Skip to Content

Lire Conjugation: How To Conjugate “To Read” In French

Lire Conjugation: How To Conjugate “To Read” In French

Conjugation tables for lire (to read) in French

The conjugation of lire (Meaning: to read in French) is: Je lis (I read), tu lis (you read), il, elle lit (he, she reads), nous lisons (we read), vous lisez (you read) and ils, elles lisent. This page contains conjugations charts for lire in seven major verb tenses.

Lire conjugation

Lire is an irregular -re verb. That means that its endings in the present tense are different from all other regular-re verbs.

The past participle of lire is lu (read) and the present participle is lisant (reading).

This page provides verb tables of faire in the following tenses:

  • Present tense (le présent)
  • Compound past (passé composé)
  • Imperfect (l’imparfait)
  • Simple future (le futur simple)
  • Conditional (le présent du conditionnel)
  • Present subjunctive (le subjonctif)
  • Imperative (l’impératif)

Lire conjugation table

Lire conjugation table

Lire conjugation charts

Present tense (le présent)

In the present tense, je lis translates to both “I read” and “I am reading”.

Je lisI readJe lis le journal tous les jours.I read the newspaper everyday.
Tu lisYou read (informal, singular)Tu lis une histoire à tes enfants.You read a story to your kids.
Il, elle litHe, she readsElle lit le manuel scolaire pour le cours de chimie. She reads the textbook for chemistry class.
Nous lisonsWe readNous les toutes les conjugaison des verbes.We read all the verb conjugations.
Vous lisezYou read (formal, plural)Vous lisez les instructions du professor.You read the teacher's instructions.
Ils, elles lisentThe readIls lisent les mots écrits sur le tableau noir.They read the words written on the chalkboard.

The following video teaches the pronunciation of lire in the present tense:

Compound past (passé composé)

The French use the passé composé to express actions which occurred at defined times.

J'ai luI readJ'ai lu l'histoire à mes enfants. I read the story to my kids.
Tu as luYou read (infomral, singular)Est-ce que tu as lu les petits caractères?Did you read the fine print?
Il, elle a luHe, she readElle a lu le contrat. She read the contract.
Nous avons luWe readNous avons lu l'article dans le journal. We read the article in the newspaper.
Vous avez luYou read (formal, plural)Vous avez lu les paroles de la chanson.You read the song lyrics.
Ils, elles ont luThey readIls ont lu la Constitution américaine.They read the constitution of the United States.

Imperfect (l’imparfait)

The French use the imperfect tense to describe past events which occurred at undefined times.

Je lisaisI was reading, used to readJe lisais un roman quand le téléphoné à sonné.I was reading a novel when the phone rang.
Tu lisaisYou were reading, used to read (informal, singular)Tu lisais des bandes dessinées quand tu étais un enfant. You used to read comics when you were a child.
Il, elle lisaitHe, she was reading, used to readElle lisait une revue quand papa est rentré à la maison.She was reading a magazine when dad came home.
Nous lisionsWe were reading, used to readAvant, nous ne lisions pas les nouvelles en ligne. Before we didn't used to read news online.
Vous lisiezYou were reading, used to read (formal, plural)Qu'est-ce que vous lisiez quand vous étiez jeune?What did you used to read when you were young?
Ils, elles lisaientThey were readingIls lisaient les mangas quand ils étaient au Japon.They used to read mangas when they were in Japan.
Elle lit un livre. She reads a book.

Simple future (le futur simple)

In the simple future tense, je lirai translates to “I will read”.

Je liraiI will readJe lirai quelques articles avant de me coucher.I'll read a few articles before going to bed.
Tu lirasYou will read (informal, singular)Tu liras quelques bons livres cette année.You'll read a few good boos this year.
Il, elle liraHe, she will readElle lira un conte de fées à son fils. She'll read a fairy tale to her son.
Nous lironsWe will readNous lirons la partition avant de jouer la chanson.We'll read the sheet music before playing the song.
Vous lirezYou you read (formal, plural)Vous lirez des documents très importants.You'll read some important documents.
Ils, elles lirontThey will readIls liront toutes les conjugaison des verbes. They'll read all the verb conjugations.

Conditional (le présent du conditionnel)

The French use the conditional tense to express hypothetical actions. Je lirais translates to “I would read”.

Je liraisI would readJe lirais plus de livres si j'avais plus de temps.I'd read more books if I had more time.
Tu liraisYou would read (informal, singular)Tu lirais le mode d'emploi si tu avais plus de patience. You'd read the instructions if you had more patience.
Il, elle liraitHe, she would readIl lirait les ingrédients s'il avait ses lunettes de lecture.He'd read the ingredients if he had his reading glasses.
Nous lirionsWe would readNous lirions le texte mais c'est trop ennuyeux.We'd read the text but it's too boring.
Vous liriezYou would read (formal, plural)Vous liriez les paroles de la chanson si vous aviez une bonne connection internet.You'd read the song lyrics if you had a good internet connection.
Ils, elles liraientThey would readIls liraient aux enfants s'ils avaient plus de temps.They'd read to their kids if they had more time.

Present subjunctive (le subjonctif)

The French use the subjunctive mood to express wishes, emotions and doubts. Que je lise translates to “that I read”.

que je lisethat I readIl faut que je lise ce roman. I have to read this novel.
que tu lisesthat you read (informal, singular)Je veux que tu lises le mode d'emploi.I want you to read the instructions.
qu'il, elle lisethat he, she readsJe doute qu'il lise les petits caractères.I doubt he's reading the fine print.
que nous lisionsthat we readIl faut que nous lisions cette histoire. We have to read this story.
que vous lisiezthat you read (formal, plural)J'exige que tu lisiez tous les détails. I demand that you read all the details.
qu'ils, elles lisentthat they readJe souhaite qu'ils lisent toutes ces conjugaisons. I wish that they read all these conjugations.

Imperative (l’impératif)

The French use the imperative mood to give commands. “Lisez!” translates to “read!”.

Lis! Read! (informal, plural)Lis tous les mots!Read all the words!
Lisons! Let's read!Lisons le livre ensemble!Let's read the book together!
Lisez!Read! (formal, plural)Lisez le roman! Read the novel!

More French verb conjugations:

Sharing is caring!

Affiliate disclosure: Below you will find affiliate links. If you purchase something after clicking the link, we will receive a small commission. To learn more please visit our full disclosure page. Merci!

Sign up to download your free trial of À Moi Paris a French course which I recommend to my personal students to help with pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar. After that, upgrade for access to 77 hours of audio lessons.

Read our full review of À Moi Paris and find out why we love it so much!

Are you struggling with French verb conjugations? Then we highly recommend French Today's French Verb Drills course. Get over 28 hours of audio exercises to build reflexes and dramatically improve your French level and confidence.

Read our full review of French Verb Drills and find out why we recommend this course!

David Issokson

David Issokson is a lifelong language enthusiast. His head is swimming with words and sounds as he speaks over six languages. Of all the languages he speaks, he's the most passionate about French! David has helped hundreds of students to improve their French in his private online lessons. When procrastinating working on his site, FrenchLearner.com, David enjoys his time skiing and hiking in Teton Valley, Idaho.

See all posts by