Why do I need to know on verra?
Because it's very commonly used, and it has nothing to do with regular verres (glasses).
What does it mean?
On verra - roughly pronounced ohn ver-ah - is the French way of saying 'we'll see'. On means 'we' or 'one' and verra is the future tense of voir, which means 'to see'. On voit is the present tense, which means 'we see'.
As for on verra, French people use it all the time to signal uncertainty about a future event. They might also say on verra bien ! literally translates to 'we'll see good', but really is more or less the equivalent of the English term 'we will just have to wait and see'.
On va voir also translates as 'we will see', but it deals with a more immediate future event.
On verra can also be used to say 'so that we will see' something, in the literal sense.
For example, if you were contemplating an outfit after spending some time lounging on the beach, your friend might say Mets une robe, comme ça on verra comme tes jambes sont bronzées ! (Put on a dress, that way we'll see how tanned your legs are.)
Use it like this
Penses-tu qu'il gagnera les élections ? / Je n'en sais rien. On verra bien. - Do you think he'll win the election? / I don't really know. We'll just have to see.
Disons qu'on prevoit une balade dimanche et puis on verra s'il fait beau ou pas ? - Let's aim for a walk on Sunday and then we'll just see if the weather is nice or not?
Oui, vas-y, il me parle bien ce resto. Dommage qu'il n'y a pas de menu en ligne, mais on y va et puis on verra s'ils ont des tarte tatins. Sinon, tant pis. - Yes, let's do it, I like the look of that restaurant. Shame that there's no online menu, but let's head over and then we'll just see if they have apple tarts. If not, never mind.
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