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French frequency list

No. 9,490 in French

débrouiller

To untangle, sort out, or manage.

In a sentence

  • Je peux me débrouiller avec le français.

    I can manage with French.

    Here, "débrouiller" is reflexive, showing the subject's capacity to manage or handle a situation.

  • Il faut que tu te débrouilles tout seul pour résoudre ce problème.

    You need to manage on your own to solve this problem.

    The reflexive form specifies the subject solving or dealing with the situation independently.

  • Elle a débrouillé l'écheveau de fils à coudre.

    She untangled the skein of sewing threads.

    "débrouiller" is used transitively to describe untangling or clarifying an object physically or metaphorically.

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