Prendre is the most common way to say “to take” in French. But, as with many common verbs, there are several other options that can express different nuances or be used in specific contexts.

As you dive deeper into the French language, you'll find that understanding these alternatives can significantly enrich your vocabulary and make your conversations more precise and natural.

So, let’s explore 9 different ways to say “to take” in French, beyond just prendre!

The standard 'to take' – prendre

The standard 'to take' – prendre

Prendre is the most common and versatile verb for 'to take' in French.

Prendre is an irregular verb, so its conjugation doesn't follow a simple pattern. Here's its present tense conjugation: Je prends (I take) Tu prends (You take - singular, informal) Il/Elle/On prend (He/She/One takes) Nous prenons (We take) Vous prenez (You take - plural, formal) Ils/Elles prennent (They take)

Its most direct meaning is to physically take or grasp something. For example, prendre un livre (to take a book).

Prendre is widely used when talking about taking transportation. You 'take' a bus, a train, a plane, or a taxi. For instance, prendre le bus (to take the bus).

It's also used to mean to have or to take food or drink. So, prendre un café means 'to have a coffee', and prendre le petit-déjeuner means 'to have breakfast'.

Prendre can describe taking time or effort. For example, prendre son temps (to take one's time) or prendre des risques (to take risks).

You'll encounter prendre when discussing making decisions or taking initiatives. Prendre une décision means 'to make a decision', and prendre l'initiative means 'to take the initiative'.

Many idiomatic expressions use prendre. Some common ones include prendre froid (to catch a cold), prendre peur (to get scared), and prendre des notes (to take notes).

While prendre is versatile, other verbs like emporter (to take away, carry off) or amener (to bring someone/something) exist. Prendre generally implies the act of grasping or acquiring at the current location, or simply using something like transport or food.

💡 * Je prends le train pour aller à Paris. (I'm taking the train to go to Paris.)

• Elle prend toujours un thé le matin. (She always has tea in the morning.)
• Nous devons prendre une décision importante. (We need to make an important decision.)
• Prends ce parapluie, il va pleuvoir. (Take this umbrella, it's going to rain.)
• Ils prennent leur temps pour faire leurs devoirs. (They are taking their time to do their homework.)

To 'take someone somewhere' – emmener

The verb emmener is a fundamental French verb that means “to take someone somewhere” or “to lead someone somewhere.” It’s used when you are accompanying a person (or an animal) from one place to another.

The key nuance of emmener is the idea of taking someone away from the speaker's current location, or accompanying them to a destination. Think of it as 'to lead away' or 'to carry away' a person or pet. The speaker is going with the person.

It’s crucial to distinguish emmener from its close cousin, amener. While emmener means 'to take (someone) away' (from here to there), amener means 'to bring (someone) to' (from there to here, towards the speaker's location). This distinction is based on the direction of movement relative to the speaker.

Emmener is a regular -ER verb, but it belongs to a group that undergoes a stem change for most conjugations. The 'e' in the stem changes to 'è' when followed by a silent 'e' in the ending (e.g., j'emmène, tu emmènes, il/elle/on emmène, ils/elles emmènent). However, for nous and vous, it remains nous emmenons, vous emmenez.

You'll often hear emmener in everyday situations: taking your children to school, taking a friend to a party, or taking your pet to the vet. It always implies the act of accompanying the person or animal.

While emmener is for people and animals, if you want to say 'to take something somewhere' (an object), the verb you'd use is emporter. This follows a similar directional logic but is applied to inanimate objects.

💡 *Je t'emmène au cinéma ce soir. (I'm taking you to the cinema tonight.)
*Elle emmène ses enfants à l'école tous les matins. (She takes her children to school every morning.)
*Voulez-vous que je vous emmène à la gare ? (Do you want me to take you to the station?)
*Nous allons emmener notre chien chez le vétérinaire. (We are going to take our dog to the vet.)
*Il a emmené sa petite amie en vacances. (He took his girlfriend on vacation.)

To 'take/bring something to a place' – apporter

Apporter is the French verb you'll use when you want to say 'to bring' or 'to take' an inanimate object to a specific place or person.

It's crucial to remember that apporter is exclusively used for things or objects. If you are bringing or taking a person somewhere, you would use emmener or amener instead.

Apporter is a regular -ER verb, which means its conjugation follows a predictable pattern, making it relatively straightforward to learn.

You'll hear apporter frequently in daily conversations when referring to carrying items, delivering something, or bringing a gift. Think of situations like 'bringing groceries home' or 'taking a document to the office'.

Apporter often pairs with prepositions like à (to/at) or chez (to/at someone's place) to indicate the destination of the object being brought.

