Soccuper

Soccuper is commonly spelled as s’occuper in French. It is a pronominal verb meaning to occupy oneself, to take care of someone or something, or to be involved in a task or matter. The basic sense is self-directed action or responsibility, rather than simply performing an action on someone or something.

The verb derives from the non-reflexive occupier, meaning to occupy or fill a space or time. The reflexive form emphasizes personal involvement or responsibility: se occuper de quelque chose or se occuper de quelqu’un. In everyday use, s’occuper is often followed by de to indicate what one is taking care of or dealing with.

Usage and examples:

- Je m’occupe de mes devoirs. I am taking care of my homework.

- Elle s’occupe des enfants pendant que les parents sortent. She looks after the children while the parents go out.

- Nous nous occupons de la logistique de la réunion. We are handling the logistics of the meeting.

- Qui va s’occuper de ce projet ? Who will take care of this project?

- Cela va m’occuper tout l’après-midi. That will keep me busy all afternoon.

Common phrasings and nuances:

- s’occuper de qn/qc means to care for, to look after, or to be responsible for someone or something.

- s’occuper à faire qc (less common) can mean to set about doing something; more standard is s’occuper de faire qc or s’occuper de qc.

- Se faire occuper par qc is less common but can imply being occupied with something.

Related verbs include prendre en charge, s’occuper de, and se charger de, which all convey responsibility or management of an issue. The form with apostrophe is the standard written form; soccuper without the apostrophe is considered a misspelling.