Level B2 (Upper Intermediate)
The French Word of the Day is afin, meaning “so that” or “in order to.” Learn how to use it in common phrases like afin de and afin que with clear examples.
Meaning
Pronunciation with IPA
Example sentences
Word origin
Related words and lessons
Meaning
The French word afin means “so that” or “in order to.” It’s often used in the expressions afin de (to, in order to) and afin que (so that) to show purpose or intention.
- Il étudie afin de réussir. He studies in order to succeed.
- Je pars tôt afin que tu puisses te reposer. I’m leaving early so that you can rest.
Pronunciation
Example sentences
Afin que + subjunctive
Our first example sentence uses the grammatical structure afin que + subject + subjunctive (so that + person). Translations also include “in order that + person + verb”. Je vais + infinitive (I’m going to) is an example of the near future tense.
Afin que vous puissiez comprendre, je vais écrire les instructions.
I’m going to write down the instructions so that you can understand.
Afin de + infinitive
The next two example sentences use the grammatical structure afin de + infinitive (in order to). Translations also include “to + verb” and “so as to + verb”. Je me suis levé (I got up) is an example of a reflexive verb written in the passé composé.
Je me suis levé à six heures du matin afin d’arriver à l’heure.
I got up at 6am in order to arrive on time.
This next example sentence uses the reflexive verb se débrouiller (to manage, to get by).
Afin de pouvoir me débrouiller en France, j’apprends le français.
I’m learning French in order to be able to get by in France.
Word origin
The French word afin is a combination of the preposition à (to, at) and fin (end). Hence, a literal translation of afin is “to the end”. These words in turn come from the Latin ad (to) and finis (end).
Related words and lessons
- Pour que so that
- finir to finish
- de façon à so as to, in such a way as to
- de manière à in such a way as to
- dans le but de with the goal of, in order to
- pour ne pas in order not to
- la fin the end
References
