Parler français, c'est bien. Comprendre le français, c'est encore mieux! Mais saviez-vous qu'il existe bien plus d'une façon de dire "to understand" dans la langue de Molière?

Que vous soyez en train de suivre une conversation, de lire un livre ou de regarder un film, maîtriser ces nuances vous aidera à mieux exprimer ce que vous captez (ou non!).

Prêt à enrichir votre vocabulaire et à vraiment saisir toutes les subtilités? Découvrons ensemble 9 façons différentes de dire "to understand" en français!

The standard 'to understand' – comprendre

The verb comprendre is the most common and versatile way to express 'to understand' in French. It's a fundamental verb for expressing mental grasp, comprehension, and even empathy.

Comprendre is an irregular verb, but its present tense conjugation follows a predictable pattern shared by other verbs ending in -prendre (like prendre and apprendre). Knowing this pattern makes it easier to master. Here's its present tense conjugation: je comprends, tu comprends, il/elle/on comprend, nous comprenons, vous comprenez, ils/elles comprennent.

Most frequently, comprendre is used transitively, meaning it takes a direct object. This is for expressing a mental understanding of a concept, fact, or situation. For example, Je comprends la leçon (I understand the lesson) or Vous comprenez la situation ? (Do you understand the situation?).

Beyond simply grasping information, comprendre can also convey 'to sympathize with' or 'to empathize'. The specific meaning is usually clear from context. For instance, Je te comprends could mean 'I understand what you're saying' or 'I understand how you feel' depending on the conversation.

When you want to state 'to understand that something is the case', you use comprendre que followed by a clause. The verb in the subordinate clause typically remains in the indicative mood, as comprendre generally expresses a certainty or a known fact. For example, Nous comprenons qu'il est difficile de voyager en ce moment (We understand that it is difficult to travel right now).

Two particularly useful expressions with comprendre are: faire comprendre (to make someone understand) and se faire comprendre (to make oneself understood). These are crucial for effective communication.

Comprendre is a standard, neutral verb that can be used appropriately in both formal and informal contexts. It's the go-to word for 'to understand' in almost any situation.

💡 * Je ne comprends pas ce mot. (I don't understand this word.)

Est-ce que tu comprends la blague ? (Do you understand the joke?)

Nous comprenons parfaitement votre décision. (We perfectly understand your decision.)

Il a eu du mal à se faire comprendre. (He had trouble making himself understood.)

Je comprends pourquoi elle est triste. (I understand why she is sad.)

The 'to grasp' or 'to seize' – saisir

The versatile French verb saisir primarily translates to 'to grasp' or 'to seize', but its meaning extends far beyond a simple physical act.

In its most literal sense, saisir refers to taking hold of something quickly and firmly, like seizing an object or an animal. Think of a hand firmly gripping something.

Beyond the physical, saisir is commonly used to mean 'to grasp' an idea, a concept, or a situation mentally – essentially, 'to understand' or 'to comprehend' something quickly.

It can also mean 'to seize an opportunity' (saisir une occasion) or even 'to be struck by' an emotion, like saisir de peur (to be seized with fear).

Less commonly, saisir can be used in administrative or legal contexts, meaning 'to refer a matter to' or 'to enter data' (e.g., saisir des données).

Saisir is a regular -ir verb, following the standard conjugation pattern for verbs ending in -ir, making it relatively straightforward to learn.

💡 * Il a saisi le livre sur la table. (He grabbed the book from the table.)

J'ai rapidement saisi l'explication. (I quickly grasped the explanation.)

C'est le moment de saisir l'occasion. (It's the moment to seize the opportunity.)

Veuillez saisir les informations demandées. (Please enter the requested information.)

Elle fut saisie par une forte émotion. (She was overcome by a strong emotion.)

The informal 'to get it' or 'to grasp' – piger

When you want to express 'to get it' or 'to grasp' something in an informal, colloquial way in French, the verb piger is your go-to choice. It's widely used in everyday conversation.

Essentially, piger means 'to understand' or 'to comprehend,' but it carries a more casual, sometimes even a slightly abrupt, nuance. It often implies a quick realization or finally catching on to something.

You'll most commonly encounter piger in spoken French among friends, family, or in informal settings. It's a staple of casual conversation and much less likely to appear in formal writing or professional contexts.

Good news for learners: piger is a regular -er verb, which means its conjugation follows the standard pattern for verbs ending in -er. For instance, 'I get it' is Je pige, 'You get it' is Tu piges, and 'They get it' is Ils/Elles pigent.

