French Word of the Day: Dépatouiller

Why do I need to know dépatouiller?

This is a good French word to know when you need to get yourself out of a sticky situation. 

What does it mean?

The word dépatouiller, roughly pronounced duh-pah-too-yay (listen here), means to find your way out of a complicated situation, work through a problem or manage to deal with something difficult. It often suggests that you have to improvise or figure things out as you go. It is an informal, everyday verb. 

You will generally see it used with the reflexive pronoun se, which changes to me, te, nous or vous depending on who is doing the action: je vais me dépatouiller (I’ll figure it out) or il va se dépatouiller (he’ll figure it out).

The verb se dépatouiller dates back to the 17th century, when it appeared in the form se despatouiller. It originally meant to free one’s hands from something or to pull away from someone’s grasp.

The verb patouiller comes from regional speech in western and central France, particularly Anjou, where it means to splash around or get stuck in mud. By the 20th century, se dépatouiller had taken on its modern figurative meaning – to get out of a difficult situation or find a way to manage on your own.

Let’s take a look at a similar word. 

The French verbs se débrouiller and se dépatouiller are very similar, and both are commonly used in everyday conversation, but se dépatouiller often suggests a more complicated or messy situation that someone is trying to work their way out of.

Se débrouiller means to manage, cope or get by, often by using your own skills and resources. For example: je me débrouille en français translates to “I get by in French”, while je me dépatouille avec l’administration suggests “I’m trying to work my way through the bureaucracy”. 

The two can overlap, however: je vais me débrouiller and je vais me dépatouiller can both mean “I’ll manage” or “I’ll figure it out”, but the second gives a stronger sense of having to untangle a sticky situation.

Use it like this

Elle s’est dépatouillée toute seule. – She managed to sort it out on her own.

Il faut se dépatouiller avec les moyens du bord. – You have to make do with what you have.

Je ne comprends rien à ce formulaire, je vais essayer de me dépatouiller. – I don’t understand this form, but I’ll try to figure it out on my own.