French Articles

How to express “to become” in French?

By: Céline Bateman-Paris Fri Aug 30 2024

Verbs

In French, we often use the verb devenir where you would use the verb “become” in English. But not all English expressions using the verb "become" are translated into French with devenir. Instead, French speakers will sometimes use pronominal verbs, such as se transformer en(to turn into) + noun, or idiomatic verbs or expressions.

Vous êtes prêts à vous transformer en expert sur le sujet ?

Are you ready to become a pro on this topic?

In this post, you will learn how to describe changes of mood and state in French using devenir(to become), pronominal verbs, and idioms. You’ll also see what it means in French when you “become a goat!” Feeling curious? Read further and become a master of change!

When can ‘devenir’ be used to say “to become” in French?

“Become” can be translated into French with devenir when the verb expresses a change of state and is followed by nouns and adjectives.

Good news: some expressions with devenir can be translated into English almost word-for-word! Other expressions with devenir, though, are idioms, meaning they do not have a literal meaning and they need to be learned by heart. Let’s take a look!

What are the non-idiomatic ways to use ‘devenir’?

The verb devenir can be followed by adjectives or nouns (with or without an article).

Devenir before adjectives
Tu es devenu fou !
You’ve become crazy!
Ça devient ridicule !
It’s becoming silly!
Devenir before nouns
Ça devient une habitude.
It’s becoming a habit.
Elle est devenue pilote.
She became a pilot.
Elle est devenue une pilote extraordinaire.
She became an extraordinary pilot.
↳ Unlike in English, in French there is no article before the noun. But, if you want to describe this new state with an adjective modifying the noun, you’ll need to add the indefinite articles un, une, and des.

Exception!

Use tomber(to fall) instead of devenir to say that someone has become pregnant or ill. The adjective agrees in gender and number with the subject.

What are the idioms used with ‘devenir’?

Some expressions with devenir are more idiomatic, and these idioms are to be memorized. Using these will make you sound like a native speaker!

Je deviens chèvre avec tes histoires !

I’m becoming cuckoo with your tales!

lit. lit. I’m becoming goat!

Ça devient monnaie courante.

It’s becoming common.

lit. lit. It's becoming common currency.

How to use French pronominal verbs to express “becoming”

French pronominal verbs are very useful for describing a person’s change of mood or change of state, which is helpful when you want to express the concept of “becoming.” The English adjective which describes the mood or state turns into a pronominal verb when you translate a sentence into French. Let’s have a look at a couple of examples!

Verb	Example
s’énerver to become angry	Il s’est énervé contre sa sœur. He became angry with his sister.
s’intéresser to become interested	Elle s’intéresse à la peinture depuis peu. She’s recently become interested in painting.

What are the common idioms for “to become” in French?

To express “to become” in French, you’ll sometimes need to use idiomatic expressions, or phrases that have a meaning that differs from their literal meaning. Like the idiomatic uses of devenir that we saw above, some French expressions use a different verb from in English, or use a noun instead of an adjective, or both! Because you cannot directly translate between English and French in these cases, these idioms must be learned by heart!

Idiom for “become”	Example
développer une amitié to become friendly	Elles ont développé une amitié. They have become friendly.
prendre conscience to become aware	Il a pris conscience de l’heure qu’il était. He became aware of the time.
s’emmêler les pinceaux to become confused	Je suis en train de m’emmêler les pinceaux ! I’m becoming confused!
se sentir à l’aise to become comfortable	Je me sens de plus en plus à l’aise. I become more and more comfortable.

Time for practice! Head to our activities to practice expressing "to become" in French to make sure you know the most common ways!

‘En bref’: What to remember about “to become” in French

Remember that there are many different ways to express “to become” in French, and not all of them are easily translated between French and English! Here’s a recap of what we’ve learned:

Devenir is one way of expressing a change in French and can be followed by a noun or an adjective.
- However, tomber malade and tomber enceinte are used instead of devenir to express “to become ill” and “to become pregnant,” respectively.
- Other uses of devenir are more idiomatic, so you will need to memorize them.
Pronominal verbs are a common way of expressing a change of state and mood. Usually, the adjective following “to become” has a pronominal verb equivalent in French.
Learn idioms to sound more fluent!

Downloadable Resources

Elevate your language-learning journey to new heights with the following downloadable resources.

How to express 'to become' in French~List of expressions How to express to become in French activity

To embark on your next language adventure, join Mango on social!

Ready to take the next step?

The Mango Languages learning platform is designed to get you speaking like a local quickly and easily.