Gagner/Remporter

Bonjour Annie,

Used on its own -

Who is going to win? You would use 'gagner'.

Both verbs mean  'to win', but they differ in scope and register.

Gagner is the everyday, all-purpose verb — like the English 'to win' or 'to earn'. It works across almost any situation: winning a game, earning money, gaining time, winning someone over. Very flexible, neutral register.

Remporter is closer to 'to carry off' or 'to clinch' — it carries the image of physically taking a prize away with you (you can almost picture the trophy). It's restricted to formal victories with a concrete reward, and has a slightly more elevated, journalistic feel

But congratulations on knowing it!