vers
/vɛʁ/
The English phrase 'towards' is translated into French as vers.
How do you pronounce it?
/vɛʁ/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers may confuse the homophones vers (towards), vert (green), ver (worm) and verre (glass/glass) because they are pronounced identically in many contexts.
Did you know?
- The word vers is a doublet of the English word 'versus'. Both terms originate from the Latin 'versus' which means 'turned', describing a movement in a specific direction.
- In French literature, the word vers can also mean 'a line of poetry', creating a pun where one moves 'towards' a poetic verse.
- While vers indicates a direction, French uses the exact same word to describe an approximate time, such as vers midi for 'around noon'.
Examples in context
- Avance vers moi !Move towards me!Tatoeba #11618872 by anzart, translation #13752652 by qwertydiy
- L'ours avance vers nous.The bear is coming towards us.Tatoeba #7822647 by theachaean, translation #7822646 by theachaean
- Il chevaucha vers la mer.He rode towards the sea.Tatoeba #507998 by Bruno, translation #8293727 by sundown
- Je me dirige vers le parc.I am heading towards the park.
- Il se tourne vers moi.He turns towards me.
- La voiture se déplace dans la direction du nord.The car is moving towards the north.
- Marchez dans la direction de la cathédrale.Walk towards the cathedral.
- Je vais vers la boulangerie.I'm going towards the bakery.
- Il se tourne vers son ami.He turns towards his friend.
- Allez tout droit en direction du parc.Go straight towards the park.
- Je me dirige vers la plage.I'm heading towards the beach.
- Elle court en direction du parc.She is running towards the park.
- Tourne-toi vers moi.Turn towards me.
- 57 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are walking in a park.
- HugoRegarde, il marche vers le lac.Look, he is walking towards the lake.
- ChloéOui, et il semble très pressé.Yes, and he seems to be in a hurry.
- HugoAllons vers le banc, s'il te plaît.Let's go towards the bench, please.
- ChloéBonne idée, Hugo, j'ai besoin de m'asseoir.Good idea, Hugo, I need to sit down.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry vers, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries vers, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
