Le retrait en espèces est débité aujourd’hui.

French usually needs an article where English often does not. So le retrait en espèces is literally the cash withdrawal.

In banking or account statements, French often uses the definite article for a transaction label:

• le virement = the transfer
• le paiement = the payment
• le retrait = the withdrawal

Even if English might say cash withdrawal without the, French normally keeps the article.

Retrait means withdrawal.

It comes from the verb retirer, which can mean to remove, to take out, or in banking to withdraw.

So:

• un retrait = a withdrawal
• faire un retrait = to make a withdrawal
• retirer de l’argent = to withdraw money

In this sentence, retrait is a noun, not a verb.

En espèces is the standard French expression for in cash.

So:

• un retrait en espèces = a cash withdrawal
• payer en espèces = to pay in cash

This is an idiomatic expression. You should learn it as a set phrase.

Be careful: espèces does not mean species here, even though the word looks similar. In financial French, espèces means cash.

That is just how the fixed expression works: en espèces.

French uses this plural form in the idiom, and you do not normally change it to singular. So you simply learn:

• payer en espèces
• retirer en espèces

It is best treated as a chunk of vocabulary rather than something you translate word by word.

Est débité means is debited.

In banking language, débiter means to charge to an account, to debit, or to deduct from the balance.

So the sentence means that the cash withdrawal is being posted to the account today.

This can feel slightly strange to an English speaker, because everyday English more often says:

• The cash withdrawal is charged today
• The withdrawal is posted today
• The amount is deducted today

But in banking contexts, debited is perfectly normal.

It is the present tense passive voice.

It is built like this:

• est = present tense of être
• débité = past participle of débiter

So:

• il débite = he/it debits
• il est débité = it is debited

In your sentence:

• Le retrait en espèces est débité aujourd’hui. = The cash withdrawal is debited today.

French, especially in formal or administrative language, often uses the passive to focus on the transaction itself rather than on who performs the action.

So instead of saying:

• La banque débite le retrait aujourd’hui
  = The bank debits the withdrawal today

the sentence says:

• Le retrait en espèces est débité aujourd’hui
  = The cash withdrawal is debited today

This sounds very natural in banking, statements, and automated messages.

Because it agrees with le retrait, which is masculine singular.

In the passive voice with être, the past participle agrees with the subject:

• le retrait est débité
• la somme est débitée
• les retraits sont débités
• les sommes sont débitées

So here:

• retrait = masculine singular
• therefore débité = masculine singular

French often puts time expressions like aujourd’hui at the end of the sentence, especially in neutral written style.

So:

• Le retrait en espèces est débité aujourd’hui.

is very natural.

You could also say:

• Aujourd’hui, le retrait en espèces est débité.

But the original order sounds more like a standard banking notice or statement line.

Historically, aujourd’hui comes from:

• au jour de hui

Over time it became the fixed modern form aujourd’hui, meaning today.

For a learner, the important thing is just to memorize aujourd’hui as one expression meaning today.

A careful approximate pronunciation is:

Le retrait en espèces est débité aujourd’hui
luh ruh-tray ahn nes-pess ay day-bee-tay oh-zhoor-dwee

A few useful points:

• retrait sounds roughly like ruh-tray
• en has a nasal vowel; the n is not fully pronounced
• espèces sounds like ess-pess
• est débité links smoothly in speech
• aujourd’hui sounds roughly like oh-zhoor-dwee

If spoken naturally, French will connect words smoothly, so the sentence may sound more fluid than the spelling suggests.

Yes. Retrait can mean withdrawal in a general sense, but in a banking context, especially with en espèces, it clearly means a cash withdrawal.

Compare:

• un retrait bancaire = a bank withdrawal
• un retrait en espèces = a cash withdrawal
• le retrait d’un produit = the withdrawal/removal of a product from sale

So context matters, but here the meaning is clearly financial.

It is especially banking/account-statement language.

A person in everyday conversation might say something more like:

• Le retrait a été débité aujourd’hui.
• Le retrait apparaît aujourd’hui sur le compte.
• L’argent a été retiré aujourd’hui.

But for a transaction notice, Le retrait en espèces est débité aujourd’hui sounds formal and plausible.

So this is a good example of practical financial French, not casual conversation.

You would usually just change the time expression, or sometimes the tense as well.

Examples:

• Le retrait en espèces est débité demain.
  = The cash withdrawal is debited tomorrow.

• Le retrait en espèces a été débité aujourd’hui.
  = The cash withdrawal was debited today / has been debited today.

• Le retrait en espèces sera débité demain.
  = The cash withdrawal will be debited tomorrow.

So the original sentence uses the present passive, but other tenses are possible depending on context.