French Expression · Intermediate
Prendre les devants
To take the initiative / To get ahead of
Pronunciation: prand lay duh-VAHN
Meaning
To act proactively and anticipate a situation, often to gain an advantage or prevent problems.
Example
Pour éviter des problèmes, il faut prendre les devants et planifier.
To avoid problems, one must take the initiative and plan.
Practice tips
- Practice Prendre les devants out loud — read the pronunciation guide above and repeat.
- Use it in your own sentence today; reuse beats rereading.
- Pay attention to context: this French expression is for intermediate-level learners.