Level B1 (Intermediate)
Lesson written by French teacher David Issokson with native audio by Marie Assel Cambier, a voice artist from France.
The French Word of the Day is à propos, meaning “regarding” as a preposition and “fitting” as an adjective. À propos is a Gallicism — a French expression borrowed into English — and it’s used in much the same way in both languages. But how do the French actually use it in everyday conversation? Keep reading to find out!
✅ Meaning
✅ Pronunciation
✅ Example sentences
✅ Related Words & Expressions
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📘 À propos meaning
The French expression à propos literally means “regarding,” “concerning,” or “about.” You’ll often hear à propos de followed by a noun or pronoun — for example, à propos de ton voyage (about your trip). As an adjective, à-propos means “relevant,” “fitting,” or “timely.”
In English, à propos is a Gallicism — a direct borrowing from French. It appears as apropos of (in regard to, concerning) or as the adjective apropos, meaning “fitting” or “relevant.” While neutral and common in French, it sounds more formal or refined in English.
🎧 À propos pronunciation
👉 The pronunciation of à propos is /a pʁɔ.po/ — roughly ah proh-poh.
📝 À propos example sentences
À propos — “By the way”
À propos, tu as parlé à ton frère ?
By the way, did you talk to your brother?
À propos de — “About / Regarding”
J’ai une question à propos de tes vacances en France.
I have a question about your trip to France.
Elle m’a posé une question à propos de mon projet.
She asked me a question about my project.
À-propos (adjective) — “Appropriate / Timely”
C’était un commentaire très à-propos.
That was a very fitting comment.
👉 See also: Vis-à-vis (in relation to) — Word of the Day »
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🔗 Related words and expressions
- par rapport à (full lesson) — in relation to, compared with
- quant à (full lesson) — as for, regarding
- au sujet de — concerning, about
- concernant — regarding
- en ce qui concerne — as far as … is concerned
- à ce propos — on that note, about that
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