on l'

we ... him/her/it

→ on
phrase Common #3,629
we ... him/her/it On usually means “we” in everyday French. L' is the elided form of le or la before a vowel, meaning “him,” “her,” or “it.” The exact translation depends on the verb and context.
FR: On l'invite ce soir.
EN: We're inviting him tonight.

On l'attache.

We attach it.

— Primate (2026)

On l'est!

We are!

— La La Land (2016)

On l'utilisait comme abri.

We used it as a shelter.

L'Amérique profonde, on l'avait au New Hampshire.

We had the heart of America in New Hampshire.

— Séquences et conséquences (2000)

En général, on l'enterre.

Generally, it is buried.

— Mother (2009)

On l'entend, non?

You can hear it, can't you?

— Anatomie d'une chute (2023)

On l'applaudit!

He was applauded!

— Pinocchio (2019)

Je vous le dirai quand on l'aura retrouvé.

I'll tell you when we find him.

On l'est ou pas?

Are we, or aren't we?

— La Famille Tenenbaum (2001)

On l'attrapera ensemble.

We'll catch him together.

— Assassination (2015)

Ok, que dirais-tu si on l'envoyait une demande écrite?

Okay, what would you say if we sent him/her a written request?

— Masaan (2015)

Quand je suis arrivé chez lui, on l'avait déjà emmené.

When I arrived at his place, they had already taken him away.

On l'invite en France.

He is being invited to France.

Comment on l'utilise?

How do you use it?

— 3 Idiots (2009)

On l'emmerde.

Screw him.

— Scream 7 (2026)

On l'amènerait dans un foyer spécial qui saurait comment élever cet enfant.

They would take him to a special home that would know how to raise this child.

— Le Loup de Wall Street (2013)

Et qu'est-ce qu'on lui fait si on l'attrape?

And what do we do to him if we catch him?

— Requiem pour un massacre (1985)

Il répond pas quand on l'interroge.

He doesn’t answer when he’s questioned.

— L’Enfance d’Ivan (1962)

On l'entend moins ta grande gueule, hein?

We're hearing less of your big mouth now, huh?

— Marty Supreme (2025)

On l'applaudit encore, merci!

Let's give him another round of applause, thank you!

— Pinocchio (2019)

On l'envoie à la Maison Blanche.

We’re sending him to the White House.

— The Man From Nowhere (2010)

Alors on l'occupe, mais sans patron.

Then we keep him busy, but without a boss.

— Heureux comme Lazzaro (2018)

Pour le réseau, on l'est tous.

For the network, we all are.

On l'inscrit au menu!

Let’s put it on the menu!

— Tampopo (1985)

Quand est-ce qu'on l'emmènera à l'asile?

When will we take him to the asylum?

— Les Nuits de Cabiria (1957)

On l'était tous.

We all were.

On l'embarque.

We're taking him on board.

— Taxi (1998)

On l'amène chez les alliés, mon capitaine.

We’re taking him to the allies, Captain.

— Apocalypse Now (1979)

La petite porte du jardin grince quand on l'ouvre.

The small garden gate creaks when you open it.

Le virus a dû atteindre le cerveau comme on l'avait prévu.

The virus must have reached the brain, as we had predicted.

— The Host (2006)

On l'enterre cet après-midi.

We're burying him this afternoon.

— Arrête-moi si tu peux (2002)

Si on l'aide pas avec le mulet, crois-moi, dans le fond on lui rend service.

If we don't help him with the mule, believe me, we're actually doing him a favor in the long run.

— Jean de Florette (1986)

Nous aussi, on l'était.

We were too.

— Avatar : La Voie de l'eau (2022)

Quand quelqu'un parle, on l'écoute en silence.

When someone is speaking, we listen to them in silence.

— Battle Royale (2000)

On l'ignorait.

We didn't know.

On l'écoute.

We listen to him.

— Apocalypse Now (1979)

Je veux dire que si on l'aide, on s'aide nous-mêmes.

I mean that if we help him, we help ourselves.

— Dans ses yeux (2009)

Le professeur de Da-hye, on l'appellera Kevin.

Da-hye’s teacher—we’ll call him Kevin.

— Parasite (2019)

Pour Jimmy, que Tommy soit nommé, c'était comme si on l'était tous.

For Jimmy, Tommy being named was as if we had all been named.

— Les Affranchis (1990)

Quand on frappe quelqu'un comme ça c'est qu'on l'adore.

When you hit someone like that, it means you adore them.

— De tout cœur (1998)

Si les vents sont avec nous, on l'atteindra demain.

If the winds are with us, we'll reach it tomorrow.

— Le Château dans le ciel (1986)

On l'entendait toujours rentrer.

You could always hear him coming home.

— Mystic River (2003)

On l'arrête.

We’re stopping him.

— Séquences et conséquences (2000)

Même l'idée la plus sublime semble stupide quand on l'entend trop souvent.

Even the most sublime idea seems stupid when you hear it too often.

— Le Facteur (1994)

On l'est tous les deux.

We both are.

On l'attrapera.

We'll catch him.

On le sait, on le voit tous les jours, mais on l'ignore.

We know it, we see it every day, but we ignore it.

— Article 15 (2019)

Et on l'examine de plus près.

And we examine it more closely.

— Salyut-7 (2017)

On l'invite?

Are we inviting him/her?

