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Oxford-Hachette French Dictionary

French
French
English
English

I. penser [pɑ̃se] VB trans

1. penser (avoir une opinion):

penser
to think (de of, about)
penser du bien/du mal de qn/qc
to think well/badly ou ill of sb/sth
qu'est-ce que tu en penses?
what do you think of it?
il m'a dit ce qu'il pensait du professeur/film
he told me what he thought of the teacher/film
je ne sais pas quoi penser de ce livre/de lui/de la situation
I don't know what to make ou think of this book/of him/of the situation
je n'en pense rien
I have no opinion about it
dire ce que l'on pense
to say what one thinks, to speak one's mind
qu'est-ce que tu penserais d'un week-end en Normandie?
what would you say to a weekend in Normandy?
il ne disait rien mais n'en pensait pas moins
he said nothing but it didn't mean that he agreed

2. penser (croire):

penser
to think
penser que …
to think that …
je pense qu'il a raison
I think (that) he's right
c'est bien ce que je pensais!
I thought as much!
je (le) pense, je pense que oui
I think so
je ne (le) pense pas, je pense que non
I don't think so
je le pensais plus intelligent
I thought he was more intelligent than that
je pense avoir fait du bon travail
I think I did a good job
je n'aurais jamais pensé ça de lui
I would never have thought that of him
il n'est pas aussi bête qu'on le pense
he's not as stupid as people think (he is)
je te le dis comme je le pense
I'm telling you (just) what I think
quand on dit ‘culture’ il pense ‘ennui’
to him culture spells boredom
elle ne pense pas un mot de ce qu'elle dit
she doesn't believe a word of what she's saying
tu penses vraiment ce que tu dis?
do you really mean what you're saying?
tout laisse ou porte à penser que …
there's every indication that …
je pense bien!
you bet! inf
je pense bien!
for sure
vous pensez (bien) que si j'avais su ça…
you can well imagine that if I'd known that…
vous pensez si j'étais content/furieux!
you can imagine how pleased/angry I was!
‘il s'est excusé?’—‘penses-tu!’
‘did he apologize?’—‘you must be joking!’, ‘some hope!’
pensez donc!
just imagine!

3. penser (se rappeler):

pense que ça ne sera pas facile
remember that it won't be easy
ça me fait penser qu'il faut que je lui écrive
that reminds me that I must write to him/her

4. penser (avoir l'intention de):

penser faire
to be thinking of doing, to intend to do
il pense venir demain
he's thinking of coming tomorrow, he intends to come tomorrow
elle pense déménager bientôt
she intends to move soon
qu'est-ce que tu penses faire maintenant?
what do you think you'll do now?, what do you intend to do now?

5. penser (concevoir):

penser appareil, dispositif, projet
to think [sth] up
c'est bien pensé!
it's well thought out!
il faut penser l'avenir, non l'improviser
we've got to plan for the future, not improvise it

II. penser à VB trans obj indir

1. penser à (songer):

penser à personne, endroit
to think of ou about
penser à (réfléchir à) problème, proposition, offre
to think about
à quoi penses-tu?
what are you thinking about?
je pense à elle
I'm thinking of ou about her
on ne peut pas penser à tout
you can't think of everything
faire/dire qc sans y penser
to do/say sth without thinking
il ne pense qu'à lui/à l'argent/à s'amuser
he only thinks of himself/about money/about enjoying himself
il faudrait penser à rentrer, il se fait tard
we'd better think about going back, it's getting late
pense à ce que tu dis!
think about what you're saying!
pensez aux conséquences/à votre carrière!
think of the consequences/of your career!
maintenant que j'y pense
now that I (come to) think of it
ça me rend malade rien que d'y penser
it makes me ill just thinking about it
c'est simple, il fallait y penser ou il suffisait d'y penser
it's simple, it just required some thinking
regardez le pendule et ne pensez plus à rien
look at the pendulum and empty your mind
sans penser à mal
without meaning any harm
tu n'y penses pas! c'est trop dangereux!
you can't be serious! it's too dangerous!
n'y pensons plus!
let's forget about it!
votre argent vous pouvez vous le mettre où je pense sl!
you can stuff your money you know where! inf
il a reçu le ballon où je pense inf
the ball hit him you know where inf
il ne pense qu'à ça inf!
he's got a one-track mind!

2. penser à (se souvenir):

penser à
to remember
pense à écrire à ton grand-père/changer l'ampoule
remember to write to your grandfather/change the lightbulb
est-ce que tu as pensé à arroser les plantes?
did you remember to water the plants?
pense à ton rendez-vous
remember your appointment
pense à ce que t'a dit le docteur!
remember what the doctor told you!
mais j'y pense, c'est ton anniversaire aujourd'hui!
now I come to think of it it's your birthday today!
tant que j'y pense
while I think of it
il me fait penser à mon père
he reminds me of my father
fais-moi penser à acheter du beurre
remind me to buy some butter

3. penser à (envisager):

penser à faire
to be thinking of doing
elle pense à s'installer en France
she's thinking of moving to France

