recommencer

to start again, to redo

verb ruh-koh-mahn-SEH Less Common

Usage Note

Recommencer is built from re- (again) + commencer (to begin), making it the standard verb for restarting something from scratch. The imperative recommence! or recommençons! is commonly heard in classrooms and rehearsals. It is slightly more emphatic than reprendre, which implies picking up where one left off rather than starting over.

Examples

"Il faut recommencer l'exercice depuis le début."

Natural Translation

We need to redo the exercise from the beginning.

Literal Translation

It is-necessary to-redo the exercise from the beginning

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