relater

to recount

verb ruh-lah-TEH Rare

Origin: Latin relatare, to bring back

Also means

to report

Usage Note

Relater means to give a factual account of events, often in writing; relater des faits (to recount the facts) is typical in journalism and legal documents. It is more formal than raconter (to tell a story) and implies precision and objectivity. The derived noun is relation (account, report).

Examples

"Le journaliste relate les événements avec précision."

Natural Translation

The journalist recounts the events with precision.

Free starter pack

Building your French vocabulary?

Get the 100 most common French words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.

Related Words

Explore French by topic

FrenchNow

Faire in French: To Make, To Do, and More

Faire in French means more than make and do: master faire vs rendre, weather and sports idioms, the causative, and the mistakes English speakers make.

June 4, 2026 6 min read

FrenchNow

En, Au, Aux: French Prepositions for Countries

Use en for feminine countries, au for masculine, aux for plural, and à for cities. Full French preposition rule for countries, with a lookup table and traps.

June 4, 2026 5 min read

FrenchNow

French False Friends: 25 Faux Amis to Avoid

French false friends look like English words but mean something else: actuellement is not actually, sensible means sensitive. Here are 25 faux amis to avoid.

June 3, 2026 5 min read

FrenchNow

French Object Pronouns: le, la, lui, leur Order

Le lui or lui le? Use the à-name test to pick le/la vs lui/leur, then one slot chart to order two French object pronouns — plus the command exception.

June 4, 2026 6 min read