III. penser [pɑ̃se] VB intr

penser
to think
je pense donc je suis
I think therefore I am
avec mes films, j'essaie de faire penser le public
in my films, I try to make people think
façon de penser
way of thinking
je lui ai dit ma façon de penser!
I gave him a piece of my mind!
penser tout haut
to think out loud
je pense comme vous
I agree with you

prêt-à-penser <pl prêts-à-penser> [pʀɛtapɑ̃se] N m inf

prêt-à-penser
off-the-peg ideas pl
petitement penser, agir
pettily

in the PONS Dictionary

French
French
English
English

I. penser [pɑ̃se] VB intr

1. penser (réfléchir):

penser
to think
faculté de penser
capacity for thought
penser à qc
to think of sth

2. penser (juger):

penser différemment sur qc
to think differently about sth

3. penser (songer à):

penser à qn/qc
to think about sb/sth
sans penser à mal
without meaning any harm

4. penser (ne pas oublier):

penser à qn/qc
to remember sb/sth
penser à +infin
to remember to +infin
faire penser à qn/qc
to remind one of sb/sth

5. penser (s'intéresser à):

penser aux autres
to think of others

Phrases:

je pense bien! inf
I should hope so!
donner [ou laisser] à penser
to make one think
laisser à penser que ...
to let it be thought that ...
mais j'y pense ...
but I was just thinking ...
tu n'y penses pas! inf
you don't mean it!
(là) où je pense inf
you know where
tu penses! inf (tu plaisantes)
you must be joking!
tu penses! (et comment)
you bet!

II. penser [pɑ̃se] VB trans

1. penser:

penser
to think
penser qn intelligent/sincère
to consider sb intelligent/sincere
c'est bien ce que je pensais
that's exactly what I was thinking
je pense que oui/que non
I think/don't think so
vous pensez bien que ... inf
you can well imagine that ...

2. penser (avoir l'intention de):

penser faire qc
to be thinking of doing sth
que pensez-vous faire à présent?
what are you planning now?

Phrases:

n'en penser pas moins
to draw one's own conclusions
cela me fait penser que ...
that reminds me that ...
pensez que ... (tenez compte)
to think that ...
pensez que ... (imaginez)
you can well imagine that ...
les Français pensent dans leur majorité ...
the majority of the French think that ...
justement penser
logically
sérieusement croire, penser
seriously
beaucoup pensent la même chose
many (people) think the same (thing)
maître à penser
intellectual guide
English
English
French
French
conceptualise
penser
to think of thee
penser à toi
perceive
penser
to remind sb of sb/sth
faire penser qn à qn/qc
in the PONS Dictionary
French
French
English
English

I. penser [pɑ͂se] VB intr

1. penser (réfléchir):

penser
to think
faculté de penser
capacity for thought
penser à qc
to think of sth

2. penser (juger):

penser différemment sur qc
to think differently about sth

3. penser (songer à):

penser à qn/qc
to think about sb/sth
sans penser à mal
without meaning any harm

4. penser (ne pas oublier):

penser à qn/qc
to remember sb/sth
penser à +infin
to remember to +infin
faire penser à qn/qc
to remind one of sb/sth

5. penser (s'intéresser à):

penser aux autres
to think of others

Phrases:

je pense bien! inf
I sure hope so!
donner [ou laisser] à penser
to make one think
laisser à penser que ...
to let it be thought that ...
mais j'y pense ...
but I was just thinking ...
tu n'y penses pas! inf
you don't mean it!
(là) où je pense inf
you know where
tu penses! inf (tu plaisantes)
you must be joking!
tu penses! (et comment)
you bet!

II. penser [pɑ͂se] VB trans

1. penser:

penser
to think
penser qn intelligent/sincère
to consider sb intelligent/sincere
c'est bien ce que je pensais
that's exactly what I was thinking
je pense que oui/que non
I think/don't think so
vous pensez bien que ... inf
you can well imagine that ...

2. penser (avoir l'intention de):

penser faire qc
to be thinking of doing sth
que pensez-vous faire à présent?
what are you planning now?

Phrases:

n'en penser pas moins
to draw one's own conclusions
cela me fait penser que ...
that reminds me that ...
pensez que ... (tenez compte)
to think that ...
pensez que ... (imaginez)
you can well imagine that ...
maître à penser
intellectual guide
justement penser
logically
sérieusement croire, penser
seriously
beaucoup pensent la même chose
many (people) think the same (thing)
je n'ose penser ce qui serait arrivé si ...
I dare not think what would have happened if ...
English
English
French
French
conceptualize
penser
perceive
penser
to remind sb of sb/sth
faire penser qn à qn/qc
to contemplate doing sth
penser faire qc
Présent
jepense
tupenses
il/elle/onpense
nouspensons
vouspensez
ils/ellespensent
Imparfait
jepensais
tupensais
il/elle/onpensait
nouspensions
vouspensiez
ils/ellespensaient
Passé simple
jepensai
tupensas
il/elle/onpensa
nouspensâmes
vouspensâtes
ils/ellespensèrent
Futur simple
jepenserai
tupenseras
il/elle/onpensera
nouspenserons
vouspenserez
ils/ellespenseront
See further verb tables
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