est né
The English phrase "was born" is translated into French as est né.
This phrase is used to describe the event of a person coming into the world at a specific time or place. You may encounter the more poetic and literary expression Je suis venu(e) au monde à [place] to say "I came into the world at [place]".
How does it change in a sentence?
The form must agree in gender with the subject. While est né is used for male subjects, you must use est née to say "was born" when referring to a female subject.
Did you know?
- The word est is one of only two words in modern French where a silent internal 's' is kept in the spelling, the other being Jésus-Christ.
- In French, the phrase est né is grammatically 'is born' rather than 'was born'. This is because French uses the auxiliary verb 'être' (to be) instead of 'avoir' (to have) for this specific event.
Examples in context
- Il est né ici.He was born here.This sentence shows how to use est né to indicate a birthplace.Tatoeba #12013292 by lbdx, translation #8554918 by ET
- Il est né riche.He was born rich.This sentence demonstrates using est né to describe a person's state at birth.Tatoeba #4696112 by sacredceltic, translation #295531 by CK
- Un chaton est né.A kitten was born.This sentence shows est né being used for an animal.Tatoeba #4092216 by sbamsbamsbam, translation #4091889 by andymakespasta
- Je suis né à Paris.I was born in Paris.
- Ma naissance a eu lieu à Montréal.I was born in Montreal.
- Je suis venue au monde à Lyon.I was born in Lyon.
- Je suis né à Bordeaux.I was born in Bordeaux.
- Je suis né à Marseille, tu vois.I was born in Marseille, you know.
- Je suis né là-bas, en Normandie.I was born there, in Normandy.
- Elle est née à Lyon.She was born in Lyon.
- 182 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Léa and Hugo are talking about a mutual friend.
- LéaEst-ce que Marc est né en France ?Was Marc born in France?
- HugoNon, il est né au Canada.No, he was born in Canada.
- LéaAh, je ne le savais pas.Ah, I didn't know that.
- HugoIl est très content de sa culture.He is very happy with his culture.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries est, né, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
