When you want to say 'to bring' in French, which verb do you use? Is it apporter? Or maybe amener? It can be tricky, especially with similar-sounding words like emporter and emmener also in the mix.

These verbs all relate to bringing or taking people and things, but they have specific rules that can trip up even advanced learners.

But don't worry! In this article, we'll break down the differences and look at 9 essential ways to talk about 'bringing' in French, so you'll always know which word to choose.

1. The Standard 'To Bring' (An Object) – Apporter

When you need to say you're bringing an inanimate object somewhere, the verb you'll almost always use is apporter. It's the most common and standard verb for this action in French, making it an essential part of your vocabulary.

The easiest way to remember what apporter means is to look at its parts: à (to) + porter (to carry). Literally, it means 'to carry to'. This structure inherently implies you are carrying a thing to a specific destination.

The most important rule for apporter is that it is used for inanimate objects or things you can physically carry. You can apporter un gâteau (bring a cake), apporter un livre (bring a book), or apporter des fleurs (bring flowers). You cannot use it for people or animals that can move on their own.

Good news for learners: apporter is a regular -er verb. This means it follows the standard conjugation pattern for verbs like parler or chanter, making it relatively easy to use in different tenses without memorizing irregular forms.

The most frequent point of confusion for learners is distinguishing between apporter (to bring an object) and amener (to bring a person or animal). A simple trick is to remember the root verbs: porter means 'to carry' (you carry things), while mener means 'to lead' (you lead people).

Apporter is perfect for everyday situations. You'll use it when talking about contributing to a potluck dinner (J'apporte une salade), bringing a gift to a party (Qu'est-ce que je peux apporter ?), or taking something with you (N'oublie pas d'apporter ton parapluie).

💡 * J'apporte une bouteille de vin ce soir. (I'm bringing a bottle of wine tonight.)

Peux-tu m'apporter mon livre qui est sur la table ? (Can you bring me my book that's on the table?)

Pour la fête, chacun doit apporter quelque chose à manger. (For the party, everyone must bring something to eat.)

Il a apporté les documents importants à la réunion. (He brought the important documents to the meeting.)

Apporte-moi le sel, s'il te plaît. (Bring me the salt, please.)

To bring 'someone' (a person or animal) – amener

The French verb amener is used when you are talking about bringing a person or an animal from one place to another. The key is that the subject being 'brought' is a living being that can move on its own.

Think of amener as 'to lead to'. The prefix a- (from the Latin ad, meaning 'to') combines with mener ('to lead'). You are essentially leading someone or an animal to a destination.

The most common point of confusion is between amener and apporter. The rule is simple: use amener for people and animals. Use apporter for inanimate objects you can carry. For example, you amènes your friend to a party, but you apportes a bottle of wine.

Fortunately, amener follows a common conjugation pattern. In the present tense, it has a stem change where the 'e' takes a grave accent (è) in most forms (e.g., j'amène, tu amènes, ils amènent), but not in the nous and vous forms (nous amenons, vous amenez).

You'll hear amener used constantly in daily life. For instance, J'amène mon fils à l'école (I'm bringing my son to school) or Tu peux amener ton chien au parc ? (Can you bring your dog to the park?).

💡 * J'amène mon ami à la fête ce soir.

Pouvez-vous amener les enfants au parc ?

Elle a amené son chien avec elle en vacances.

N'oublie pas d'amener ta sœur au dîner.

To bring something 'back' – rapporter

When you need to express the action of bringing an object back to a place, the French verb you'll use is rapporter. It specifically refers to returning an inanimate item to its point of origin or to the speaker.

A helpful way to remember rapporter is to break it down. It combines the prefix re- (meaning 'back' or 'again') with the verb apporter (to bring). So, its literal meaning is 'to re-bring' something.

The crucial rule for rapporter is that it's used for things you can carry. You cannot use it for people, animals, or vehicles. For bringing a person back, you would use the verb ramener. For example, you rapporte a book, but you ramène a child.

Fortunately, rapporter is a regular -er verb, making its conjugation straightforward. It follows the same pattern as common verbs like parler or manger. For example: je rapporte, tu rapportes, il/elle rapporte.

You'll use rapporter frequently in everyday situations, such as returning a defective item to a store, bringing back souvenirs from a trip, or returning a dish to a neighbor.

