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“Surmonter” (to overcome) – French Word of the Day

“Surmonter” (to overcome) – French Word of the Day

Level: B1 (Intermediate)

The French word of the day is: Surmonter (B1), a regular ER verb meaning ‘to overcome’, ‘to surmount’, ‘to conquer’, ‘to rise above’ and ‘to get over’.

surmonter – IPA pronunciation /syʀ.mɔ̃.te/


“Surmonter”: Master the French Word for “To Overcome”

French Word of the Day “surmonter” to overcome, to surmount, to conquer, to rise above, to get over

Word origin

Surmonter combines the prefix sur- (on) and the verb monter (to climb, to ascend). Sur comes from super and monter comes from montare in Latin.

Surmonter example sentences

Patrice réussit à surmonter toutes ses difficultés grâce à l’aide de ses amis.

Patrice manages to overcome all of his difficulties thanks to the help of his friends.


L’adolescent a surmonté ses peurs avec l’aide d’un psychologue.

The teenager overcame his (or her) fears with the help of a psychologist.


Que faites-vous pour surmonter les difficultés de la vie ?

What do you do to get over difficulties in life?

This example sentences uses the inversion form of asking questions.


Surmonter conjungation

Surmonter is a regular ER verb and follows the same conjugation pattern as parler (to speak).

Je surmonte I get over
Tu surmontes You get over (informal, singular)
Il, elle surmonte He, she gets over
Nous surmontons We get over
Vous surmontez You get over (formal, plural)
Ils, elles surmontent They get over


Related words and expressions

  • S’en sortir: To get by, to manage, to pull through
  • Vaincre: To conquer, to defeat
  • Passer outre (à): To disregard, to override, to get past
  • Dépasser: To exceed, to go beyond, to get over
  • Maîtriser: To master, to control
  • Faire face (à): To face, deal with
  • Trier (des difficultés): To sort out, deal with

Continue learning French!

Now that you’ve mastered surmonter, check out our lesson explaining the verb gérer ‘to manage’.

Recent word of the day lessons | French Verb Drills

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David Issokson
David Issokson is a lifelong language learner and speaks over seven languages. Of all the languages he speaks, he's the most passionate about French! David has helped hundreds of students to improve their French in his private lessons. When not teaching or writing his French Word of the Day lessons, David enjoys his time skiing, hiking and mountain biking in Victor, Idaho.

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David Issokson

David Issokson is a lifelong language learner and speaks over seven languages. Of all the languages he speaks, he's the most passionate about French! David has helped hundreds of students to improve their French in his private lessons. When not teaching or writing his French Word of the Day lessons, David enjoys his time skiing, hiking and mountain biking in Victor, Idaho.

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