In today’s lesson we’ll have a look at the reflexive verb se détendre, which has several translations including “to relax”, “to unwind” and “to chill”. Détends-toi ! Relax!
Se détendre
to relax, undwind, chill
Word origin
In the non-reflexive form, détendre means “to relax”, “to calm” and “to unloosen”. Détendre is composed of the prefix dé and the verb tendre. The French prefix dé is related to the English and Latin prefixes “dis”.
One of the French definitions of the verb tendre means “to strain” or “to make tense”. Tendre comes from the Latin verb tendere (to pull tight). Tendere is related to the English words “tension” and “tense”.
Present tense conjugation
Je me détends I relax
Tu te détends You relax (singular, informal)
Il, elle se détend He, she relaxes
Nous nous détendons We relax
Vous vous détendez You relax (plural, formal)
Ils, elles se détendent They relax
Example sentences
This first sentence is slightly autobiographical. I love watching TV to learn langauges before going to bed. This post covers the best ways to watch French TV.
Je me détends devant la télé avant de me coucher.
I relax in front of the TV before going to bed.
Lots of people are unclear about jour vs. journée. A jour is a day in the sense of “how many days”. Journée refers to the course of a day.
Véronique se détend après une longue journée de travail.
Veronique unwinds after a long day of work.
In the imparative mood, which is used for giving commands, détends-toi and détendez-vous mean “relax!”.
Tu as l’air stressé. Détends-toi !
You look stressed. Relax!
Related lessons
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