How to Use Borrow in French Without Sounding Like a Robot

You're standing in a chic Parisian boutique or maybe a dusty bookstore in Lyon, and you realize you forgot your pen. Or your umbrella. Or maybe you just need to ask a friend for twenty euros until payday. You reach into your mental dictionary to find the word for to borrow in french, and your brain hits a wall. Is it prêter? Is it emprunter? Does the preposition change everything? It honestly does. French is funny like that because the direction of the action dictates the verb, and if you flip them, you’re basically telling your friend that they are the one borrowing from you. It’s a mess.

Let's clear the air.

The Emprunter vs. Prêter Confusion

The heavy hitter here is emprunter. This is the literal, direct translation for when you are the one taking the item. Think of it as "inward" movement. You are pulling the object toward you. If I take your book, I emprunte your book.

On the flip side, we have prêter. This is "to lend." In English, we sometimes get sloppy and use "borrow" for both—think of the phrase "Can you borrow me five bucks?" which is grammatically horrific but common in some dialects. In French, you can't be sloppy. You just can't. If you use prêter when you mean to borrow in french, the person you’re talking to will look at you with that classic, slightly tilted head of confusion.

• Emprunter something from someone: J'emprunte un stylo à Marie. (I am borrowing a pen from Marie.)
• Prêter something to someone: Marie me prête son stylo. (Marie is lending me her pen.)

Notice that little à in the first example? That’s where people trip up. In English, we say "from," but in French, you borrow "to" someone in a weird grammatical sense. It feels counterintuitive. It feels wrong. But it’s the way the language breathes.

Why "Emprunter" is Actually Tricky

It’s not just about the verb; it’s about the context. If you are at a bank, you aren't just "borrowing" money in a casual sense. You are entering into a contract. The French language treats a library book and a mortgage with the same verb, but the stakes are wildly different.

When you say J'ai emprunté à la bibliothèque, everyone knows you're returning that copy of Camus in three weeks. But when you talk about a crédit immobilier (a mortgage), you use the noun form: un emprunt.

Actually, let's talk about that for a second. The word emprunt is the noun version. You’ll see it all over French financial news. If the French government issues bonds, they are "borrowing" on a massive scale. It’s an emprunt d'État.

The Preposition Trap

You really have to watch the prepositions. Seriously. If you use de instead of à when using to borrow in french, you might get away with it in casual conversation, but it sounds "off."

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• J'emprunte un livre à mon frère. (Correct)
• J'emprunte un livre de mon frère. (Technically sounds like the book belongs to your brother, but you aren't necessarily emphasizing the act of borrowing from him right now.)

It's a subtle nuance. Most learners instinctively go for de because it feels like "from." Resist that urge. Use à.

Using "Emprunter" in Different Tenses

French verbs love to change shapes. If you borrowed something yesterday, you’re looking at the passé composé.

• J'ai emprunté. (I borrowed.)

Simple enough. But what if you were in the middle of borrowing things constantly? Like, back in college when you never bought your own cigarettes or coffee? Then you hit the imparfait.

• J'empruntais toujours ses affaires. (I was always borrowing his stuff.)

It sounds more flowery, more nostalgic. It paints a picture of a habitual action. If you're trying to sound like a native, mastering the switch between "I borrowed it once" (j'ai emprunté) and "I used to borrow it" (j'empruntais) is the fastest way to get there.

Casual Alternatives and Slang

Sometimes emprunter feels a bit stiff. It’s a long word. Four syllables if you count the silent 'e' rhythmically. In the streets of Paris or among friends, you might hear people use other ways to express the idea of getting something from someone.

One very common way is to avoid the verb to borrow in french entirely and ask if someone can "let you have" something.

• Tu me dépannes d'un ticket de métro ? The verb dépanner literally means "to repair" or "to get out of a jam." If you ask to borrow a metro ticket, you’re basically saying, "Hey, I’m in a fix, can you help me out?" It’s much more common in casual settings than the formal emprunter.

Then there is the verb taxer. This is pure slang. It sounds aggressive because it is. If you "tax" someone’s cigarette, you aren't really borrowing it—you aren't giving it back, obviously—but it’s the slang equivalent of "Can I bum a smoke?"

• Je peux te taxer une clope ? (Can I borrow/bum a cig?)

Don't use this with your boss. Please.

The "Prendre" Shortcut

If you’re panicked and you can’t remember how to conjugate emprunter, just use prendre (to take). Honestly, it works.

