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Essential French Expression
| Meaning | to realize (that), be aware (of/that) | |
| Literally | to account to oneself | |
| Register | normal | |
| Pronunciation |  |
[seu ra(n) dreu ko(n)t] |
| IPA | [sə ʀãdrə kɔ̃t] | |
Usage notes: The pronominal expression se rendre compte de means "to realize something" or "to be aware of something."
Par exemple…
| Je me rends compte de votre incertitude. | I’m aware of your uncertainty. | |
| Tu te rends compte de la situation ? | Are you aware of the situation? |
Se rendre compte que means "to realize that" or "to be aware that."
Par exemple…
| Elle doit se rendre compte que c’est impossible. | She must realize that it’s impossible. | |
| Je ne me suis pas rendu compte qu’il allait arriver ce soir. | I didn’t realize that he was going to arrive this evening |
In compound tenses, there is no agreement of the past participle rendu because compte is the direct object, which means the reflexive pronoun is indirect – learn more.
Par exemple…
| Ils se sont rendu compte de la situation. | They became aware of the situation. | |
| Elle s’est rendu compte que c’est impossible. | She realized that it’s impossible. |
Informally, se rendre compte is used as an exclamation to emphasize whatever is being talked about.
Par exemple…
| Il m’a carrément menti, tu te rends compte ! | He straight up lied to me, can you believe it?! | |
| Mais c’est fou, tu te rends compte ? | But that’s crazy, you know? |
Learn more: Tu te rends compte
Related expressions
Two similar, non-pronominal expressions have more straightforward meanings.
1) Rendre compte de quelque chose = to provide a report about / an accounting of something
Par exemple…
| Il m’a rendu compte de la réunion. | He briefed me about the meeting. | |
| Nos employés doivent rendre compte de tous leurs déplacements. | Our employees have to account for all of their movements. |
2) Rendre des comptes = to explain or justify oneself.
Par exemple…
| Tu va devoir rendre des comptes ! | You’re going to have to explain yourself! | |
| Ont-ils rendu des comptes à leurs parents ? | Did they justify themselves to their parents? |
Related lessons
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