Grandir is the most common way to say “to grow” in French. But as you’ll see, there are several other options, each with its own nuance and context.

Whether you’re talking about a plant growing, a child growing up, or a business growing, French has a specific verb for it. Knowing these different verbs will help you express yourself more precisely and sound more natural.

Let’s explore 9 different ways to say “to grow” in French!

The general 'to grow' (for people, animals, plants) – grandir

The general 'to grow' (for people, animals, plants) – grandir

Grandir is the most common and versatile French verb for "to grow," primarily referring to an increase in size or height for living beings.

When talking about people or animals getting taller or bigger as they age, grandir is the go-to verb. It implies physical development and maturation.

Grandir is also perfectly suitable for plants increasing in size, developing, or sprouting.

Grandir is a regular -ir verb, making its conjugation relatively straightforward. For instance, in the present tense: je grandis, tu grandis, il/elle/on grandit, nous grandissons, vous grandissez, ils/elles grandissent.

This is where grandir gets interesting! It can use both avoir and être as its auxiliary verb in compound tenses (like passé composé), but the choice changes the meaning.

When grandir is used with avoir, it often emphasizes the process or duration of growing, or when it's used transitively (e.g., J'ai grandi mes cheveux – I grew my hair). More commonly, when intransitive, it focuses on the amount of growth: Il a grandi de 5 centimètres (He grew 5 centimeters).

When grandir is used with être, it typically refers to the state of having grown up or reached a certain size. It's frequently used when talking about where one grew up, or the result of growing: Je suis né à Paris mais j'ai grandi à Lyon (I was born in Paris but I grew up in Lyon). Il est grandi maintenant (He is grown up now).

Beyond physical growth, grandir can also be used figuratively to mean "to mature," "to grow as a person," or "to gain importance." For example, Il a grandi en responsabilité (He grew in responsibility).

💡 * Les enfants grandissent vite. (Children grow fast.)

Mon chien a beaucoup grandi depuis que je l'ai adopté. (My dog has grown a lot since I adopted him.)

Ces plantes grandissent bien dans ce sol. (These plants grow well in this soil.)

J'ai grandi dans une petite ville. (I grew up in a small town.)

Elle a grandi en confiance après cette expérience. (She grew in confidence after this experience.)

The 'to grow' for plants, hair, or nails – pousser

The 'to grow' for plants, hair, or nails – pousser

When you want to talk about something growing in the sense of sprouting, emerging, or lengthening naturally, especially for biological entities like plants, hair, or nails, the French verb to use is pousser.

For instance, a plant pousse (grows) from a seed, or flowers poussent (bloom/grow) in a garden. This verb perfectly captures the organic process of vegetation.

Similarly, your hair pousse (grows) longer, and your nails poussent (grow) as well. It describes the physical extension of these parts of the body.

It's important to distinguish pousser from grandir, which generally means 'to grow up' for people or animals, implying an increase in size and maturity, not just sprouting or lengthening.

Pousser is a regular -ER verb, making its conjugation straightforward. For example, in the present tense: je pousse, tu pousses, il/elle/on pousse, nous poussons, vous poussez, ils/elles poussent.

Remember pousser as your go-to verb for natural, organic growth in the specific contexts of plants, hair, and nails, capturing the essence of things emerging and developing.

💡 * Les fleurs poussent dans le jardin. (The flowers grow in the garden.)

Mes cheveux poussent vite. (My hair grows fast.)

Il faut couper mes ongles, ils poussent trop. (I need to cut my nails, they're growing too much.)

Cette plante pousse bien. (This plant is growing well.)

Les mauvaises herbes poussent partout. (Weeds are growing everywhere.)

The more formal 'to grow' (for abstract concepts or plants) – croître

While grandir is typically used for people growing in size, croître is another French verb that means 'to grow,' but it's reserved for more specific contexts.

Primarily, croître is used to describe the growth of plants, crops, or vegetation. Think of a garden flourishing or a tree getting taller.

Beyond flora, croître also applies to abstract concepts that increase or develop, such as knowledge, power, wealth, or economic growth.

This verb carries a more formal and sometimes literary tone compared to grandir, making it less common in everyday spoken French, especially for personal growth.

It's important to note that croître is an irregular verb, and its conjugation can be tricky. It belongs to the same group as verbs like connaître.

Therefore, when you need to express 'to grow' for anything other than a person's physical development, and particularly for plants or abstract ideas, croître is often the appropriate, albeit more formal, choice.

💡 * Les plantes croissent rapidement avec le soleil. (The plants grow quickly with the sun.)

