We’re glad to have you back for another French word of the week. In this edition, we’ll be sharing all of the most important points about the verb retirer.
You might want to start by listening to its pronunciation in the audio clip below:
Sometimes we can work out translations with our own knowledge of English. In this case, the first word that comes to mind might be ‘retire’ – and it’s not too far off!
However, while we might think of the sense of ‘no longer working’ in the first instance, the French translations for retirer are closer to a different English usage. Think of phrases like ‘I might retire to bed’, and you might get the idea. The main translations are to withdraw, to take away, to remove, to take off and to pull out/back/away. And just in case you were curious about the French word for ‘retirement’, it is in fact la retraite, while the verb ’to retire’ would be translated into French as a phrase: prendre sa retraite (to take one’s retirement).
Finally, if you already know the conjugation pattern for -er type verbs, then retirer shouldn’t cause you any hassle, as it’s a regular verb. But if you do need a refresher on verb conjugations, visit our Easy Learning French Grammar pages on regular -er verbs in the present indicative, present subjunctive and imperfect tense.
Let’s get into the examples. You’ll notice how this verb comes up in many different contexts, making it a great candidate for word of the week:
retirer quelque chose à quelqu’un to take something away from someone
Ils m’ont retiré mon visa de tourisme. They took my tourist visa away from me.
Après avoir triché à l’examen, le prof m’a retiré la note finale. After having cheated in the exam, the teacher withdrew my final grade.
À dix ans, la dentiste t’a retiré trois dents. The dentist took/pulled three of your teeth out when you were ten years old.
retirer de l’argent to take money out (of a cash machine)
retirer ses vêtements to take off one’s clothes
Tu ne retires pas ta veste ? Are you not taking your jacket off?
La chaleur te fera retirer ta main vite fait. The heat will make you pull your hand back right away.
J’aimerais bien retirer ce que je viens de dire. I’d really like to take back what I just said.
Notre ancien maire retire sa candidature aux élections nationales. Our former mayor is pulling out of [or] withdrawing her candidacy from the national elections.
On retirera notre plainte toute suite. We will withdraw our complaint immediately.
Your French vocabulary is improving every week, so we hope you’ve not had any thoughts of taking a step back from your language-learning efforts just yet! See you next time for another new word.
Written by Holly Tarbet, freelance copywriter and editor.
All opinions expressed on this blog are those of the individual writers, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of Collins, or its parent company, HarperCollins.
