French Conversation · Level 62
76 words
French word
ramper
Pronunciation
IPA/ʁɑ̃pe/
Meaning
- verbcrawl
Example
Le bébé rampe sur le tapis.
The baby crawls on the carpet.
More examples
L'enfant rampe à quatre pattes pour atteindre le jouet.
The child crawls on all fours to reach the toy.
Core concept
A body stays low, pressing hands, knees, or belly against the ground while moving forward.
Common phrases
ramper à quatre pattes
crawl on all fours
ramper sur le sol
crawl along the ground
ramper sous la table
crawl beneath the table
Similar words
se traîner: Move slowly while dragging the body along the floor or ground.
se faufiler: Squeeze through narrow gaps or between people.
se glisser: Slip quietly and smoothly from one place to another.
Definition in French
Avancer en restant près du sol, en s'aidant des mains, des genoux ou du ventre.
Word origin
French ramper comes from Old French ramper and ultimately from a Germanic source associated with low, crawling movement.
Usage tips
- Ramper is normally intransitive, so movement is introduced with sur, as in ramper sur le tapis or ramper sur le sol.