French Conversation · Level 14
89 words
French word
tourner
Pronunciation
IPA/tuʁne/
Meaning
- verbturn
Example
La voiture tourne à droite.
The car turns right.
More examples
Les enfants tournent en rond dans la cour.
The children are turning in circles in the playground.
Core concept
A body pivots or spins around an axis, changing direction or making another object move.
Common phrases
tourner à droite
turn right
tourner en rond
turn in circles
tourner la tête
turn one's head
Similar words
virer: To change direction suddenly while moving.
se tourner: To turn the body or face toward another direction.
se retourner: To turn around and look behind or elsewhere.
faire demi-tour: To reverse direction and go back.
Definition in French
Effectuer une rotation pour changer de direction, ou faire tourner un objet; emploi transitif et intransitif.
Word origin
Tourner comes through Old French torner from Latin tornare, meaning to turn on a lathe.
Usage tips
- For a direction, tourner takes à, as in tourner à droite; a direct object appears when something is rotated, as in tourner la clé.