enrichir

To enrich — to make wealthier (enrichir un pays), to add value or depth (enrichir son vocabulaire, une collection), and technically, to increase concentration (enrichir l'uranium). Common across everyday, cultural, and scientific registers.

• Ce voyage a beaucoup enrichi sa culture générale. — This trip greatly enriched his general knowledge.
• Le commerce a enrichi la ville au fil des siècles. — Trade enriched the city over the centuries.
• Le pays cherche à enrichir de l'uranium pour son programme nucléaire. — The country is seeking to enrich uranium for its nuclear program.

Learners often only think of financial enrichment, missing how routinely French uses enrichir for cultural or intellectual growth — enrichir son vocabulaire, ses connaissances — with no money involved at all.

• politics Enrichissez-vous — The phrase 'Enrichissez-vous' is famously (if likely imprecisely) attributed to 19th-century statesman François Guizot, from a longer remark about enrichment through work, savings, and integrity qualifying more citizens to vote. Historians note the exact wording is disputed, but the truncated slogan became a lasting, damaging shorthand for his political legacy.