French word

méprendre

Pronunciation

IPA/mepʁɑ̃dʁ/

Meaning

  • verbmisunderstand

Example

Ne te méprends pas, ce n'est pas contre toi.

Don't misunderstand me, it's not against you.

Illustration for méprendre (misunderstand)

More examples

Je me méprends souvent sur l'heure.

I am often mistaken about the time.

Core concept

A wrong reading of a person's identity, a thing, or an intention, leading to a mistaken judgment.

Common phrases

  • se méprendre sur quelqu'un

    be mistaken about someone

  • se méprendre sur la situation

    be mistaken about the situation

Similar words

se tromper: To reach the wrong conclusion about facts or circumstances.
confondre: To mix up people or things that resemble each other.
prendre pour: To wrongly identify someone as a different person.

Definition in French

Faire erreur d'identification ou de jugement concernant une personne, une chose ou une intention; s'emploie aussi avec sur (se méprendre sur).

Word origin

Old French mesprendre combined mes- 'wrongly' with prendre 'to take', giving the sense of taking or interpreting something wrongly.

Usage tips

  • The verb is normally pronominal: se méprendre sur quelqu'un or quelque chose, so the preposition is sur rather than de.

Other meanings

  • mistakeverb
  • misjudgeverb

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word