— La dolce vita (1960)

On l'avait et on l'a laissé filer.

We had it and we let it go.

On l'achète pas mais on veut le voir.

We’re not buying it, but we want to see it.

— Le Voleur de bicyclette (1948)

On l'emmerde!

Fuck him!

— Crazy Rich Asians (2018)

On l'entend pleurer derrière la porte.

We can hear him crying behind the door.

— La Nuit américaine (1973)

On l'applaudit pour l'encourager.

We applauded him to encourage him.

— Pinocchio (2019)

On la lave, on l'habille.

We wash her and dress her.

— Une fiancée pas comme les autres (2007)

Navré, on l'est plus.

Sorry, we're not anymore.

— F1® Le Film (2025)

On l'espère.

We hope so.

La porte grince quand on l'ouvre.

The door creaks when you open it.

On l'interroge depuis ce soir.

They've been questioning him since this evening.

— Enquête sur un citoyen au-dessus de tout soupçon (1970)

Allez, on l'embarque.

Come on, let’s take him along.

— En terrain miné (2014)

La culture c'est comme la confiture, moins on en a, plus on l'étale.

Culture is like jam: the less you have, the more you spread it around.

On l'était.

We were.

On l'emmerde, appelle-le.

Screw him, call him.

— Victoria (2015)

On ira la chercher et on l'amènera ici.

We'll go get her and bring her here.

On l'amène là-bas.

We’re taking him there.

— En terrain miné (2014)

On l'emmènera voir les camions.

We’ll take him/her to see the trucks.

— Titane (2021)

On l'enverra chercher.

We'll send for him.

— Bugonia (2025)

Si on l'atteint.

If we reach it.

— Le Cinquième Élément (1997)

On l'ignore toujours.

We still don't know.

— Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

On l'élimine goutte par goutte.

We eliminate it drop by drop.

— Salyut-7 (2017)

On l'avait.

We had it.

On l'aime bien.

We like him/her.

— La Famille Tenenbaum (2001)

Il n'est pas encore mort; on l'apporte ici.

He isn't dead yet; they're bringing him here.

Rien, on l'accompagne.

Nothing, we’re accompanying him.

— Central do Brasil (1998)

On l'entendit appeler à l'aide.

He was heard calling for help.

On l'arrête?

Should we stop him?

— The Rip (2026)

Comment sait-on si l'on l'on est toujours la même personne?

How do we know whether we are still the same person?

— Perfect Blue (1998)

On l'est tous.

We all are.

— Avengers (2012)

C'est comme si on l'entendait de très, très loin.

It's as if we could hear it from very, very far away.

— Tár (2022)

On l'opère.

We operate on him.

On l'avait fait.

We had done it.

— Qui suis-je (2014)

On l'adore.

We love it.

— Love Actually (2003)

Elle chante fort, on l'entend depuis la rue.

She sings loudly; you can hear her from the street.

Si c'est une fille, on l'appellera Tatoeba.

If it’s a girl, we’ll call her Tatoeba.

Même le cochon, on l'aime bien!!

We even like pigs!

— Porco Rosso (1992)

Cette émeute va finir et on l'oubliera.

This riot will end, and we'll forget about it.

— Même la pluie (2011)

Ce qui semble mort, on l'arrache.

What seems dead, we tear out.

— Il était Temps (2013)

On la tue, ou on l'épargne?

Do we kill her, or spare her?

— Rashōmon (1950)

On l'entend toute la nuit.

You can hear it all night long.

— Henry V (1989)

Et nous, on l'écoutera.

And we’ll listen to it.

— Titane (2021)

On l'applaudit, s'il vous plaît!

Let’s give him/her a round of applause, please!

— Des étoiles sur la terre (2007)

J'ai oublié comment on l'écrit.

I forgot how to spell it.

On l'espérait.

We were hoping for it.

— Wicked : Partie II (2025)

On l'attrape, les gars?

Shall we catch him, guys?

— Amarcord (1973)

On l'interroge.

He is questioned.

On l'avait avant ma naissance.

We had it before I was born.

— The Man from Earth (2007)

On se paie un bout de terrain et on l'entretient de son vivant.

You buy yourself a piece of land and maintain it during your lifetime.

— Volver (2006)

On l'étudier.

We study it.

— Projet Dernière Chance (2026)

On l'emmerde, mec.

Screw him, man.

— Victoria (2015)

On l'amène , exactement?

Where exactly are we taking him?}

— Black Panther (2018)

On l'en a empêché.

They prevented him from doing it.

— Psychose (1960)

On l'envoie dans un hôpital.

We're sending him to a hospital.

— L’Enfance d’Ivan (1962)

Bien sûr qu'on l'est.

Of course we are.

— La Famille Tenenbaum (2001)

On l'ignore.

We ignore it.

— La Chute (2004)

On l'était tous les deux.

We both were.

Si quelqu'un lève la voix, on l'accuse de menacer la sécurité nationale.

If someone raises their voice, they’re accused of threatening national security.

— Article 15 (2019)

C'est génial, on l'entend de loin.

That’s great—you can hear it from far away.

— Bacurau (2019)

Jusqu'à ce qu'on l'attrape.

Until we catch him.

Ils vont s'en prendre à nous comme si on l'avait.

They’re going to come after us as if we had it.

— Insaisissables 2 (2016)

On l'entendit chanter sous la douche.

We heard him singing in the shower.