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How to Say ‘On their own’ in French

De son côté

duh sohn koh-TAY

[duh sohn koh-TAY]

💬 Usage Tip: Literally "from his or her side". The son changes with the person, as in de mon côté "on my end" or de notre côté "on our end".

Phrase Breakdown

[duh]

of / from

Preposition linking location or possession.

Example

De la salle, on voit bien la décoration d'anniversaire.

From the room, you can clearly see the birthday decorations.

son

[sohn]

His/Her

A possessive pronoun used to denote something belonging to the subject.

Example

Amélie pense à son maître.

Amélie thinks about his/her master.

côté

[koh-TAY]

side

Masculine noun meaning side; 'de son côté' means 'for his/her part' or 'on his/her side'.

Example

Je travaille de mon côté.

I work on my side / on my own.

Guides for French learners

Ordering in French: Cafés, Bakeries and Restaurants (with Menu Vocabulary)How to order in French at a café, a bakery and a restaurant: the phrases, the questions staff ask, and the menu and food vocabulary to understand the answers.Hello in French: Greetings, Good Evening and How to Answer "How Are You?"How to say hello in French, when to switch to good evening, how to ask how are you and what to answer, with tu vs vous and native audio.

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