joccupe

Joccupe, often written j’occupe, is the first-person singular present indicative form of the French verb occuper. It means “I occupy” or “I am occupying,” and it is used to indicate that the subject holds, uses, or fills something, or that their time is taken by a task or activity.

Orthography and variants: the standard spelling requires an apostrophe before a vowel, producing j’occupe. In all-caps or stylized text, the apostrophe may be omitted, but the pronunciation remains the same. The form changes with subject pronouns in other tenses, such as tu occupes, il occupe, nous occupons, etc.

Usage: joccupe can describe physical occupation (j’occupe ce siège), temporal occupation (j’occupe mes après-midis), or a role or position (j’occupe le poste de directeur). It is common in everyday conversation and in formal writing to express that one is busy or engaged with a task. It can also convey a sense of taking responsibility, as in “j’occupe ce rôle depuis l’an dernier.”

Examples:

- J’occupe cette chaise jusqu’à ce que vous reveniez.

- J’occupe mon samedi à réviser mes notes.

- Elle occupe le poste de responsable marketing.

Etymology: occuper derives from Latin occupare, from ob- “toward” and accupare or captare “to seize.” The sense expanded from seizing space or time to holding a position, job, or activity.

See also: occuper, occupation, occupancy, occupation du temps. In translation, joccupe generally corresponds to “I occupy” or “I am busy with,” depending on context.