What does surprise in French mean?

What is the meaning of the word surprise in French? The article explains the full meaning, pronunciation along with bilingual examples and instructions on how to use surprise in French.

The word surprise in French means surprise, surprise, surprise, surprise, catch, catch, overhear, find yourself doing, catch out, to their great surprise, much to their surprise, surprise attack, nice surprise, lovely surprise, spring a surprise, in a Christmas cracker, element of surprise, element of surprise, surprise, pop quiz, snap test, surprise test, rely on the element of surprise, unpleasant surprise, nasty surprise, surprise bread, unexpectedly, treat cone, taken by surprise, have a surprise in store for, surprise party, dance, surprise visit, surprise call, surprise trip. To learn more, please see the details below.

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Meaning of the word surprise

surprise

nom féminin (chose inattendue)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Quelle surprise de te voir ici !
What a surprise to see you here!

surprise

nom féminin (cadeau inattendu) (gift)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Tiens, c'est une surprise pour toi !
Here's a surprise for you!

surprise

adjectif (événement : inattendu)

(adjective: Describes a noun or pronoun--for example, "a tall girl," "an interesting book," "a big house.")
On organise une fête surprise pour son anniversaire. Le restaurant a été l'objet d'un contrôle sanitaire surprise.
We are organizing a surprise party for his birthday. // The restaurant was subject to a surprise health inspection.

surprise

verbe transitif (étonner)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Sa victoire a surpris tout le monde. Cela me surprend que Julie ait eu une mauvaise note à son devoir de maths.
His victory took everyone by surprise.

catch

verbe transitif (prendre par surprise)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Le surveillant l'a surpris en train de tricher.
The invigilator caught him cheating.

catch

verbe transitif (déceler quelque chose de fugitif) (figurative)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Au cours du dîner, Vincent avait surpris des regards complices entre sa fille et le voisin.
During dinner, Vincent caught the intimate glances between his daughter and the neighbour.

overhear

verbe transitif (entendre [qch] par hasard)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Au détour d'un couloir, j'ai surpris la conversation inquiétante des deux comptables.

find yourself doing

verbe pronominal (constater soudainement)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Je me surpris à penser aux prochaines vacances.
I found myself thinking of the upcoming holidays.

catch out

verbe transitif (se manifester)

(phrasal verb, transitive, separable: Verb with adverb(s) or preposition(s), having special meaning, divisible--for example, "call off" [=cancel], "call the game off," "call off the game.")
xx
Nighttime crept up on us and we had to camp out in the woods.

to their great surprise, much to their surprise

locution adverbiale (alors qu'ils ne s'y attendaient pas)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
Marie et Vincent reçurent à leur grande surprise des nouvelles de leurs vieux amis de lycée.

surprise attack

nom féminin (offensive impromptue)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

nice surprise, lovely surprise

locution adjectivale (admiration, [qch] d'inattendu)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Ce fut vraiment une bonne surprise de revoir Paul à mon anniversaire !

spring a surprise

locution verbale (proposer [qch] d'inattendu)

in a Christmas cracker

locution adverbiale (figuré, ironique (en cadeau) (figurative, ironic)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
Ce type est un vrai danger public ; il a eu son permis de conduire dans une pochette-surprise ou quoi ?!

element of surprise

nom masculin (fait de ne pas s'attendre à [qch])

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

element of surprise

nom masculin (étonnement)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

surprise

(faire [qch] d'inattendu à [qqn])

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Sophie a fait une surprise à son mari pour son anniversaire en invitant de vieux amis.

pop quiz

nom féminin (familier (Scolaire : test non prévu) (mainly US)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

snap test, surprise test

nom féminin (Scolaire : test non prévu)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

rely on the element of surprise

locution verbale (compter profiter de la surprise)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")

unpleasant surprise, nasty surprise

nom féminin (nouvelle désagréable)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

surprise bread

nom masculin (pain évidé et fourré)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Le pain surprise est rempli de petits sandwiches faits avec la mie de celui-ci.

unexpectedly

locution adverbiale (de façon non prévisible)

(adverb: Describes a verb, adjective, adverb, or clause--for example, "come quickly," "very rare," "happening now," "fall down.")
Il apprit par surprise qu'elle était enceinte.

treat cone

nom féminin (cône de papier avec des surprises)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Quand j'étais petit, ma grand-mère m'achetait parfois des pochettes-surprises.

taken by surprise

locution adjectivale (sans s'y être attendu)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
La délinquante fut prise par surprise dans un hôtel.

have a surprise in store for

(préparer une surprise pour [qqn])

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")

surprise party

nom féminin (soirée danse, boom)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

dance

nom féminin (vieilli (soirée dansante pour jeunes)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Ginette aimait beaucoup les surprises-parties du vendredi soir.

surprise visit, surprise call

nom féminin (visite non prévue)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

surprise trip

nom masculin (voyage inattendu)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Pour son anniversaire, Marie reçoit un voyage surprise de la part de ses parents.

Let's learn French

So now that you know more about the meaning of surprise in French, you can learn how to use them through selected examples and how to read them. And remember to learn the related words that we suggest. Our website is constantly updating with new words and new examples so you can look up the meanings of other words you don't know in French.

Do you know about French

French (le français) is a Romance language. Like Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish, it comes from popular Latin, once used in the Roman Empire. A French-speaking person or country can be called a "Francophone". French is the official language in 29 countries. French is the fourth most spoken native language in the European Union. French ranks third in the EU, after English and German, and is the second most widely taught language after English. The majority of the world's French-speaking population lives in Africa, with about 141 million Africans from 34 countries and territories who can speak French as a first or second language. French is the second most widely spoken language in Canada, after English, and both are official languages at the federal level. It is the first language of 9.5 million people or 29% and the second language of 2.07 million people or 6% of the entire population of Canada. In contrast to other continents, French has no popularity in Asia. Currently, no country in Asia recognizes French as an official language.