How to Say ‘He's trying to flank us.’ in French
Il essaie de nous contourner.
eel eh-say duh noo kohn-toor-NAY
[eel eh-say duh noo kohn-toor-NAY]
💬 Usage Tip: contourner literally means "to go around." nous "us" goes before the verb, not after it as in English.
Phrase Breakdown
Il essaie
eel eh-say
He's trying
This comes from 'essayer' (to try). Link the 'l' of 'il' to 'essaie', so it sounds like 'ee-lé-sè'.
Il essaie encore.
He's trying again.
Words in this phrase
Il
[eel]
he
Third person singular subject pronoun.
Il est heureux.
He is happy.
essaie
[eh-say]
try / are trying
Verb from 'essayer' meaning to make an effort.
On essaie de rester positifs malgré le stress.
We are trying to stay positive despite the stress.
de nous contourner.
duh noo kohn-toor-NAY
to go around us / flank us
'Contourner' means 'to go around'. 'Nous' comes before the verb, and its 's' is silent.
On peut contourner la ville.
We can go around the city.
Words in this phrase
de
[duh]
to
A preposition indicating direction.
Il vient de Paris.
He comes from Paris.
nous
[noo]
us
The stressed pronoun meaning 'us' or 'we' after a preposition like 'avec.'
Les nouvelles recrues déjeunent souvent avec nous.
New hires often have lunch with us.
contourner
[kohn-toor-NAY]
to go around / to flank
To move around something or someone, e.g. to outflank an enemy.
Ils veulent contourner l'ennemi.
They want to flank the enemy.
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