel de bien se comporter et de respecter les règles de courtoisie envers les autres participants.
During the meeting, it is essential to behave well and to respect the rules of courtesy towards the other participants.
Les enfants, vous devez être sages chez grand-mère pendant notre absence.
Kids, you should behave well at Grandma's house while we're away.
7 more sentences on Tatoeba

Nathan and Léa are discussing a coworker's behavior at the office.

Nathan

Il a commencé à se comporter bizarrement.
He started behaving strangely.
Léa

C'est vrai, il ne semble pas être lui-même.
It's true, he doesn't seem like himself.
Nathan

Est-ce que tu penses qu'il est fatigué ?
Do you think he is tired?
Léa

Peut-être, ou alors il a trop de stress.
Maybe, or else he has too much stress.

Sources

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