French word

réciter

Pronunciation

IPA/ʁesite/

Meaning

  • verbrecite

Example

Elle récite un poème par cœur devant la classe.

She recites a poem by heart in front of the class.

Illustration for réciter (recite)

More examples

Avant l'examen, il récite sa leçon à voix haute.

Before the exam, he recites his lesson aloud.

Core concept

A voice delivers a learned text aloud in a clear sequence, from a poem to a list of items.

Common phrases

  • réciter une leçon

    recite a lesson

  • réciter un texte

    recite a text

Similar words

dire: Words or information are spoken aloud.
répéter: The same words or sentence are spoken again.
raconter: Events or a story are related in sequence.
énumérer: Items or names are given in a specific order.

Definition in French

Prononcer à haute voix un texte appris, souvent de mémoire ou en déclamation, et aussi réciter une liste d'éléments.

Word origin

French réciter comes from Latin recitare, formed from re- 'again' and citare 'summon', and developed through the idea of calling words aloud.

Usage tips

  • The usual construction is réciter quelque chose, as in réciter un poème, while réciter par cœur means to recite from memory.

Other meanings

  • read aloudverb
  • enumerateverb

Opposites

Related words

  • récitationrecitationnoun
  • récitalrecitalnoun

Word lists with this word