French word

descendre

Pronunciation

IPA/desɑ̃dʁ/

Meaning

  • verbget off

Example

Je descends du bus ici.

I get off the bus here.

Illustration for descendre (get off)

More examples

Elle descend les valises du coffre.

She takes the suitcases down from the trunk.

Core concept

A downward movement carries a person or an object away from a higher place.

Common phrases

  • descendre du bus

    get off the bus

  • descendre les escaliers

    go down the stairs

  • descendre de la voiture

    get out of the car

Similar words

sortir: Exit an enclosed place or the inside of a vehicle.
monter: Go up from a lower place to a higher one.
quitter: Leave a person or place and go away.

Definition in French

Aller d'un endroit plus élevé à un endroit plus bas ; s'emploie aussi pour faire descendre quelque chose ou pour sortir d'un véhicule.

Word origin

The French verb descendre inherited the downward sense of Latin descendere, which combines de- 'down' with scandere 'climb'.

Usage tips

  • Descendre something is transitive and takes avoir in the compound past, as in j'ai descendu les valises, unlike je suis descendu du bus.

Other meanings

  • lowerverb
  • go downverb

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word