Se débrouiller or s’en sortir? What do they mean?

The 2 verbs we are going to explain here are often used by native French speakers. Because they are reflexive verbs and because they are words with both concrete and abstract meanings, they are not common verbs that you can find in books.

These 2 verbs express your ability in succeeding something in life. Indeed it can be an achievement either psychological or practical.

What are these 2 verbs:

• Se débrouiller 
• S’en sortir

Let’s have this mini-lesson!

What does “SE DÉBROUILLER” mean in French?

First, before explaining the meaning, let’s talk about the pronunciation. What you need to know is that “ll” is exactly like the English “y”.

Now, this verb is regular. However, it’s a reflexive verb. In other words, the “action” is on the subject and an extra word is required between the subject and the verb like this:

• Je me débrouille
• Tu te débrouilles
• Il / elle se débrouille
• Nous nous débrouillons
• Vous vous débrouillez
• Ils / elles se débrouillent

But, what does it mean? The translation would be: to cope, manage or even to perform. We are going to see examples together.

The origin of the verb “SE DÉBROUILLER” .

In order to grasp the meaning of the whole verb, you should know that “brouiller” signifies “to scramble, to muddle up”. And if you add the prefix “dé”, it’s the opposite. basically, we come from chaos to clarity, organisation…To some extent: from negativity to positivity.

The abstract meaning of “SE DÉBROUILLER”.

The French verb “se débrouiller” means to manage well in life because somehow you come across the obstables and gain success:

• Je veux que mes enfants apprennent à bien se débrouiller dans la vie >>> I want my children to manage well in life. 

The concrete meaning of “SE DÉBROUILLER”.

Now, let’s see examples where direct actions allowed success. 

For instance, if you manage to avoid mistakes or can decently express yourself in a field, or learn very fast, then you can use “se débrouiller”.

• Tu te débrouilles très bien avec ton français >>> You manage very well with your French.

• Il s’est pas mal débrouillé dans la série “Good Doctor” >>> He did pretty well in the series “Good Doctor”.

When do we use the verb “S’EN SORTIR”?

For the verb “s’en sortir”, the idea behind it is a challenge. That is why this French verb has several meanings:

• to get by
• to get out of something
• to get through something
• to make it through something difficult

Let’s play with different contexts. 

“S’EN SORTIR” for practical situations.

Imagine you struggle with something but because you’ve studied hard or practiced a lot, you pass a test, an examen…This is the right situation for this verb like the following example:

• Il a eu des problème avec ses devoirs de mathématiques mais il s’en est sorti très bien. >>> He had some issues with his maths homework but he did very well.

“S’EN SORTIR” or the definition of success.

This time, you got through a tough situation. It’s been challenging for you but it’s over now:

• Maman était très troublée par la situation au travail mais elle s’en est pas mal sortie. >>> Mum was quite bothered with the situation at work but got through it rather well.

Note that the verb “sortir” belongs to the short list of verbs that require the auxliairy “être” for the passé composé or the plus-que parfait. Therefore, don’t forget not only to use the proper auxiliary but also to make the necessary agreements like the extra “e” for the feminine and “s” for the plural.

Another context when it’s pretty common to use “s’en sortir” is after a surgery because you can die after all…

• L’opération était risquée, mais le patient s’en est sorti. >>> The operation was risky but the patient pulled through.

“S’EN SORTIR” for fortunate scenarios.

This French verb can also express the idea of luck. What does it mean?

For instance, when it means you don’t work or don’t do something or if you do less than expected for any reason:

• Quand on a partagé les tâches ménagères, je m’en suis sorti sans rien faire >>> When they shared out the housework, I got out of having to do anything! 

Another situation where you can celebrate your luck: after a trial of some sort when you were found guilty and you end up with no charge.

• Le chien était coupable mais il s’en est sorti en nous regardant avec ses beaux yeux innocents. >>> The dog was guilty but he got away with it by looking at us with those beautiful, innocent eyes of his.

“S’EN SORTIR” or “SE DÉBROUILLER”?

So, to sum it up, “se débrouiller” expresses a certain success while “s’en sortir” means to escape a bad situation and being in a good one now.

• SE DÉBROUILLER >>> to cope, to manage
• S’EN SORTIR >>> to get by, to pull through, to get through, to make it through, to manage

Take the time to analyse each situation and pick the perfect verb for it.

In case you need further explanation, contact me and I will do my best to clarify.