💡 * N'oublie pas de rapporter les livres à la bibliothèque. (Don't forget to bring the books back to the library.)

Je dois rapporter cette robe au magasin, elle est trop petite. (I have to bring this dress back to the store, it's too small.)

Elle m'a rapporté un cadeau de ses vacances. (She brought me back a gift from her vacation.)

Le chien rapporte la balle. (The dog brings back the ball.)

To bring someone 'back' – ramener

The French verb ramener means to bring someone or something back to their place of origin or a previous location. It implies an action of escorting or transporting.

Its most common use is for people. You would ramener a friend home after a party, or ramener your kids from school. It's the equivalent of 'to take back,' 'to drive back,' or 'to drop off'.

While it can be used for objects, it's often distinguished from rapporter, which means to bring back an inanimate object you can carry. You ramener a car to the garage, but you rapporter a book to the library.

In colloquial French, the expression 'la ramener' means to show off, brag, or give an unsolicited opinion. For example, 'Il la ramène toujours' means 'He's always showing off'.

💡 * Je te ramène chez toi après le film. (I'll take you back to your place after the movie.)

Peux-tu ramener les enfants de l'école ? (Can you bring the children back from school?)

Il a ramené sa voiture au garage pour la faire réparer. (He brought his car back to the garage to get it repaired.)

Arrête de la ramener, personne ne t'a rien demandé ! (Stop putting your two cents in, nobody asked you anything!)

To 'bring about' or cause – provoquer

The French verb provoquer primarily means 'to cause,' 'to bring about,' or 'to give rise to.' It's a versatile verb used to describe a cause-and-effect relationship, often for events, reactions, or emotions.

Like its English cognate 'to provoke,' provoquer often carries a negative connotation, meaning 'to incite,' 'to taunt,' or 'to stir up trouble.' The context is essential to determine if the meaning is neutral ('to cause') or negative ('to provoke').

Provoquer is a regular -er verb, which makes its conjugation straightforward. It is a transitive verb, meaning it takes a direct object. The typical sentence structure is Subject + provoquer + Direct Object.

This verb is frequently used to describe the origin of debates, emotions, crises, or significant events. For example, one might say a speech provoque un débat (causes a debate) or a decision provoque la colère (causes anger).

To master provoquer, remember its dual nature. It can neutrally mean 'to bring about,' but it often implies instigating something, especially a strong reaction. Pay close attention to the context to understand the speaker's intent.

💡 * La nouvelle politique a provoqué de nombreuses manifestations. (The new policy caused numerous protests.)

Arrête de me provoquer avec tes insultes ! (Stop provoking me with your insults!)

Le tremblement de terre a provoqué d'importants dégâts. (The earthquake caused significant damage.)

Son discours a provoqué un vif débat parmi les spectateurs. (His speech brought about a lively debate among the audience.)

To 'bring' a feeling or state (e.g., happiness) – rendre

While you may know rendre as the verb 'to give back' or 'to return,' it has a powerful secondary meaning: to cause someone or something to become a certain way. In this context, it translates to 'to make' or 'to cause to be.'

The essential structure to master is rendre + [someone/something] + [adjective]. This formula is the French equivalent of saying an action or event 'made' a person feel a certain emotion or enter a particular state.

This usage is incredibly common for describing changes in feelings and conditions. You will frequently encounter it with adjectives such as heureux/heureuse (happy), triste (sad), malade (sick), fou/folle (crazy), and fier/fière (proud).

A crucial grammar point: the adjective must always agree in gender and number with the direct object (the person or thing being made to feel a certain way). For example, to say 'It made her proud,' you would say Ça l'a rendue **fière**.

💡 * Cette nouvelle m'a rendu très heureux. (This news made me very happy.)

Son attitude me rend triste. (His/Her attitude makes me sad.)

Le long voyage les a rendus malades. (The long trip made them sick.)

La complexité du problème la rend folle. (The complexity of the problem is driving her crazy.)

To 'have someone brought' or 'to summon' – faire venir

The expression faire venir is a common French causative construction. It literally means 'to make come,' and is used when you cause someone or something to come to a location. It's the equivalent of 'to have someone come,' 'to summon,' or 'to call for.'

