{"id":30478,"date":"2018-07-10T05:30:02","date_gmt":"2018-07-10T03:30:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=30478"},"modified":"2018-07-09T03:20:44","modified_gmt":"2018-07-09T01:20:44","slug":"french-vocabulary-time-to-take-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/french-vocabulary-time-to-take-off\/","title":{"rendered":"French Vocabulary – Time to Take Off"},"content":{"rendered":"

In just under a month, my son and I are going to d\u00e9coller vers la France\u00a0<\/strong>(take off for France<\/em>) for a sort of father-son pilgrimage. We had such a great time last year<\/a> that we’re going back!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

D\u00e9coller\u00a0<\/strong>is the French verb for\u00a0un avion<\/strong> (an airplane<\/em>) that is taking off. The actual moment of\u00a0lift off<\/em> is called\u00a0le d\u00e9collage*<\/strong> and it got me thinking about other ways in French to say ‘to take off’.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Fran\u00e7ais<\/b><\/th>English<\/i><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
d\u00e9coller<\/b><\/td>to take off (either to unstick; or to take off as an airplane)<\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
d\u00e9collage<\/b><\/td>lift off<\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00f4ter<\/b><\/td>to take off\/to remove<\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
enlever<\/b><\/td>to take off\/to lift off<\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
retirer<\/b><\/td>to take off\/to retrieve<\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

The verbs \u00f4ter, enlever,<\/em> and\u00a0retirer\u00a0<\/em>are all basically synonyms and can be used (more or less) interchangeably. But each carries it’s own nuance of meaning.<\/p>\n

\u00d4ter<\/strong> is perhaps the most direct translation of the English\u00a0to take off, <\/em>while\u00a0enlever<\/strong> (with it’s roots in the verb lever \/ to lift)<\/em> carries an air of ‘to pick up’, ‘to lift off’, ‘to take away’, and\u00a0 retirer\u00a0<\/strong>(from\u00a0tirer \/ to pull, tug, or yank)<\/em> has shades of ‘to take back’, ‘to pull out’, and ‘to remove’.<\/p>\n

Let’s look at some examples of these verbs in action that might help distinguish them.<\/p>\n

\u00f4ter<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00d4te tes livres de la table pour que je puisse mettre la table, s’il te pla\u00eet.

<\/div><\/div><\/div>\u00a0<\/strong>
\nTake your books off the table please so I can set the table.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00d4tez vos lunettes, Monsieur, s’il vous pla\u00eet.

<\/div><\/div><\/div>**<\/strong>
\nTake off your glasses, Sir, please.<\/em><\/p>\n

enlever***<\/strong><\/p>\n

Les huissiers ont enlev\u00e9 les meubles du vieil<\/a> immeuble.

<\/div><\/div><\/div>
\n<\/strong>The\u00a0<\/em>bailiffs took all the furniture from the old building.<\/i><\/p>\n

Enl\u00e8ve<\/b>\u00a0tes jambes de la table, s’il te pla\u00eet!

<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/strong>
\nTake your legs off the table, please!<\/em><\/p>\n

retirer<\/strong><\/p>\n

Je retire ce que je viens de dire<\/a>.<\/strong>

<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/strong><\/p>\n

I take back what I said.<\/em><\/p>\n

N’oublie pas de retirer tes billets du distributeur.

<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/strong>
\nDon’t forget to take your bills from the ATM.<\/em><\/p>\n

*\u00a0Not to be confused with\u00a0le d\u00e9calage<\/strong> which also relates to air travel, but only because it shows up in the expression\u00a0d\u00e9calage horaire \/ time difference … that often leads to jet<\/a><\/em> lag.\u00a0<\/a>
\n** Watch out for the difference between this example and\u00a0\u00d4tez vos mains, Monsieur, s’il vous pla\u00eet. <\/em>which literally means\u00a0Take your hands off, Sir, please.<\/em> but would mean to remove your hands from touching someone … not to literally take your hands off of your body!
\n*** This verb gives us the French word\u00a0enlevement<\/em> which can mean a kidnapping<\/a>!<\/p>\n

Image of airplane from www.pexels.com [CC0 license].<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

In just under a month, my son and I are going to d\u00e9coller vers la France\u00a0(take off for France) for a sort of father-son pilgrimage. We had such a great time last year that we’re going back! D\u00e9coller\u00a0is the French verb for\u00a0un avion (an airplane) that is taking off. The actual moment of\u00a0lift off is…<\/p>\n

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