The verb suivre is the most common way to say "to follow" in French, but just like in English, there are many nuances to this word. Are you following someone on social media, following instructions, or following a story? Each context might call for a different verb or expression. As you dive deeper into French, understanding these variations will make your speech sound more natural and precise. Let's explore nine different ways to say "to follow" and see how you can use them to enhance your French skills!

2. The standard 'to follow' – suivre

The most common and direct translation for the verb 'to follow' in French is suivre. It's a versatile and essential verb used in many different contexts, from literally following someone down the street to following a course online or a celebrity on social media.

One of the first things to know about suivre is that it's an irregular verb. Its conjugation doesn't follow standard patterns, so it's important to memorize its forms, especially in the present tense:

je suis
tu suis
il/elle/on suit
nous suivons
vous suivez
ils/elles suivent

Watch out! The form je suis looks identical to 'I am' (from the verb être), but the context will always make the meaning clear. For example, Je suis fatigué means 'I am tired,' while Je suis le guide means 'I am following the guide.'

The most straightforward use of suivre is for physically following someone or something. This can mean walking behind a person, following a car, or tracking a path on a map.

In an academic or professional context, suivre is the correct verb to say you are 'taking' or 'following' a course, a class, or a training program. For instance, suivre un cours de français means 'to take a French class'.

You also use suivre when talking about following instructions, rules, advice, or a recipe. It implies adherence to a set of guidelines or a particular logic.

In the digital age, suivre has perfectly adapted. It is the standard verb for 'following' someone on social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, or TikTok. You can also use it for 'following' the news or a developing story.

You will often see the expression à suivre at the end of a TV show episode, a chapter in a book, or an article. It directly translates to 'to be followed' and is the French equivalent of 'to be continued...'

💡 * Le détective suit le suspect dans la rue. (The detective follows the suspect in the street.)

Je suis un cours de cuisine italienne cette année. (I'm taking an Italian cooking class this year.)

Pour de bons résultats, il faut suivre les instructions. (For good results, you must follow the instructions.)

Tu me suis sur Instagram ? (Do you follow me on Instagram?)

La fin de l'épisode disait 'À suivre...'. (The end of the episode said 'To be continued...')

To 'pursue' or 'chase' – poursuivre

The versatile French verb poursuivre directly translates to 'to pursue' or 'to chase,' and it is used in both literal and figurative contexts to express the idea of following something with a clear intention.

In its most physical sense, poursuivre means to chase someone or something. This is often used in contexts of pursuit, like a police chase or an animal hunting its prey. For example, Le chat poursuit la souris (The cat is chasing the mouse).

More frequently, you'll encounter poursuivre used figuratively to mean pursuing an abstract goal, a dream, or an activity. Common expressions include poursuivre ses études (to continue one's studies), poursuivre un objectif (to pursue an objective), or poursuivre une carrière (to pursue a career).

Poursuivre can also simply mean 'to continue' or 'to carry on' with a speech or action. For instance, after an interruption, someone might say, Poursuivons notre discussion (Let's continue our discussion).

In a formal or legal setting, poursuivre takes on the meaning of 'to sue' or 'to prosecute.' The phrase poursuivre quelqu'un en justice means 'to take someone to court.'

Be mindful that poursuivre is an irregular verb that follows the conjugation pattern of suivre (to follow). The present tense forms are: je poursuis, tu poursuis, il/elle poursuit, nous poursuivons, vous poursuivez, ils/elles poursuivent.

💡 * Le lion poursuit la gazelle dans la savane.

Elle a déménagé à Paris pour poursuivre son rêve de devenir artiste.

Malgré les difficultés, nous devons poursuivre nos efforts.

L'avocat a conseillé à son client de ne pas poursuivre l'affaire.

Après une pause, le professeur a poursuivi son explication.

To 'track' or 'hunt down' – traquer

The French verb traquer translates to 'to track,' 'to hunt down,' or 'to stalk.' It's a dynamic verb that implies a persistent and determined pursuit, often with a sense of intensity.

In its most literal context, traquer is used for hunting animals or pursuing a person, like a fugitive or a suspect. It conveys a strong sense of a relentless chase with the aim of capturing or finding something or someone. For example, la police traque les criminels (the police hunt down the criminals).

Figuratively, traquer is used to describe an intense search for something non-physical. You can traquer (hunt down) a good deal online, traquer a bug in software, or traquer an error in a document. The core idea of a focused, relentless search remains.