L'économie du pays a cessé de croître. (The country's economy has stopped growing.)

Sa curiosité ne faisait que croître. (His curiosity only grew.)

Les champignons croissent dans l'humidité. (Mushrooms grow in humidity.)

Le pouvoir du roi croissait chaque jour. (The king's power grew every day.)

The 'to develop' or 'to expand' – développer

The verb développer is a highly versatile French verb primarily meaning "to develop" or "to expand." It's an essential verb for discussing growth, progress, and elaboration in various contexts.

It is frequently used when talking about improving skills, growing a business, or working on a project. For instance, you would use it to say someone is developing their talents or a company is developing new products.

Beyond physical or professional development, développer also applies to ideas and arguments. You can use it to ask someone to "elaborate on an idea" or to describe a writer "developing a theme" in their work.

The reflexive form, se développer, means "to develop oneself" or "to grow." It implies a natural or intrinsic process of growth, such as a child developing or a city expanding.

💡 * Nous devons développer de nouvelles stratégies. (We must develop new strategies.)

Elle développe ses compétences en programmation. (She is developing her programming skills.)

L'entreprise se développe rapidement. (The company is developing rapidly / growing rapidly.)

Pouvez-vous développer votre idée ? (Can you elaborate on your idea?)

Ce photographe développe ses propres photos. (This photographer develops his own photos.)

The 'to increase' or 'to grow in quantity/size' – augmenter

The 'to increase' or 'to grow in quantity/size' – augmenter

Augmenter is a versatile French verb meaning 'to increase,' 'to grow,' or 'to raise.' It implies a progression towards a larger quantity, size, value, or intensity.

You'll frequently encounter augmenter when discussing growth in numbers (like sales or population), an increase in volume or size, or a rise in prices and intensity. It's applicable in a wide range of contexts, from economics to personal development.

As a regular -ER verb, augmenter follows standard conjugation patterns. It can be used both transitively (e.g., augmenter les prix - 'to increase prices') and intransitively (e.g., les prix augmentent - 'prices are increasing').

While often translatable as 'to grow,' augmenter specifically emphasizes the act of making or becoming larger in a measurable way. Related terms include accroître (to augment, often more formal) and grandir (to grow, especially for living things).

Remember augmenter for any situation where something is getting bigger, higher, or more intense. It's a fundamental verb for expressing growth and change in French.

💡 * Les prix de l'essence ont augmenté.

Il faut augmenter la production.

Son salaire a augmenté de 5%.

La population de la ville continue d'augmenter.

Augmente le volume, s'il te plaît.

The 'to enlarge' or 'to expand' (a space) – s'agrandir

The verb s'agrandir is a reflexive French verb primarily meaning 'to enlarge,' 'to expand,' or 'to grow bigger,' especially in the context of physical space or capacity. It implies that something is becoming larger on its own or for itself.

This verb is commonly used when a physical entity increases in size. Think of a room becoming more spacious (La pièce s'agrandit), a house getting an extension, or a garden growing larger over time. It's about the space itself undergoing enlargement.

It's important to differentiate s'agrandir from the transitive verb agrandir. While agrandir means 'to enlarge something' (e.g., J'agrandis la photo – I enlarge the photo), s'agrandir means 'to become larger' or 'to expand' intrinsically, without a direct object.

Beyond literal physical dimensions, s'agrandir can also describe a family growing (La famille s'agrandit), a company expanding its operations, or a city extending its limits. It conveys a sense of natural or planned growth.

As a reflexive verb, s'agrandir always conjugates with the auxiliary verb être in compound tenses (e.g., Elle s'est agrandie – She/It has grown larger). Remember to agree the past participle with the subject.

💡 * Notre maison s'est agrandie avec la nouvelle extension. (Our house got bigger with the new extension.)

Le salon s'agrandit grâce à l'ouverture du mur. (The living room is expanding thanks to the wall being opened.)

L'entreprise s'agrandit et recrute de nouveaux employés. (The company is expanding and hiring new employees.)

Avec l'arrivée du bébé, la famille va s'agrandir. (With the baby's arrival, the family is going to grow.)

La ville s'agrandit chaque année, intégrant de nouveaux quartiers. (The city expands every year, incorporating new neighborhoods.)

The 'to ripen' or 'to mature' – mûrir

The verb mûrir in French translates directly to "to ripen" or "to mature." It's a versatile verb that applies to both physical processes and abstract concepts.

