Looking up...
des
/de/
some
Je veux des pommes.
I want some apples.
general
Used to indicate an unspecified quantity of plural nouns, similar to 'some' in English.
J'ai acheté des livres.
I bought some books.
Il y a des chats dans le jardin.
There are some cats in the garden.
In French, 'des' is used both as a determiner meaning 'some' and as the plural of 'de' (of) in certain contexts.
Pro Tip
Plural Use
'Des' is always used with plural nouns. For singular nouns, use 'un' or 'une'.
Gold Rule
Negative Sentences
In negative sentences, 'des' is often replaced by 'de' (e.g., 'Je n'ai pas de pommes' means 'I don't have any apples').
Word Origin
Derived from the contraction of 'de' (of) and 'les' (the), used to indicate an unspecified quantity.
Usage Notes
'Des' is used with plural nouns and is equivalent to 'some' in English. It can also be used in negative sentences (e.g., 'Je n'ai pas des pommes' means 'I don't have some apples').
Dictionnaire Français-Anglais