• Je peux te prendre ton stylo deux secondes ? (Can I take/borrow your pen for two seconds?)

It’s less formal, but it gets the job done without the grammatical gymnastics of the more complex verbs.

Borrowing Ideas vs. Borrowing Things

French is a language of precision. When you borrow a physical object, emprunter is your girl. But what if you’re borrowing an idea? Or a concept? Or a melody?

Music critics in France often talk about how one artist "borrows" from another. In this case, you might see s'inspirer de (to be inspired by) or reprendre.

• Il a repris le thème de Mozart. (He took/borrowed Mozart’s theme.)

It sounds more professional. Using emprunter for an artistic concept can sometimes imply plagiarism, whereas s'inspirer de implies a creative homage.

Dealing with Money (The Serious Stuff)

When you go to a French bank (la banque), the vocabulary shifts. You aren't just "borrowing." You are engaging in un prêt or un crédit.

If you want to say "I need to borrow money to buy a car," you would say:

• Je dois faire un emprunt pour acheter une voiture.

Wait, why did I use faire un emprunt instead of just emprunter? Because in French, we often prefer "to make a borrow" when it's a formal financial transaction. It sounds more official. It implies paperwork. It implies interest rates (which, by the way, are les taux d'intérêt).

Cultural Nuances: Can You Actually Borrow That?

Culturally, the French view "borrowing" slightly differently than Americans or Brits. In the US, it's very common to borrow a cup of sugar from a neighbor. In big French cities like Paris, that’s almost unheard of unless you’ve known your neighbor for twenty years.

Asking to borrow something from a stranger—like a phone to make a call—is also a bit higher stakes. You need to wrap that request in layers of politeness.

• Excusez-moi de vous déranger, mais est-ce qu'il serait possible de vous emprunter votre téléphone pour un appel urgent ?

If you just say "Can I borrow your phone?", you’re going to get a very cold "No." The verb to borrow in french needs to be cushioned by est-ce qu'il serait possible (would it be possible) to avoid sounding entitled.

Common Mistake: Borrowing a Person

This sounds weird, right? But English speakers do it. "I’m going to borrow your assistant for a minute."

Do not use emprunter for people.

If you say J'emprunte ton assistant, it sounds like you’re putting the assistant in a box and taking them home. Instead, use voler (to steal, playfully) or just say you need them.

• Je te pique ton assistant deux minutes. (I’m stealing your assistant for two minutes.)
• J'ai besoin de ton assistant. (I need your assistant.)

Keep emprunter for objects and money. People are off-limits.

How to Practice This Without Going Crazy

Learning to borrow in french is really about muscle memory. You have to train your brain to stop translating "from" and start using "à."

One trick is to associate the "a" in emprunter à with the "a" in "at" or "to." You are directing your request at someone.

Another tip: watch French movies and listen for the word prêt. You’ll hear it in bank commercials, but also in dramas where someone is asking for a favor. The more you hear the relationship between prêter (to lend) and emprunter (to borrow), the more natural it becomes.

Actionable Steps for Your Next Conversation

If you’re heading into a situation where you might need to borrow something, keep these three phrases in your back pocket. They cover about 90% of real-world scenarios.

1. The Casual Ask: Je peux t'emprunter [thing] ? (Can I borrow [thing] from you?) Use this with friends.
2. The Polite Request: Serait-il possible de vous emprunter [thing] ? (Would it be possible to borrow [thing] from you?) Use this with bosses, strangers, or in-laws.
3. The Money Talk: J'ai besoin de faire un emprunt. (I need to take out a loan.) Use this at the bank.

Forget the perfect grammar for a second and focus on the direction of the item. If the item is coming toward you, it's emprunter. If you are giving it away, it's prêter. If you get that right, the rest is just details.

Summary of Key Terms

The most important thing is to just start using it. Don't be afraid to mess up the preposition. Most French people will understand you even if you say emprunter de, but they’ll be secretly impressed if you nail the emprunter à.

Next time you're in a French-speaking environment, look for an opportunity to ask for something. Even if you don't really need that pen, ask anyway. It’s the only way the verb will actually stick in your long-term memory. Grab a notebook, find a French speaker, and start "borrowing" their time to practice.

Focus on the emprunter à structure first. Once that feels like second nature, try incorporating the slang dépanner for small favors. By the time you're actually at a French bank or asking a neighbor for help, the words will come out without that painful five-second mental delay we all face when learning a new language. Keep the direction of the object in mind—toward you is emprunter, away from you is prêter—and you’ll never mix them up again.