What is the difference between manquer and rater?

Serian E.A2Kwiziq community member

What is the difference between manquer and rater?

If I wanted to use the examples above about a train or a concert, what would the difference be for the two verbs? Can I use both or is one wrong? If not, what is the change in meaning?
Asked 6 years ago
CécileNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Hi Serian,

The verbs 'manquer' or 'rater' can both be used  for 'to miss a concert or a train' ,  'rater' being less formal than 'manquer'.

You would use 'rater'  only for to fail an exam e.g. 

J 'ai raté mon permis de conduire/ mon bac = I failed my driving test/my baccalaurate

or even - 

J'ai raté ma vie I made a real hash of my life

There is another informal way to say to miss in French which you might have heard - 'louper' :

J'ai loupé le premier  épisode de cette série = I missed the first episode of this series.

Hope this helps!

What is the difference between manquer and rater?

If I wanted to use the examples above about a train or a concert, what would the difference be for the two verbs? Can I use both or is one wrong? If not, what is the change in meaning?

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