This is the 4th most frequent French word.
des
"Des" is the plural form of "un" or "une," meaning "some" or "of the" in English.
Here, 'des' is used as an indefinite plural article, indicating an unspecified quantity of friends.
Il a des amis en France.
He has some friends in France.
In this sentence, 'des' is a contraction of 'de' (of) and 'les' (the), used as a partitive article before a plural noun to specify 'the books' possessed.
Nous avons besoin des livres que tu as empruntés.
We need the books that you borrowed.
Here, 'des' serves as an indefinite plural article, referring to an unspecified quantity of apples consumed.