While comprendre is the general and neutral verb for 'to understand,' piger offers a more energetic and informal alternative. Use piger when you want to sound more natural and less formal, akin to saying 'I get it!' rather than simply 'I understand.'

💡 * Tu piges ce que je dis ? (Do you get what I'm saying?)

J'ai mis du temps mais j'ai pigé ! (It took me a while but I got it!)

Il pige rien à l'informatique. (He doesn't get anything about computers.)

Vous avez pigé l'exercice ? (Did you grasp the exercise?)

The informal 'to catch on' or 'to get it' – capter

The verb capter is an informal French verb that translates to “to catch on,” “to get it,” or “to understand” something. It implies a sudden realization or comprehension.

It's widely used in casual conversations among friends, family, and peers, serving as a quick and direct way to express comprehension or lack thereof. It's less formal than comprendre.

You'll frequently hear capter in its negative form, such as Je ne capte rien (I don't get anything/I don't understand anything), or as a question like Tu captes ? (Do you get it?).

💡 * Tu captes ce que je dis ? (Do you get what I'm saying?)* Désolé, je ne capte pas. (Sorry, I don't get it.)* J'ai enfin capté comment ça marche. (I finally caught on how it works.)* Il a vite capté l'idée. (He quickly got the idea.)

The 'to perceive' or 'to discern' – percevoir

Percevoir is a versatile French verb primarily meaning 'to perceive' or 'to discern'. It implies an act of becoming aware of something through the senses or the intellect.

In its most common usage, percevoir refers to perceiving something with your senses (e.g., percevoir un son, to perceive a sound) or grasping an idea or concept mentally (e.g., percevoir la difficulté, to discern the difficulty).

Beyond sensory and intellectual understanding, percevoir also carries a more formal meaning of 'to collect' or 'to receive', especially in financial or administrative contexts. For instance, one might percevoir un salaire (to receive a salary) or percevoir des impôts (to collect taxes).

While voir (to see) or entendre (to hear) are more direct for simple sensory input, percevoir suggests a deeper level of awareness or processing. It's often used in more formal or literary contexts than its simpler counterparts.

Percevoir is an irregular verb, belonging to the third group of French verbs. Its conjugation patterns, particularly in the present tense, are important to learn for accurate usage.

💡 * Je perçois une légère odeur de jasmin. (I perceive a slight jasmine scent.)

Il a du mal à percevoir les nuances de cette situation. (He has difficulty discerning the nuances of this situation.)

L'entreprise perçoit des loyers de ses propriétés. (The company collects rent from its properties.)

Nous percevons notre salaire à la fin du mois. (We receive our salary at the end of the month.)

As-tu perçu le message que j'ai essayé de te faire passer ? (Did you perceive/understand the message I tried to convey to you?)

The 'to deduce' or 'to infer' – déduire

In French, the verb déduire serves as the primary translation for both 'to deduce' and 'to infer'. It signifies the act of drawing a conclusion or understanding something based on available facts, evidence, or reasoning.

Déduire implies a logical thought process, where one arrives at a conclusion by analyzing given information. It's not a mere guess, but a reasoned judgment. Whether moving from general principles to specific instances (deduction) or from observations to a broader conclusion (inference), déduire covers this intellectual process.

You'll often find déduire used with the conjunction que ('that') to introduce the deduced statement, or with the preposition de ('from') to indicate the source of the deduction. For example, déduire quelque chose de quelque chose means 'to deduce something from something else'.

The corresponding noun is la déduction, meaning 'the deduction' or 'the inference'. This term is frequently used in academic, scientific, or investigative contexts to refer to the conclusion reached through logical reasoning. For instance, faire une déduction means 'to make a deduction'.

Déduire is a regular -RE verb, similar to conduire or produire. Its past participle is déduit (masculine singular), déduite (feminine singular), déduits (masculine plural), and déduites (feminine plural). It is conjugated with avoir in compound tenses.

💡 * J'ai pu déduire son intention de son regard. (I was able to deduce his intention from his look.)

Les scientifiques ont déduit l'existence d'un nouveau corps céleste. (Scientists deduced the existence of a new celestial body.)

Tu peux déduire que le train est en retard d'après l'annonce. (You can infer that the train is late from the announcement.)

De toutes ces informations, nous avons déduit qu'il était coupable. (From all this information, we deduced that he was guilty.)

Il est difficile de déduire quoi que ce soit sans preuves concrètes. (It's difficult to deduce anything without concrete proof.)

