# prendre sur soi



## cressonnet

hi !
Does anybody know how to say 'prendre sur soi' in English ?  meaning : to master / control one's feelings / temper etc...

Sometimes you don't want to do something yet you you do it without complaining because you don't want to hurt people..that's just an example


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## RODGER

"I just did it and kept it to myself" that's it, or "I kept my feelings to myself"

how's that ?
cheers

Rodger


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## fetchezlavache

is 'bite the bullet' appropriate here ? or too colloquial ?


sorry to insist. can we use 'bite the bullet' for 'prendre sur soi' . thanks.


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## Nico5992

I also heard "to soldier on". I suppose it is colloquial though. Maybe native speakers could confirm.


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## Jabote

fetchezlavache said:
			
		

> sorry to insist. can we use 'bite the bullet' for 'prendre sur soi' . thanks.


 
Il me semble que bite the bullet a une connotation de plus, celle de "mettre ça dans sa poche et son mouchoir par-dessus", "avaler la pilule", ce que n'a pas "prendre sur soi"... mais je me trompe peut-être...


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## zinc

fetchezlavache said:
			
		

> sorry to insist. can we use 'bite the bullet' for 'prendre sur soi' . thanks.


 Hi, well I'm not completly au fait with the expression "prendre sur soi" but I think "bite the bullet" may be more suited to different contexts. E.g. "I don't particularly want to visit my mother in law this weekend, but I am just going to have to bite the bullet." (ie do it). Or: "This is a thankless job, but nobody else will do it. So let's bit the bullet and get on with it." I think this is a little different than "se maitriser" or "assumer". But once again, please let me say these are just my views. I've just seen Nico's post about "soldier on", which is very good.
Edit: ditto for Jabote's "avaler la pilule"


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## Jabote

What you are explaining zinc more or less confirms what I was saying I guess...

About Nico's translation, I would not have thought about it... Not too sure this is the exact equivalent of "prendre sur soi" though... I would have translated it by "prendre son courage à deux mains", which is a little different from prendre sur soi... But then again correct me if I'm wrong !


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## Cath.S.

What about "keep a stiff upper lip" or "keep one's chin up"? It seems to me they could be used in some contexts to translate "_prendre sur soi_".


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## Douglas

I don't want to keep the ball rolling. But how would: "to keep or maintain one's composure" fit in? There's a Mid-Eastern saying which goes: "Add water to cooked food." If supper is  ready to be served,  disregard all this. . .


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## Jabote

egueule said:
			
		

> What about "keep a stiff upper lip" or "keep one's chin up"? It seems to me they could be used in some contexts to translate "_prendre sur soi_".


 
Agree with you egueule, especially when you point out "in some contexts"..


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## zinc

egueule said:
			
		

> What about "keep a stiff upper lip" or "keep one's chin up"? It seems to me they could be used in some contexts to translate "_prendre sur soi_".


 Ces expressions font très 007, but I agree about the context aspect, which means my advice about "bite the bullet" could be misleading. I have always thought that "j'ai du prendre sur moi de..." meant something like "well it was up to me to...", rather than "I had to bite the bullet and..." However, I am now quite confused myself, and need to find out more about how "prendre sur moi" is employed.


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## Jabote

prendre sur soi means forget about how you feel about doing something, just do it... Also when someone insults you for instance, "prendre sur soi" means that you control yourself and remain calm...


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## Cath.S.

Zinc, _prendre sur soi_ and _prendre sur soi de faire quelque chose_ are not quite the same.

_J'ai pris sur moi de faire venir quelqu'un pour réparer la photocopieuse = j'ai pris l'initiative de etc._

_Lorsque son mari est devenu infirme, elle a pris sur elle et s'est consacrée à lui 24h/24 = Lorsque son mari est devenu infirme, elle a consenti à ne pas extérioriser certains sentiments/besoins/désirs personnels et etc._

Does this help?


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## Jabote

egueule said:
			
		

> Zinc, prendre sur soi and prendre sur soi de faire quelquechose are not quite the same.
> 
> _J'ai pris sur moi de faire venir quelqu'un pour réparer la photocopieuse = j'ai pris l'initiative de etc._


 
Know what, egueule, I never thought about this other meaning !!! I do know it of course, but I did not think of it ! 

OK so now we DO need some context... edit this.. we have the context "se maîtriser"... then I would go with "to control oneself".


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## emac

bite the bullet is definitely appropriate here. Also possibly "swallow your pride"


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## zinc

Merci Egueule et Jabote. I have learned something here. Espérant que Fetchezlavache a trouvé une réponse à sa question.


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## renel

I like Rodger's choice for "prendre sur soi" in the defined context. As for "biting the bullet", IMHO it would be to harsh, like saying "I just shut up and did it", and "to soldier on" is to me more like "I persevered".

Just an opinion.


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## Staarkali

Reading the various posts of this thread, it seems that _prendre sur soi_ has no universal translation in English; it's even quite hard to make a list of all possible translations according to the context and level of language.

Anyone has an idea for _prendre sur soi = prendre à sa charge _ou encore _de sa propre initiative_


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## watergirl

staarkali,  
If you're looking for a translation for "prendre sur soi DE..." I would suggest the  fairly literal rendering: 

 "to take it upon oneself to...."

"I took it upon myself to call in a photocopier repair person" -- to cite egueule's example above.


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## °° Cocotte °°

Among those many suggestions, I don't know which one I should use...
I'm talking about G. who pays a visit to another man in jail. He has to "prendre sur lui" because the inmate gives him a hard time, but G. wants to stay dignified and to act as if nothing happened.
What expression should I use ?

Thanks in advance


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## Anna17300

et que diriez-vous pour "je dois prendre sur moi"? "I have to soldier on" ??


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## zinc

It's good, and if I heard it I would get what you are on about.  Personally, if i'm in a situation where I get insulted or put-down, and I have no choice but to just accept it, I generally say (to myself) "just man-up and get on with it"...


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## RobertaLynn

I would suggest, for future reference:

prendre sur soi: (just) *grin and bear it *
prendre sur soi (de faire quelque chose):* to take (it) upon oneself* to do something
As in, Jabote's quote of egueule above:
*Ja'i pris sur moi *de faire venir qu'elqu'un pour réparer la photocopieuse =
* I took it upon myself* to have the photocpier repaired.


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## serumen

bonjour, je ne trouve pas les mots en anglais pour dire "l'expression" :

"prends sur toi et ferme ta gueule". ( je m'excuse pour la vulgarité de la phrase :s)

si quelqu'un pourrais m'aider ce serais vraiment sympathique =)
merci à vous


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## ytuped

Suggestion :
"bear with it and shut (the hell) up"


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## fluffynette

what about grin and bear it?


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## Ethno

Bonjour,

Comment dit-on 'J'ai du prendre sur moi pour ne pas m'enerver.' en anglais svp?
L'expression 'I had to bite my tongue' est-elle appropriee? 

Merci d'avance


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## AnnieF

"I had to bite my tongue" is fine in this context.


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## Juju333

Comment dire "prendre sur soi" dans ce contexte svp:

"Ma soeur a embrassé mon copain lors d'une soirée. On s'est engueulé et ça m'a fait énormément de mal. Mais comme c'est ma soeur j'ai décidé de *prendre sur moi* et je lui parle toujours."

Merci!


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## Locape

Les suggestions des posts #23 et #26 m'ont l'air de coller au contexte : I decided to grin and bear it.


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