devenir at C1 — qu’est-ce que tu deviens ?
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The friendliest question in French uses this verb.
Qu’est-ce que tu deviens ?
« Qu’est-ce que tu deviens ? » does not mean “what are you becoming?”. It means what have you been up to? — the question you ask someone you have not seen for a while. It is warm, extremely common, and completely opaque if you translate it literally.
The same structure asks about things: « qu’est-ce qu’il est devenu ? » — what became of him? And « que devenir ? », in writing, is the cry of someone with no options left.
💡 Focus at this level: Idiomatic — what have you been up to?
👨🏫 How to use « devenir » at this level
1. « Qu’est-ce que tu deviens ? » = what have you been up to?
2. Answer with news, not with a description of change.
3. « Qu’est-il devenu ? » asks after someone you have lost track of.
🎮 Practise « devenir »
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