Published May 24, 2024 • Updated October 17, 2026 — By French teacher David Issokson with native audio by Marie Assel Cambier
Se tromper meaning
Se tromper is a French reflexive verb meaning “to be mistaken,” “to make a mistake,” or “to get something wrong.” For example, “Je me suis trompé de numéro” (I got the wrong number). In its non-reflexive form, tromper means “to deceive,” “to mislead,” or “to cheat on” a romantic partner.
Se tromper pronunciation
The IPA pronunciation of se tromper is /sə tʁɔ̃.pe/, which sounds approximately like “suh trohn-pay.”
Se tromper example sentences
These first two examples show how the French most commonly use se tromper in the sense of “to mistaken” or “to get wrong.”
Pardon, je me trompe sur votre prénom.
Sorry, I’m getting your name wrong.
Pardon, je me suis trompé de numéro.
Excuse me. I got the wrong number.
For this sentence, se tromper sur means “to be mistaken about.”
Je me suis trompé sur ce garçon.
I was wrong about that boy.
These final two sentences use tromper in the non-reflexive form, meaning “to cheat on” or “deceive.”
Le patron trompe tous ses employés.
The boss is cheating all of his employees.
Il paraît que l’homme trompe sa femme.
It seems that the man is cheating on his wife.
👉 Next lesson: Avoir tort (to be wrong) »
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🔗 Related words and expressions
- faire une erreur — to make a mistake
- se méprendre — to be mistaken
- avoir tort — to be wrong
- se faire des idées — to get the wrong idea
- confondre — to confuse, mix up
- commettre une erreur — to make an error
- induire en erreur — to mislead
- la méprise — misunderstanding, mistake
📚 Related lessons
👉 French reflexive verbs »
👉 Tromper conjugation »
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