This phrase is frequently used when arranging for a professional to visit, such as faire venir un médecin (to call a doctor over) or faire venir un plombier (to have a plumber come). It implies that you are the one initiating the action of them coming.

Faire venir can also be used for objects, especially in the context of ordering something for delivery. For instance, se faire venir un repas means 'to have a meal delivered.' The reflexive form se faire venir is common in this context.

💡 * Le directeur a fait venir l'étudiant dans son bureau. (The principal summoned the student to his office.)

Si le four ne marche pas, il faudra faire venir un technicien. (If the oven doesn't work, we'll have to call a technician.)

J'étais trop fatiguée pour cuisiner, alors je me suis fait venir une pizza. (I was too tired to cook, so I had a pizza delivered.)

Elle a fait venir ses parents de France pour le mariage. (She had her parents come from France for the wedding.)

To 'provide' or 'supply' something needed – fournir

The verb fournir is the go-to French verb for 'to provide' or 'to supply'. It's used when talking about giving or making something available that is needed or required.

Typically, you use it in the structure fournir quelque chose à quelqu'un (to provide something to someone). For example, L'école fournit les livres aux élèves (The school provides the books to the students). It is a regular '-ir' verb, making its conjugation straightforward.

Unlike donner (to give), fournir implies a sense of obligation, transaction, or fulfilling a specific need. It's often used in professional, commercial, or official contexts, such as a company supplying goods, a hotel furnishing amenities, or a person providing required information.

💡 * Notre entreprise fournit des équipements de bureau à des centaines de clients.

Vous devez fournir une preuve d'identité pour entrer.

Le guide nous a fourni une carte de la ville.

L'hôtel ne fournit pas le petit-déjeuner.

To 'bring along' or 'equip oneself with' – se munir de

The French pronominal verb se munir de translates to 'to equip oneself with,' 'to provide oneself with,' or more simply, 'to bring along.' It carries a strong connotation of preparation and necessity, implying that the item being brought is essential for a specific task or situation.

As a pronominal verb, se munir requires a reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nous, vous, se) that agrees with the subject. Crucially, it is always followed by the preposition de (or d' before a vowel). The verb munir itself follows the standard conjugation pattern for regular -ir verbs.

You will most often encounter se munir de in formal contexts, such as official instructions, public announcements, or travel advisories. It is a more formal and deliberate alternative to verbs like apporter (to bring) or prendre avec soi (to take with oneself). For example, an event ticket might state, Veuillez vous munir de ce billet. (Please have this ticket with you).

Beyond physical objects, se munir de can also be used figuratively with abstract nouns. This usage is common when talking about preparing oneself mentally or emotionally. For instance, one might se munir de patience (to arm oneself with patience) or se munir de courage (to gather one's courage).

💡 * Avant de partir en randonnée, il faut se munir d'une carte et d'eau. (Before going hiking, you must bring a map and water.)

Veuillez vous munir de votre pièce d'identité pour l'examen. (Please bring your ID for the exam.)

Pour l'entretien, munissez-vous de votre CV. (For the interview, come equipped with your resume.)

Elle s'est munie de patience avant d'entamer la longue discussion. (She armed herself with patience before starting the long discussion.)

Are there other ways to say 'to bring' in French?

Our list features the most essential verbs for 'to bring' and 'to take' in French. But French is a precise language, so you'll find other verbs for specific contexts, like rapporter (to bring back) or ramener (to bring someone back).

You can also do an online search for a specific context, like 'how to say to bring up a topic in French' (aborder un sujet) to discover more nuanced vocabulary.

Remember the core distinction that will help you master these verbs: use a form of -porter for inanimate objects you can carry, and a form of -mener for people, animals, or vehicles you lead. This simple rule is your key to using them correctly.

Pay close attention as you read, watch, and listen to native French speakers. You’ll start to notice how naturally they choose between apporter and amener, and it will help solidify the concepts in your mind.

And if you’re looking for more examples or need to check the conjugation of these tricky verbs, the WordReference entries for apporter and amener are excellent places to start!

I hope this article has helped bring some clarity to this tricky topic. To finish, here's a wonderful French proverb that reminds us of the best things we can bring to others: Le bonheur est la seule chose qui se double si on le partage. (Happiness is the only thing that doubles when you share it.)

'9 ways to say "to bring" in French'