Traquer is a regular -er verb, making its conjugation predictable for learners. It follows the same pattern as verbs like parler. For example, in the present tense: je traque, tu traques, il/elle/on traque, nous traquons, vous traquez, ils/elles traquent.

The associated noun is la traque, which means 'the hunt' or 'the pursuit.' This word is commonly used in media and news reports to describe a manhunt or an intensive search, such as la traque des suspects (the manhunt for the suspects).

💡 * Le chasseur traque le cerf dans la forêt.

Les journalistes traquent la moindre information sur cette affaire.

Le développeur passe des heures à traquer les bugs dans son code.

La police a organisé une grande traque pour retrouver le fugitif.

The informal 'to tail' or 'shadow' – filer

The informal French verb filer means 'to tail' or 'to shadow' someone. It's the go-to slang term for following a person secretly, often used in the context of detective work or suspicion.

You'll most often encounter filer in colloquial settings, especially in crime fiction, movies, or conversations about being followed. It implies a sense of stealth and continuous pursuit.

Filer is a regular -er verb, making its conjugation straightforward (e.g., je file, tu files, il file). It is used transitively, meaning it is immediately followed by a direct object: filer quelqu'un (to tail someone).

Be aware that filer also commonly means 'to leave quickly' or 'to dash off.' For example, Je dois filer! means 'I have to run!' The context of the sentence will make it clear whether someone is leaving or following.

💡 * Le détective a filé le suspect jusqu'à son domicile. (The detective tailed the suspect to his home.)

J'ai l'impression que cette voiture nous file depuis le centre-ville. (I have the feeling that car has been tailing us since downtown.)

La police a décidé de filer le trafiquant pour démanteler le réseau. (The police decided to shadow the trafficker to dismantle the network.)

Arrête de me filer partout où je vais ! (Stop shadowing me everywhere I go!)

To 'trail' or 'track' (like a detective) – pister

The French verb pister means "to track," "to trail," or "to follow." It evokes a sense of pursuit, much like a detective on a case or a hunter following prey.

In its most literal sense, pister is used when someone is physically following the trail or tracks of a person or animal. It implies careful observation and a clear objective.

The verb also extends to figurative contexts. You can pister an online package, pister the source of a rumor, or pister a financial transaction. In these cases, it means to trace or monitor something's progress or origin.

Pister is directly related to the noun la piste, which means "the track," "the trail," "the lead," or "the clue." A detective might say they are following une bonne piste (a good lead).

Good news for learners: pister is a regular -er verb. It conjugates just like common verbs such as parler (to speak) or chercher (to look for), making it easy to use in different tenses.

💡 * Le détective a pisté le suspect jusqu'à la gare. (The detective trailed the suspect to the train station.)

Les chasseurs pistent le gibier grâce à ses empreintes. (The hunters track the game thanks to its footprints.)

Peux-tu pister ma commande en ligne, s'il te plaît ? (Can you track my online order, please?)

Les journalistes ont pisté l'origine de la fausse nouvelle. (The journalists traced the origin of the fake news.)

To 'follow' on social media – s'abonner à

When you want to say you 'follow' someone on social media in French, you don't use the direct translation, suivre (to follow). Instead, the correct verb is s'abonner à, which literally means 'to subscribe to'.

The logic is that you are 'subscribing' to a person's feed or content, just like you would subscribe to a magazine or a YouTube channel. This verb is used for all platforms, including Instagram, X (Twitter), Facebook, and TikTok.

S'abonner is a pronominal verb, meaning it needs a reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nous, vous, se) that agrees with the subject. It must also be followed by the preposition à. For example, 'I follow your account' is Je m'abonne à ton compte.

To say you 'unfollow' someone, you use the verb se désabonner de. Notice that the preposition changes from à to de. For example: Il s'est désabonné de la page (He unfollowed the page).

💡 * N'oublie pas de t'abonner à mon compte Instagram ! (Don't forget to follow my Instagram account!)

Je me suis abonné à sa chaîne YouTube hier. (I followed his YouTube channel yesterday.)

Elle va se désabonner de son profil car ses publications sont ennuyeuses. (She is going to unfollow his profile because his posts are boring.)

Combien de personnes sont abonnées à la page Facebook de la marque ? (How many people follow the brand's Facebook page?)

To 'follow' or 'obey' rules/orders – obéir à

The French verb for 'to obey' or 'to follow' a rule or command is obéir à. This verb is crucial for expressing compliance with authority, laws, or instructions. Critically, it is always followed by the preposition à.

