acheter
/aʃ.te/
The French phrase for "to buy" is acheter.
acheter is used to express the act of obtaining something by paying money for it.
How does it change in a sentence?
In many present tense conjugations, the stem of the verb changes from achet- to achèt- to ensure the correct pronunciation, such as in achète (I buy/he buys). The past participle of the verb is acheté, which is used to express that something was bought.
How do you pronounce it?
/aʃ.te/
Did you know?
- French speakers often use the expression acheter la paix literally meaning 'to buy the peace'. It describes the act of giving in to someone just to stop an argument.
- The history of the word traces back to the Vulgar Latin term *accaptāre, which originally meant 'to take' or 'to receive'.
- While acheter means to buy, French uses the verb s'offrir to describe buying something special for oneself, which literally translates to 'offering it to oneself'.
Examples in context
- Tu veux l'acheter ?Do you want to buy it?This sentence is useful for asking if someone wants to buy something with acheter.Tatoeba #8666775 by Micsmithel, translation #2011640 by CK
- Je veux acheter ça.I want to buy this.This sentence is useful for stating a desire to buy something with acheter.Tatoeba #12666864 by Olcyx, translation #8833746 by CK
- Vas-tu acheter cela ?Are you going to buy that?This sentence is useful for asking if someone is going to buy something with acheter.Tatoeba #6210389 by Aiji, translation #3738672 by CK
- Je souhaite acheter cette robe pour une occasion spéciale.I would like to buy this dress for a special occasion.
- Nous devons acheter de nouveaux ordinateurs pour notre entreprise.We need to buy new computers for our company.
- 699 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Chloé and Lucas are walking through a street market.
- ChloéLucas, est-ce que tu veux acheter ces fleurs ?Lucas, do you want to buy these flowers?
- LucasNon, je préfère acheter un bouquet plus grand.No, I prefer to buy a bigger bouquet.
- ChloéD'accord, on peut acheter celui-là alors.Okay, we can buy that one then.
- LucasOui, c'est une bonne idée.Yes, that is a good idea.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry acheter, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries acheter, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
