passer l'aspirateur
/pa.se l‿as.pi.ʁa.tœʁ/
To vacuum in French is passer l'aspirateur.
The phrase passer l'aspirateur is a transitive verb used to describe the act of cleaning a floor with a vacuum cleaner.
Meaning: transitive: to clean with a vacuum cleaner (verb)
What does it mean word for word?
The noun for the vacuum cleaner itself is aspirateur.
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation is /pa.se l‿as.pi.ʁa.tœʁ/. It has 5 syllables.
Did you know?
- The word aspirateur shares its root with the English word 'aspire'. Both words describe the action of drawing something toward oneself, whether it is dust or a lifelong dream.
- The word aspirateur comes from the verb aspirer, which means 'to breathe in' or 'to suck'. This connects the machine to the biological act of respiration.
- The verb passer in passer l'aspirateur originates from the Latin word passus, meaning a 'step'. This suggests the physical action of stepping across a room while cleaning.
Examples in context
- Fait chier, qu'est-ce qu'il a à passer l'aspirateur au beau milieu de la nuit !What a pain, why does he have to vacuum in the middle of the night!This sentence shows a frustrated reaction to someone vacuuming in the middle of the night using passer l'aspirateur.Tatoeba #828732 by U2FS, translation #1742459 by belgavox
- Tu dois passer l'aspirateur dans toute la maison.You have to vacuum the entire house.This sentence expresses the necessity of vacuuming the whole house using passer l'aspirateur.Tatoeba #13712027 by Ioan_Cristian, translation #13712026 by Ioan_Cristian
- J'ai besoin d'un aspirateur pour nettoyer ma maisonI need a vacuum cleaner to clean my house
- Ma mère utilise toujours une balayeuse pour nettoyer le tapisMy mother always uses a vacuum cleaner to clean the carpet
- J'ai un nouvel aspi, il aspire vraiment bienI have a new vacuum cleaner, it sucks really well
- Mon aspirateur est en panne, je dois en acheter un nouveauMy vacuum cleaner is broken, I need to buy a new one
- Dans ma région, on appelle ça une balayeuse, pas un aspirateurIn my region, we call it a 'balayeuse,' not a vacuum cleaner
- Puis-je emprunter votre aspirateur ?May I borrow your vacuum cleaner?
- Je vais passer l'aspirateur dans le salon.I am going to vacuum the living room.
Example conversation
Hugo and Manon are cleaning their apartment.
- HugoEst-ce que je dois passer l'aspirateur aujourd'hui ?Do I have to vacuum today?
- ManonOui, s'il te plaît, Hugo.Yes, please, Hugo.
- HugoD'accord, je m'en occupe.Okay, I'll take care of it.
- ManonMerci beaucoup.Thank you very much.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “vacuum” translations and entries passer l'aspirateur, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries passer, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
