Tu te rends compte ?

Informal French Expression


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Meaning	Can you imagine?! Can you believe it?!
Literally	You realize? You’re aware?
Register	informal
Pronunciation		[tu teu ra(n) ko(n)t]
IPA		[ty tə rã kɔ̃t]

Usage notes: The French phrase se rendre compte means "to realize" or "to be aware."

Par exemple…

Je me suis rendu compte que mes parents allaient divorcer.		I realized that my parents were going to get divorced.
Maintenant que tu te rends compte de ton erreur, tu dois t’excuser.		Now that you’re aware of your error, you have to excuse yourself.

Informally, tu te rends compte is interjected as a rhetorical question to express outrage or disbelief:

Par exemple…

Après m’avoir larguée, il m’a demandé de l’aider avec ses devoirs – tu te rends compte !		After dumping me, he asked if I’d help him with his homework – can you believe it?!
Non, mais tu te rends compte de ce qu’il a osé faire ??		Can you believe what he dared to do??

Variations

Rends-toi compte ! (imperative) – “Just imagine! Just think!”
Vous vous rendez compte ! – when addressing more than one person
Rendez-vous compte !

Somewhat synonymous: Figure-toi ! – "Get this!"