Published February 19, 2025 • Updated October 24, 2026 — By French teacher David Issokson with native audio by Marie Assel Cambier
Se prendre un râteau meaning
Se prendre un râteau is an informal French expression that literally translates to “to take a rake” and means to get rejected, turned down, or shot down, especially in a romantic context. The expression is commonly used when someone asks another person out on a date or makes a romantic advance and gets rejected. A similar informal expression is se faire recaler (to get rejected).
Se prendre un râteau pronunciation
The IPA pronunciation of se prendre un râteau is /sə pʁɑ̃dʁ œ̃ ʁa.to/, which sounds approximately like “suh prahndr uhn rah-toh.”
Se prendre un râteau example sentences
J’ai demandé à Marie de sortir en boîte de nuit avec moi mais je me suis pris un râteau.
I asked Marie to go to a nightclub with me but I got turned down.
N’oublie pas que si tu te prends un râteau, ce n’est pas grave.
Don’t forget, if you get shot down it’s no big deal.
👉 See also: Draguer — to flirt, hit on someone »
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🔗 Related words and expressions
- se faire poser un lapin — to get stood up
- se faire recaler — to get rejected
- se faire éconduire — to get turned away, rejected
- se faire larguer — to get dumped
- repousser les avances de quelqu’un — to reject someone’s advances
- avoir un faible pour quelqu’un — to have a crush on someone
📚 Related lessons
👉 Faire conjugation »
👉 Faire expressions »
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