💡 * J'apporte des fleurs à ma mère. (I'm bringing flowers to my mother.)

• Tu peux apporter le livre s'il te plaît ? (Can you bring the book please?)
• Nous allons apporter le gâteau à la fête. (We are going to bring the cake to the party.)
• Elle apporte toujours son parapluie. (She always brings her umbrella.)
• N'oubliez pas d'apporter vos maillots de bain. (Don't forget to bring your swimsuits.)

To 'take something away with you' – emporter

The French verb emporter translates to "to take away with you" or "to carry away." It specifically implies a movement away from the current location, often with the intention of keeping or transporting the item elsewhere.

While prendre is a general verb meaning "to take," emporter emphasizes the act of taking something with you when you leave a place, or removing it from a specific location. Think of it as taking something out or off a scene.

You'll frequently encounter emporter in contexts such as taking food "to go" (often seen as à emporter), carrying souvenirs from a trip, or removing objects from a room or a situation. It implies possession and movement.

Beyond its literal meaning, emporter can also be used figuratively. For instance, it can mean "to carry someone away" (emotionally), "to win" or "carry the day" (e.g., a victory), or "to sweep away" (like a flood).

💡 * Je vais emporter mon déjeuner au bureau. (I'm going to take my lunch to the office with me.)

• Pourriez-vous emporter ces documents ? (Could you take these documents away?)
• Nous avons acheté des pizzas à emporter. (We bought pizzas to take away.)
• Le vent a emporté mon chapeau. (The wind carried my hat away.)
• Son discours a emporté l'adhésion de la foule. (His speech won over the crowd's support.)

To 'take hold of' or 'seize' – saisir

The French verb saisir translates primarily to 'to seize,' 'to grasp,' or 'to take hold of.' It's a versatile verb with both literal and figurative meanings, essential for expressing actions of capture, understanding, or taking advantage.

In its most literal sense, saisir refers to physically taking something quickly and firmly. Think of grabbing an object or catching something in motion. It conveys a sense of immediacy and decisiveness.

Figuratively, saisir is used to express understanding or comprehending an idea, concept, or situation. When you 'saisir' an explanation, you've gotten it or grasped its meaning.

Another common usage is to 'seize an opportunity' – saisir une opportunité or saisir l'occasion. This implies acting quickly to take advantage of a favorable moment, much like its English equivalent.

Beyond these, saisir can also appear in more formal contexts, such as 'to seize property' (legally) or 'to be seized by an emotion' (to be overcome). Its meaning always revolves around a quick, firm hold or impact.

Saisir is a regular -ir verb, making its conjugation predictable once you know the pattern. It's frequently used in everyday conversation and formal writing alike, so mastering it is very useful.

💡 * Il a saisi ma main pour me remercier. (He grasped my hand to thank me.)

• J'ai enfin saisi l'explication. (I finally understood the explanation.)
• Elle a saisi l'opportunité de voyager. (She seized the opportunity to travel.)
• La police a saisi la drogue. (The police seized the drugs.)
• J'ai été saisi d'une peur soudaine. (I was seized by a sudden fear.)

To 'pick up' or 'gather' – ramasser

The verb ramasser is your go-to French verb for expressing the action of 'to pick up' or 'to gather.' It's highly versatile and commonly used in everyday conversations, making it an essential addition to your vocabulary.

Most frequently, ramasser is used when you need to retrieve something that has fallen or is lying on the ground. Think about picking up a dropped pen, a book, or even a child's toy. For instance, you would say 'Je vais ramasser le stylo' (I'm going to pick up the pen).

Beyond single items, ramasser also applies to gathering or collecting multiple things. This could be anything from 'ramasser les feuilles mortes' (gathering dead leaves) in the garden, 'ramasser des champignons' (gathering mushrooms) in the forest, or even 'ramasser ses affaires' (gathering one's belongings).

Interestingly, ramasser also has a common reflexive form, se ramasser, which means 'to fall down' or 'to take a tumble.' For example, 'Il s'est ramassé en courant' (He fell down while running). It can also colloquially mean 'to fail miserably' in some contexts, though 'to fall' is its most frequent reflexive use.

Whether you're picking up a single item or gathering a collection, or even describing someone falling, ramasser is the precise and natural choice. Its varied uses make it a fundamental verb for describing interactions with objects and movement in French.

💡 *Peux-tu ramasser la balle s'il te plaît ? (Can you pick up the ball, please?)
*Nous avons ramassé beaucoup de coquillages sur la plage. (We gathered a lot of seashells on the beach.)
*Il a glissé et s'est ramassé sur la glace. (He slipped and fell on the ice.)
*Je dois ramasser mes affaires avant de partir. (I need to gather my things before leaving.)

