par rapport à

ByFast French

“Par rapport à” is a French prepositional phrase that is widely used. It means three different things: “compared with/in comparison with/against,” “in relation to,” and “with regard to/towards.”

Compared with/against

  • il est généreux/petit par rapport à son frère (he is generous compared with his brother)
  • le chômage a augmenté par rapport à l’an dernier (unemployed increased compared with last year)
  • par rapport au dollar (against the dollar)

In relation to

  •  le nombre de voitures par rapport au nombre d’habitants (the number of cars in relation to the number of inhabitants)
  • un angle de 40° par rapport à la verticale (an angle of 40º to the vertical)
  • un changement par rapport à la position habituelle du parti (a change from the usual party line)

With regard to/towards

  • notre position par rapport à ce problème (our position with regard to this problem)
  • l’attitude de la population par rapport à l’immigration (people’s attitude towards immigration)

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