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racheter

to redeem, buy back

verb rash-TAY Less Common

Also means

to make up for (a fault)

Usage Note

Racheter combines re- and acheter ('to buy') and means either to buy something back, to purchase a replacement, or — in a moral sense — to redeem oneself (se racheter). Se racheter after a mistake is very common in everyday speech: il essaie de se racheter ('he's trying to make up for it').

Examples

"Il a voulu se racheter après son erreur."

Natural Translation

He wanted to make up for his mistake.

Literal Translation

He wanted to redeem himself after his error.

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