trébuché
To say tripped in French, use trébuché, the past participle of trébucher. It describes catching your foot on something and losing your balance.
trébuché forms the past tense together with the verb meaning to have, as in J'ai trébuché sur une pierre.
Which one should you use?
trébucher is a physical stumble. For a figurative misstep or a social blunder, French uses a different expression. Se vautrer is an informal way to say take a tumble or fall flat, and Se ramasser is a colloquial way to talk about taking a fall.
How does it change in a sentence?
The infinitive is trébucher. To say you tripped over something, add sur, meaning on, as in trébucher sur.
Did you know?
- While trébucher describes a physical trip, the French use the phrase mettre les pieds dans le plat to describe a social blunder. This literally means 'to put one's feet in the dish'.
- The colloquial term se ramasser is often used to describe a clumsy or spectacular fall. While it literally means 'to pick up/gather', in a physical context, it describes the act of falling hard on the ground.
- While trébucher is for a stumble, the phrase faire un faux pas is used for a social trip, mirroring the English 'faux pas'.
Examples in context
- Le vieil homme a trébuché.The old man tripped over his own feet.Le vieil homme means the old man.Tatoeba #2049559 by sacredceltic, translation #43355 by jakov
- J'ai trébuché sur une pierre.I tripped over a stone.sur une pierre means over a stone.Tatoeba #7142182 by Micsmithel, translation #1756640 by CM
- Elle a trébuché sur la pierre.She tripped on the stone.With Elle, the participle trébuché stays the same because it is formed with the verb meaning to have.Tatoeba #11714242 by lbdx, translation #315397 by CM
- Je me suis ramasséI tripped
- J'ai fait un faux pas et je me suis bien vautré !I made a false step and I really took a tumble!
- Elle s'est ramassée devant tout le monde pendant la réunion d'hier !She ate dirt in front of everyone during yesterday's meeting!
- 14 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Gabriel and Léa are walking in a park.
- GabrielOuch ! Je viens de trébucher.Ouch! I just tripped.
- LéaEst-ce que tu vas bien, Gabriel ?Are you okay, Gabriel?
- GabrielOui, j'ai juste trébuché sur une racine.Yes, I just tripped on a root.
- LéaFais attention où tu marches, Léa te conseille.Watch where you're walking, Léa advises you.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