The 'to assimilate' or 'to absorb' – assimiler

The French verb assimiler primarily translates to “to assimilate” or “to absorb” in English. It's a regular -er verb, making its conjugations relatively straightforward.

It is frequently used when referring to the process of understanding and integrating new knowledge, ideas, or cultural practices. Think of it as truly making something your own intellectually or culturally.

Beyond the abstract, assimiler can also describe a more physical process, such as the body absorbing nutrients or a plant absorbing water. In this context, it directly means “to absorb” or “to take in.”

💡 * Il est difficile d'assimiler toutes ces nouvelles informations en une seule journée. (It's difficult to assimilate all this new information in a single day.)

Les immigrants essaient d'assimiler la culture du pays d'accueil. (Immigrants try to assimilate the culture of the host country.)

Notre corps assimile les nutriments des aliments que nous mangeons. (Our body absorbs the nutrients from the food we eat.)

Elle a rapidement assimilé les règles du jeu. (She quickly absorbed the rules of the game.)

The 'to realize' or 'to become aware of' – réaliser

The verb réaliser is often a false friend for English speakers. While it can sometimes mean 'to realize' in the sense of 'to become aware of,' its primary and most frequent meaning is 'to achieve,' 'to accomplish,' or 'to make real'.

When réaliser is used to mean 'to become aware of' or 'to understand,' it often implies a sudden or profound understanding, or the transformation of something abstract into something concrete in one's mind. It's less common than other options for this specific meaning.

For the common English meaning of 'to realize' (as in 'to become aware of' or 'to notice'), the French expression se rendre compte de is almost always the more natural and accurate choice. It directly translates to 'to become aware of' or 'to notice'.

Remember that réaliser is widely used in French to mean 'to achieve a goal,' 'to carry out a project,' 'to produce a film,' or 'to fulfill a dream.' This sense of making something real is its core meaning.

💡 * J'ai réalisé mon erreur trop tard. (I realized my mistake too late.)

Il a réalisé son rêve d'ouvrir une boulangerie. (He realized his dream of opening a bakery.)

Elle ne s'est pas rendu compte de la gravité de la situation. (She didn't realize the gravity of the situation.)

Nous avons réalisé que le projet était plus complexe que prévu. (We became aware that the project was more complex than expected.)

The 'to integrate' or 'to incorporate' – intégrer

The French verb intégrer is a versatile verb that primarily translates to “to integrate” or “to incorporate” in English. It signifies the act of making something or someone a part of a larger whole.

When referring to people, intégrer means to join a group, a team, a company, or a society. For example, intégrer une équipe means 'to join a team' or 'to be integrated into a team'.

For ideas, concepts, or components, intégrer means to incorporate them into a system, a plan, or a design. For instance, intégrer de nouvelles fonctionnalités means 'to incorporate new features'.

Intégrer is a regular -er verb, meaning its conjugations follow the standard pattern for verbs ending in -er. It is typically used with the auxiliary verb avoir in compound tenses.

Beyond its direct translations, intégrer can also imply understanding and assimilating information (intégrer une leçon) or even entering a school or university (intégrer une école).

💡 * Elle a intégré une nouvelle équipe la semaine dernière. (She joined a new team last week.)

Nous devons intégrer ces données dans notre rapport. (We need to incorporate this data into our report.)

Il est difficile d'intégrer de nouvelles habitudes. (It's difficult to integrate new habits.)

Les étudiants intègrent l'université après le baccalauréat. (Students enter university after the baccalaureate.)

Comment intégrer cette nouvelle fonctionnalité au logiciel ? (How to integrate this new feature into the software?)

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

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

Our list features the most common ways to say “to understand” in French. But the French language is rich with nuances, offering various expressions, from formal to informal, and even some slang that might not be on every list!

You can also do an online search for “comment dire comprendre en ___” followed by a specific Francophone country or region to discover regional variations.

You might find some interesting synonyms for comprendre. As always, make sure to check a word’s definition and try to see it used in context before you incorporate it into your vocabulary.

Pay attention as you read, watch, and listen to things in French — you may discover different ways to express understanding.

And if you’re looking for more ways to express understanding, or nuances related to comprehension in French, the WordReference entry for comprendre is an excellent resource!

I hope you found this article helpful. Here’s what I think is a perfect quote to finish it with, courtesy of Madame de Staël: Comprendre, c'est pardonner. (To understand is to forgive.)

9 ways to say "to understand" in French