On se retrouve à la sortie du métro.

In everyday French, on very often means we.

So On se retrouve means We’ll meet / We’ll meet up.

A more formal or less common version would be:

• Nous nous retrouvons à la sortie du métro.

But in normal spoken French, on is much more natural.

A few things to remember:

• on can mean we
• it still takes third-person singular verb forms
• so you say on se retrouve, not on se retrouvons

Here, se retrouver means to meet up, to find each other again, or simply to meet at an agreed place.

It is based on retrouver, which often means to find again or to meet again.

Examples:

• On se retrouve à 18h. = We’ll meet up at 6.
• On se retrouve devant la gare. = We’ll meet in front of the station.

In this sentence, it does not mean that people are literally lost and then find each other. It is just a common way to arrange a meeting.

The verb here is se retrouver, a pronominal verb.

The se changes depending on the subject:

• je me retrouve
• tu te retrouves
• il/elle/on se retrouve
• nous nous retrouvons
• vous vous retrouvez
• ils/elles se retrouvent

Because the subject is on, the correct form is se retrouve.

In this expression, the pronoun is part of the normal verb pattern. You should learn se retrouver as a unit when it means to meet up.

French often uses the present tense to talk about a planned or near-future action, especially in everyday speech.

So:

• On se retrouve à la sortie du métro.

can naturally mean:

• We’re meeting at the metro exit.
• We’ll meet at the metro exit.

This is very similar to English sentences like:

• I see you tomorrow.
• We meet outside the station.

If you wanted to make the future more explicit, you could also say:

• On se retrouvera à la sortie du métro.

But the present tense is extremely common for arrangements.

It means at the exit of the metro or more naturally at the metro exit / outside the metro exit.

Breakdown:

• à = at
• la sortie = the exit
• du métro = of the metro

So the whole phrase identifies the meeting place.

Depending on context, English might translate it a little differently:

• at the metro exit
• outside the metro station
• by the subway exit

Because de + le contracts to du in French.

So:

• de le métro → du métro

This contraction is required.

Other common contractions:

• à + le → au
• de + les → des
• à + les → aux

Examples:

• à la sortie du métro
• au coin de la rue
• aux arrêts de bus

French uses à for many locations where English would say at.

So à la sortie means at the exit.

• dans would mean in/inside, which does not fit well here
• sur usually means on, which also does not fit

Common location patterns:

• à la gare = at the station
• à l’entrée = at the entrance
• à la sortie = at the exit

So à la sortie du métro is the natural way to say the meeting point.

It can depend on context.

métro usually means the metro/subway system, but in expressions like this, la sortie du métro often refers to the exit of the metro station or the place where you come out from the underground system.

So even though the literal wording is the exit of the metro, the practical meaning is usually the metro exit.

Native speakers understand this without needing a longer phrase like:

• la sortie de la station de métro

That longer version is possible, but less natural in ordinary conversation.

Normally, no. Du métro is the natural form here.

You need the article because you are referring to the metro as a known place/system in the situation.

So:

• à la sortie du métro = natural
• à la sortie de métro = generally not idiomatic here

French often keeps the article in these kinds of place expressions.

It is neutral to informal, and very natural in everyday speech.

Reasons:

• on instead of nous makes it more conversational
• se retrouver is a common everyday way to say meet up

You could say it to:

• a friend
• a classmate
• a coworker in casual conversation

In a more formal written style, you might see:

• Nous nous retrouvons à la sortie du métro.
• Retrouvons-nous à la sortie du métro.

But the original sentence sounds very natural for normal spoken French.

A careful pronunciation would be roughly:

on sə rə-trouv ah la sor-tee du may-tro

A few useful notes:

• on has a nasal vowel
• se is often a light suh sound
• retrouve ends with a voiced v sound
• à la may flow together smoothly
• sortie sounds like sor-tee
• métro sounds like may-tro

In connected speech, it may sound more fluid, something like:

On s’retrouve à la sortie du métro.

The e in se is often reduced in fast speech.

Yes, in context it often functions that way.

Literally, it is more like:

• We’re meeting at the metro exit
• We’ll meet at the metro exit

But when someone says it while making plans, the practical meaning can be very close to:

• Let’s meet at the metro exit.

If you wanted a more direct suggestion form, French could also say:

• Retrouvons-nous à la sortie du métro.

But the original sentence is a very common and natural way to make the arrangement.