You'll primarily use mûrir to describe fruit ripening, like Les pommes mûrissent en automne (Apples ripen in autumn). However, it's also commonly used figuratively to talk about a person, an idea, or a project becoming mature or developing over time, such as Il a beaucoup mûri (He has matured a lot).

Mûrir is a regular -ir verb, which means its conjugation follows a predictable pattern similar to verbs like finir (to finish) or choisir (to choose). This makes it relatively easy to learn and use in various tenses.

💡 * Les fruits mûrissent plus vite au soleil. (Fruits ripen faster in the sun.)

Elle a mûri avec l'âge et les expériences. (She has matured with age and experiences.)

Mon idée doit encore mûrir avant que je la présente. (My idea still needs to mature before I present it.)

Laissez le vin mûrir quelques années. (Let the wine mature for a few years.)

The 'to gain momentum' or 'to grow in scale' – prendre de l'ampleur

The French expression prendre de l'ampleur literally translates to “to take on scope/scale” but is best understood as “to gain momentum,” “to grow in scale,” or “to gather strength.”

This versatile phrase describes something that is increasing in size, importance, intensity, or influence. It's often used for abstract concepts like projects, movements, rumors, or problems, rather than physical objects.

When something prend de l'ampleur, it suggests a dynamic and often accelerating growth, indicating that it's becoming more significant, widespread, or powerful over time. It implies a sense of development and expansion.

While related to general growth verbs like grandir (to grow) or augmenter (to increase), prendre de l'ampleur specifically emphasizes the expansion of scope, impact, or intensity rather than just a quantitative increase.

💡 * Le projet a pris de l'ampleur au fil des mois. (The project gained momentum over the months.)

La rumeur a rapidement pris de l'ampleur. (The rumor quickly spread/grew in scale.)

Le mouvement écologique prend de plus en plus d'ampleur. (The ecological movement is gaining more and more ground/momentum.)

Le problème a pris une telle ampleur qu'il est devenu difficile à gérer. (The problem grew to such a scale that it became difficult to manage.)

Son influence a pris de l'ampleur dans le monde de l'art. (His influence grew in the art world.)

The 'to cultivate' or 'to make something grow' – faire pousser

When you want to express the idea of growing something or making something grow in French, the most common and direct phrase is faire pousser. This verb phrase literally translates to 'to make grow' or 'to cause to grow'.

The phrase faire pousser uses the French causative structure (faire + infinitive), which means 'to make someone/something do something' or 'to have someone/something do something'. In this case, you are actively causing something to grow, rather than it growing on its own (for which you would typically use pousser alone).

Faire pousser is widely used for various types of growth. You'll hear it most often when talking about growing plants, vegetables, fruits, flowers, or even hair and beards. It emphasizes the active role of the person or factor initiating and nurturing the growth.

While faire pousser specifically refers to the act of causing something to grow, the verb cultiver is broader. Cultiver can mean 'to cultivate' in an agricultural sense (e.g., fields), but also 'to cultivate a friendship,' 'to cultivate one's mind,' or 'to cultivate a talent.' Faire pousser is more focused on the physical process of growth.

💡 * Je veux faire pousser des tomates dans mon jardin. (I want to grow tomatoes in my garden.)

Elle fait pousser ses propres herbes aromatiques. (She grows her own aromatic herbs.)

Il essaie de faire pousser sa moustache. (He is trying to grow his mustache.)

Nos parents nous ont appris à faire pousser des légumes. (Our parents taught us how to grow vegetables.)

Le soleil et l'eau font pousser les fleurs. (The sun and water make the flowers grow.)

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

Our list features the most common ways to say 'to grow' in French, covering various contexts from physical growth to development and cultivation. But as with any language, French has a wealth of nuanced expressions, some regional, some poetic, and some very specific to certain domains.

To explore further, you can do an online search for 'comment dire grandir en ___' followed by a specific Francophone country or region, or 'synonymes de grandir' for broader terms.

You might discover interesting synonyms for grandir or pousser. Always make sure to check a word’s definition and try to see it used in context before incorporating it into your vocabulary.

Pay attention as you read, watch, and listen to things in French — you may discover different ways to express the concept of 'to grow' depending on the subject (a child, a plant, a business, a feeling).

For a comprehensive list of verbs and expressions related to 'to grow,' the WordReference entries for grandir and pousser are excellent places to start!

I hope you found this article helpful in understanding the various ways to say 'to grow' in French. Here's a thought to ponder as you continue your language journey: "Tout ce qui ne grandit pas, décroît." (Everything that doesn't grow, diminishes.) May your French knowledge always be growing!

9 ways to say "to grow" in French