To 'retrieve' or 'recover' – récupérer

The French verb récupérer is a highly versatile verb that primarily translates to "to retrieve" or "to recover" in English. It signifies the act of getting something back or regaining a state.

This verb is commonly used in various contexts, such as getting back a physical item that was lost or left behind, restoring lost digital data, or regaining one's health, strength, or energy after an illness or strenuous activity.

Beyond simple retrieval, récupérer can also imply collecting or salvaging something for reuse (like recycling), or even making up for lost time. Its flexibility makes it an essential verb for expressing a wide range of 'getting back' actions.

💡 * J'ai oublié mon portefeuille, je dois aller le récupérer. (I forgot my wallet, I need to go retrieve it.)

• Les médecins disent qu'il va récupérer rapidement après l'opération. (The doctors say he will recover quickly after the operation.)
• Nous avons pu récupérer toutes les données perdues. (We were able to recover all the lost data.)
• Il faut récupérer les vieilles bouteilles pour le recyclage. (We need to collect the old bottles for recycling.)
• Après une longue journée, j'ai besoin de récupérer un peu. (After a long day, I need to recover a bit/rest.)

To 'capture' or 'take a photo' – capturer

The verb capturer in French primarily means 'to capture'. While it has a literal sense of seizing something or someone, it's also commonly used in the context of photography and videography.

When referring to taking photos or videos, capturer can be used as a more formal or artistic alternative to prendre une photo or filmer. It implies an act of preserving a moment or an image.

Beyond visual media, capturer retains its core meaning of 'to seize', 'to catch', or 'to apprehend'. You might hear it when talking about capturing an animal, a criminal, or even data.

💡 * J'ai capturé le coucher de soleil avec mon appareil photo. (I captured the sunset with my camera.)

• Ce photographe sait comment capturer l'émotion. (This photographer knows how to capture emotion.)
• Les policiers ont réussi à capturer le fugitif. (The police managed to capture the fugitive.)
• Nous avons capturé de superbes moments lors de nos vacances. (We captured some great moments during our vacation.)

To 'take a portion' or 'draw from' – piocher

The verb piocher in French translates most commonly to 'to draw from,' 'to take a portion,' or 'to pick' something. It implies selecting or extracting from a larger whole, often with a sense of effort or deliberation.

Literally, piocher means 'to use a pickaxe' (une pioche). This origin gives the verb a visual sense of digging, excavating, or extracting something with effort, which carries over into its figurative meanings.

In its most frequent figurative sense, piocher is used when you 'draw' or 'take' something from a group, a pile, or a resource. For instance, you might piocher a card from a deck, or piocher an idea from a list. It signifies a selective action.

Another common, more informal use of piocher is in an academic context, meaning 'to cram,' 'to bone up,' or 'to study hard' for an exam. It suggests intense, focused effort, much like digging for information.

💡 *Il a pioché une carte au hasard. (He drew a card at random.)
*Tu peux piocher des idées dans ce livre. (You can draw ideas from this book.)
*J'ai dû piocher dans mes économies pour acheter la voiture. (I had to dip into my savings to buy the car.)
*Elle a pioché toute la nuit avant l'examen. (She crammed all night before the exam.)
*Piochons dans la boîte à bonbons ! (Let's grab some candies from the box!)

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

Are there other ways to say “to take” in French?

Our list covers the most common and versatile ways to say “to take” in French. However, the French language is incredibly rich, offering a multitude of verbs that translate to 'to take' depending on the specific nuance, context, and even region.

To delve deeper, you might explore specific phrases like 'comment dire prendre un bus' or 'comment dire prendre une décision' to see how prendre and its alternatives are used in various contexts.

As you discover new verbs, always verify their exact meaning and observe them in various contexts. A good dictionary and real-world examples are invaluable for grasping subtle differences and avoiding misunderstandings.

Pay close attention when you read, watch, and listen to French media. You'll notice how native speakers naturally choose the perfect verb for 'to take' in different situations, revealing the language's depth.

For an extensive exploration of verbs meaning 'to take' and their specific conjugations and uses, a reliable online dictionary like WordReference or a comprehensive verb conjugator can be excellent resources.

I hope this article has shed light on the wonderful versatility of 'to take' in French. Remember, mastering these nuances takes time and practice, but it's a rewarding journey! As the French saying goes, Petit à petit, l'oiseau fait son nid (Little by little, the bird builds its nest), meaning every small effort counts.