👉 See also: Tiens — Interjection for “Hey!” and “Oh!” »
Level: B1 (Intermediate)
🎧 Audio by Marie Assel Cambier, a native speaker & professional voice artist from France
The French word of the day is the versatile irregular IR verb tenir. Its core meaning is “to hold”, but this verb appears in an exceptionally wide range of everyday expressions. Let’s explore its most common uses through real example sentences.
✅ Meaning
✅ Pronunciation
✅ Example sentences
✅ Related Words & Expressions
✅ Related lessons
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📘 Tenir meaning
The French verb tenir means “to keep” or “to hold,” and it’s used in a wide range of everyday expressions. You can use it literally — je tiens un livre (I’m holding a book) — or more figuratively, like tenir ses promesses (to keep one’s promises), tiens ! (hey / here you go), or tenir éveillé (to keep someone awake). It’s an essential French verb with a very wide range of usages.
🎧 Tenir pronunciation
The pronunciation of tenir is /tə.niʁ/, which sounds like “tuh-neer.”
📝 Tenir example sentences
Je tiens un bouquet de fleurs dans les mains.
I’m holding a bouquet of flowers in my hands.
Il tient ses promesses.
He keeps his promises.
Nous tenons un restaurant à Paris.
We own a restaurant in Paris.
Le professeur ne sait pas tenir sa classe.
The teacher doesn’t know how to control his class.
👉 See also: Savoir (to know) Word of the Day lesson »
Le café me tient éveillé jusqu’à minuit.
Coffee keeps me awake until midnight.
Nous tenons compte de vos opinions.
We take your opinions into account.
Elle tient de ses deux parents.
She takes after both of her parents.
Nous tenons à notre maison.
We are attached to our house.
Tiens ! C’est Jacques !
Hey! It’s Jacques!
La conférence se tient demain.
The conference is taking place tomorrow.
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📊 Savoir conjugation
Tenir (to hold) is an irregular IR verb and has the same conjugation pattern as venir (to come).
- Je tiens — I hold
- Tu tiens — you hold (singular, informal)
- Il, elle tient — he, she holds
- Nous tenons — we hold
- Vous tenez — you hold (plural, formal)
- Ils, elles tiennent — they hold
🔗 Related words and expressions
- tenir bon — to hold on / hang in there
- se tenir — to stand / behave oneself
- se tenir debout — to stand upright
- se tenir tranquille — to stay calm / behave
- ne plus tenir — to be unable to wait any longer
- en tenir compte — to take into account
- ça se tient — that makes sense
- je n’en tiens pas compte — I’m not taking that into account
- tenir à — to care about / insist on
- y tenir — to be eager for something
- s’y tenir — to stick to it (a plan, promise, etc.)
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