grimper
/ɡʁɛ̃.pe/
To climb in French is grimper.
grimper is used to describe the action of moving upward by using your hands and feet, such as when scaling a mountain, a wall or a tree.
Which one should you use?
While grimper specifically implies using your hands and feet to scale something, the verb monter is a more general term for any upward movement, such as walking up a flight of stairs.
How does it change in a sentence?
grimper is a regular -er verb, which means it follows the standard conjugation patterns for the first group of French verbs.
How do you pronounce it?
The word is pronounced /ɡʁɛ̃.pe/ and has 2 syllables.
Did you know?
- In French, if you use grimper to describe someone rising in a professional or social hierarchy, it often implies they are being predatory or aggressive.
- In French, the word grimper is etymologically linked to the word ramper, which means 'to crawl'.
- French speakers often distinguish between grimper and escalader, using the latter when the climb requires specialized equipment or involves extreme difficulty.
Examples in context
- Tom aime grimper aux arbres.Tom likes to climb the trees.This sentence shows how to use grimper with trees.Tatoeba #5685866 by Aiji, translation #2542806 by CK
- Ziri a recommencé à grimper.Ziri started to climb again.Tatoeba #11756962 by Amastan, translation #11190295 by Amastan
- Elle sait grimper aux arbres.She knows how to climb trees.This sentence illustrates how to express the ability to use grimper.Tatoeba #8689627 by Julien_PDC, translation #13862331 by tieguy
- Il monte les escaliers rapidement chaque matin.He climbs the stairs quickly every morning.
- Je veux grimper cette montagne magnifique.I want to climb this beautiful mountain.
- 15 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Emma and Lucas are at an indoor climbing gym.
- EmmaTu veux grimper cette paroi ?Do you want to climb this wall?
- LucasOui, je vais grimper maintenant.Yes, I am going to climb now.
- EmmaFais attention en montant.Be careful while going up.
- LucasMerci, je vais faire attention.Thanks, I will be careful.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry grimper, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries grimper, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
