sauver

Sauver is a French verb that primarily means to save or rescue someone or something from danger. It can also mean to spare or to preserve from harm, and it is used in literal and figurative senses. In everyday usage it is often contrasted with épargner (to spare) and protéger (to protect).

Originating from Old French sauver, from Latin salvare (safe), the verb is regular in the first conjugation (-er). Present tense forms are: je sauve, tu sauves, il sauve, nous sauvons, vous sauvez, ils sauvent. The past tense compound uses avoir: j'ai sauvé. The imperfect is je sauvais; the future is je sauverai. The present subjunctive is que je sauve, que tu sauves, qu'il sauve, que nous sauvions, que vous sauviez, qu'ils sauvent. The passé simple forms are: je sauvai, tu sauvas, il sauva, nous sauvâmes, vous sauvâtes, ils sauvèrent.

Usage: Sauver is transitive and normally takes a direct object, as in sauver quelqu'un ou quelque chose de quelque chose (to save someone or something from something). Common expressions include sauver des vies (to save lives) and sauver la vie de quelqu'un. Se sauver is the reflexive form meaning to escape or flee from danger. In non-literal contexts, sauver can convey recovery or preservation, though for saving data or files the related verb sauvegarder is preferred.

Related terms include le sauvetage (a rescue operation), le sauveur (savior), and le sauveteur (rescuer). Sauver is distinguished from sauvegarder when the emphasis is on backing up data or preserving information.