What does surprendre in French mean?

What is the meaning of the word surprendre in French? The article explains the full meaning, pronunciation along with bilingual examples and instructions on how to use surprendre in French.

The word surprendre in French means surprise, catch, catch, overhear, find yourself doing, catch out, be caught by surprise, get caught by surprise. To learn more, please see the details below.

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Meaning of the word surprendre

surprise

verbe transitif (étonner)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Sa victoire a surpris tout le monde. Cela me surprend que Julie ait eu une mauvaise note à son devoir de maths.
His victory took everyone by surprise.

catch

verbe transitif (prendre par surprise)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Le surveillant l'a surpris en train de tricher.
The invigilator caught him cheating.

catch

verbe transitif (déceler quelque chose de fugitif) (figurative)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Au cours du dîner, Vincent avait surpris des regards complices entre sa fille et le voisin.
During dinner, Vincent caught the intimate glances between his daughter and the neighbour.

overhear

verbe transitif (entendre [qch] par hasard)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Au détour d'un couloir, j'ai surpris la conversation inquiétante des deux comptables.

find yourself doing

verbe pronominal (constater soudainement)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Je me surpris à penser aux prochaines vacances.
I found myself thinking of the upcoming holidays.

catch out

verbe transitif (se manifester)

(phrasal verb, transitive, separable: Verb with adverb(s) or preposition(s), having special meaning, divisible--for example, "call off" [=cancel], "call the game off," "call off the game.")
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Nighttime crept up on us and we had to camp out in the woods.

be caught by surprise, get caught by surprise

(être pris au dépourvu)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Nous nous sommes laissé surprendre par la nuit et avons dû camper dans les bois.

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So now that you know more about the meaning of surprendre in French, you can learn how to use them through selected examples and how to read them. And remember to learn the related words that we suggest. Our website is constantly updating with new words and new examples so you can look up the meanings of other words you don't know in French.

Do you know about French

French (le français) is a Romance language. Like Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish, it comes from popular Latin, once used in the Roman Empire. A French-speaking person or country can be called a "Francophone". French is the official language in 29 countries. French is the fourth most spoken native language in the European Union. French ranks third in the EU, after English and German, and is the second most widely taught language after English. The majority of the world's French-speaking population lives in Africa, with about 141 million Africans from 34 countries and territories who can speak French as a first or second language. French is the second most widely spoken language in Canada, after English, and both are official languages at the federal level. It is the first language of 9.5 million people or 29% and the second language of 2.07 million people or 6% of the entire population of Canada. In contrast to other continents, French has no popularity in Asia. Currently, no country in Asia recognizes French as an official language.