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👉 See also: Vouloir Word of the Day lesson »
Level: A1 (Beginner)
🎧 Audio by Marie Assel Cambier, a native speaker & professional voice artist from France
The French Word of the Day is pouvoir, an essential irregular verb meaning “can” and “to be able to.” Many students get its usage wrong when trying to express they can or know how to do something. I’ll explain below.
✅ Meaning
✅ Pronunciation
✅ Example sentences
✅ Related Words & Expressions
✅ Related lessons
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📘 Pouvoir meaning
Pouvoir is an essential French irregular verb meaning “can” and “to be able to.” It’s used to express ability, permission, and possibility. In the conditional form it often softens requests, as in “pourriez-vous…” (could you…). As a noun, pouvoir also means “power” or “authority,” distinct from la puissance, which refers to physical strength or energy.
🎧 Pouvoir pronunciation
Pouvoir is pronounced /pu.vwaʁ/, roughly “poo-vwahr.”
📝 French and English examples
Pouvoir – can, to be able
1. To be able to / can
Je peux parler français avec mes collègues.
I can speak French with my colleagues.
2. To be able to / can (permission)
Tu peux utiliser mon ordinateur si tu veux.
You can use my computer if you want.
3. Il peut y avoir — there may be (expression)
Il peut y avoir un problème avec la voiture.
There may be a problem with the car.
4. Pouvoir in conditional — polite request
Pourriez-vous répéter, s’il vous plaît ?
Could you repeat, please?
5. Pouvoir in conditional — hypothetical situation
Il pourrait venir, mais il n’a pas le temps.
He could come, but he doesn’t have time.
👉 As you can see, the conditional is closely associated with pouvoir.
Master the conditional »
6. Je n’en peux plus — can’t take it anymore (expression)
Après cette longue marche, je n’en peux plus.
After this long walk, I can’t take it anymore.
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✏️ More usages of pouvoir
👉 Pouvoir vs puissance
As a noun, le pouvoir means “power,” as in “the government’s power” or authority. Don’t confuse this with la puissance, which refers to “power” in the sense of strength, force, or the power of an engine.
- Le gouvernement a beaucoup de pouvoir.
The government has a lot of power. - Ce moteur a une grande puissance.
This engine has great power.
⚠️ Avoid this common mistake
👉 Je peux vs. je sais (pouvoir vs. savoir)
Don’t confuse je peux + infinitive with je sais + infinitive. Their meanings are different. You cannot use je peux to mean “I know how to.”
- Je peux parler français.
I can (am able to) speak French. - Je sais parler français.
I can (I know how to) speak French.
📊 Pouvoir conjugation
Here’s the basic pouvoir conjugation in the present tense.
- je peux — I can / I am able to
- tu peux — you can / you are able to (informal singular)
- il / elle / on peut — he / she / one can / is able to
- nous pouvons — we can / we are able to
- vous pouvez — you can / you are able to (formal singular or plural)
- ils / elles peuvent — they can / they are able to
👉 The past participle of pouvoir is pu. Hence, j’ai pu translates to I was able to or I could.
🔗 Related words and expressions
- avoir le pouvoir de — to have the power to
- au pouvoir — in power (government, leadership)
- tout-puissant — all-powerful, almighty
- il se peut que — it may be that
- on ne peut pas tout avoir — you can’t have everything
- comme tu peux voir — as you can see
📊 Master the conjugations of pouvoir!
Now that you’ve gone through these examples of pouvoir, check out my audio verb conjugations!
👉 Pouvoir conjugation charts »
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