Because obéir requires the preposition à, it takes an indirect object. This means you are obeying to someone or something. For example, you say obéir aux lois (to obey the laws), where aux is the necessary contraction of à + les.

Obéir is a regular second-group verb, which means it follows the same conjugation pattern as finir. For instance, in the present tense: j'obéis, tu obéis, il obéit, nous obéissons, vous obéissez, ils obéissent.

💡 * Les enfants doivent toujours obéir à leurs parents. (Children must always obey their parents.)

Le chien a été dressé pour obéir aux ordres. (The dog was trained to obey commands.)

Pour votre sécurité, vous devez obéir aux consignes. (For your safety, you must follow the instructions.)

Elle a refusé d'obéir à une règle qu'elle jugeait injuste. (She refused to obey a rule she considered unfair.)

To 'ensue' or 'result from' – s'ensuivre

The pronominal verb s'ensuivre translates to 'to ensue,' 'to follow,' or 'to result from.' It is used to describe an event or consequence that logically or chronologically follows a preceding action.

S'ensuivre belongs to a more formal or literary register. It's often used in writing and formal speech to elegantly connect a cause with its effect, similar to saying 'consequently' or 'as a result.'

This verb is very frequently used in the third-person singular impersonal form: il s'ensuit. The most common construction is Il s'ensuit que..., which means 'It follows that...' or 'The result is that...'

Like all pronominal verbs, s'ensuivre conjugates with the auxiliary verb être in compound tenses. For example, the passé composé is il s'en est suivi (it followed/ensued).

💡 * Le ton a monté et une dispute s'en est suivie. (The tone escalated and an argument ensued.)

Il a plu toute la journée, il s'ensuit que la route est glissante. (It rained all day, it follows that the road is slippery.)

De cette découverte s'ensuivirent de nombreuses questions. (From this discovery, numerous questions followed.)

Si vous ne respectez pas les règles, des sanctions s'ensuivront. (If you don't follow the rules, sanctions will ensue.)

1. The formal 'to put under surveillance' – prendre en filature

The French expression prendre en filature directly translates to "to take in tailing" or "to put under surveillance." It is a formal and specific term used primarily in law enforcement, espionage, or detective contexts to describe the act of secretly following someone to observe their movements and activities.

This phrase is composed of the verb prendre (to take) and the noun la filature (tailing, shadowing, surveillance). When combined, prendre [quelqu'un] en filature forms a fixed verbal expression. The verb prendre is conjugated according to the subject and tense, while en filature remains unchanged.

You would typically encounter prendre en filature in crime novels, police reports, news articles about investigations, or spy movies. It is not a phrase used in everyday, casual conversation. For instance, you wouldn't say you are prenant en filature a friend you are trying to find in a crowd; you would use a simpler verb like suivre (to follow).

💡 * La police a pris le suspect en filature dès sa sortie de prison. (The police put the suspect under surveillance as soon as he left prison.)

Le détective privé a été engagé pour prendre le mari en filature. (The private detective was hired to tail the husband.)

Ils se sont rendu compte qu'ils étaient pris en filature par une voiture noire. (They realized they were being tailed by a black car.)

Pour démanteler le réseau, il faut prendre en filature ses membres les plus importants. (To dismantle the network, it is necessary to put its most important members under surveillance.)

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

Our guide has covered the most common and essential verbs for 'to follow', from the versatile suivre to the more specific poursuivre. But French is a language full of nuance, and you may encounter other expressions in literature, formal contexts, or regional dialects.

The most important takeaway is to always consider the context. Are you following a person, a set of rules, a class, or a dream? Your answer will determine whether suivre, s'ensuivre, or another verb is the best choice.

To truly grasp the differences, try searching for example sentences online. Look up phrases like “suivre des instructions” versus “poursuivre ses études” to see how their meanings change based on what is being followed.

Pay attention when you watch, read, and listen to French content. You'll start to notice how native speakers naturally choose the right verb for the situation, which is one of the best ways to learn.

If you want to explore more synonyms or related expressions, the Larousse or WordReference entries for suivre are fantastic places to start. They often provide detailed examples and discussions on subtle usage points.

I hope this article helps you on your language-learning journey. To finish, here’s a fitting thought from the writer André Gide: “Il est bien plus beau de savoir quelque chose de tout que de savoir tout d'une chose.” (It is much more beautiful to know a little about everything than to know everything about one thing.) Follow your curiosity!

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