Dire is an essential French verb meanings ‘to say’ and ‘to tell’. The conjugation in the present tense is: Je dis (I say), tu dis (you say), il/elle dit (he/she says), nous disons (we say), vous dites (you say) and ils/elles disent (they say).
Dire is an irregular -re verb in French. This means that its ending when conjugated in the present tense are different to other regular -re verbs.
Dire conjugation table
Dire conjugation charts
Present tense (le présent)
In the present tense (le présent) je dis translates to both ‘I say’, ‘I am saying’, and ‘I do say’.
| Je dis | I say, tell | Je dis la vérité. | I'm telling the truth. |
| Tu dis | You say, tell (familiar, singular) | Qu'est-ce que tu dis? | What are you saying? |
| Il/elle dit | He/she says, tells | Il dit qu'elle est belle. | He says that she's beautiful. |
| Nous disons | We say, tell | Nous disons le repas est délicieux. | We are saying that the meal is delicious. |
| Vous dites | You say, tell (formal, plural) | Je ne comprends pas ce que vous dites. | I don't understand what you're saying. |
| Ils/elles disent | They say, tell | Je pense qu'ils disent quelque chose. | I think they're saying something. |
Passé composé
The passé composé, ‘J’ai dit’ translates to ‘both ‘I said’ and ‘I told’.
| J'ai dit | I said, told | J'ai dit que je suis fatigué. | I said that I'm tired. |
| Tu as dit | You said, told (familiar, singular) | Est-ce que tu as dit quelque chose? | Did you say something? |
| Il/elle a dit | He/she said, told | Il a dit qu'elle ne vient pas. | He said she's not coming. |
| Nous avons dit | We said, told | Nous avons tout dit hier. | We said everything yesterday. |
| Vous avez dit | You said, told (formal, plural) | Pourquoi est-ce que vous avez dit la vérité? | Why did you say the truth? |
| Ils/elles ont dit | They said, told | Ils disent que le magasin est fermé. | They're saying that the store is closed. |
Imperfect (l’imparfait)
In the imperfect tense (l’imparfait) ‘je disais’ can translate to ‘I was saying’, ‘I used to say’, ‘I was telling’ and ‘I used to tell’.
| Je disais | I was saying, used to say, was telling, used to tell | Je disais qu'il arrive en retard. | I was saying that he's arriving late. |
| Tu disais | You were saying, used to say (familiar, singular), were telling, used to tell | Qu'est-ce que tu disais quand je t'ai coupé la parole? | What were you saying when I interrupted? |
| Il/elle disait | He was saying, used to say, was telling, used to tell | Il disait que c'est trop compliqué. | He was saying that it's too complicated. |
| Nous disions | We were saying, used to say, were telling, used to tell | Nous disions toujours la vérité. | We were always telling the truth. |
| Vous disiez | You were saying, used to say, were telling, used to tell (formal, plural) | Qu'est-ce que vous disiez quand je vous ai coupé la parole? | What were you saying when I interrupted? |
| Ils/elles disaient | They were saying, used to say, telling, used to tell | Ils disaient que le magasin va ouvrir dans une heure. | They were saying that the store is going to open in one hour. |
Future (le futur simple)
In the futur simple, ‘Je dirai’ translates to ‘I will say’ and ‘I will tell’.
| Je dirai | I will say, I will tell | Un jour, je vous dirai la vérité. | One day, I'll tell you the truth. |
| Tu diras | You will say, you will tell (familiar, singular) | Qu'est-ce que tu diras à ton père? | What will you tell your dad? |
| Il/elle dira | He/she will say, will tell | J'espère qu'elle nous dira ce qui s'est passé. | I hope she'll tell us what happened. |
| Nous dirons | We will say, will tell | Nous ne dirons jamais la vérité! | We'll never say the truth! |
| Vous direz | You (formal, plural) will say, will tell | Un jour, vous nous direz ce qui s'est passé. | One day you'll tell us what happened. |
| Ils/elles diront | They will say, will tell | Je ne pense pas qu'ils diront la vérité. | I don't think they'll tell the truth. |
Conditional (le conditionnel)
In the conditional, (le conditionnel), ‘Je dirais’ translates to ‘I would say’ and ‘I would tell’.
| Je dirais | I would say, tell | Je dirais la vérité si c'etait le bon moment. | I'd tell the truth if it were the right time. |
| Tu dirais | You would say, tell (familiar, singular) | Qu'est-ce que tu dirais si je partais demain. | What would you say to me if I left tomorrow. |
| Il/elle dirait | He would say, tell | Elle vous dirait la réponse si elle la savait. | She'd tell you the answer if she knew it. |
| Nous dirions | We would say, tell | Nous vous dirions les dates mais nous ne sommes pas au courant non plus. | We'd tell you the dates but we're don't know either. |
| Vous diriez | You would say (formal, plural) | Qu'est-ce que vous diriez si je vous ai dit que je partais demain? | What would you say if I told you I'm leaving tomorrow? |
| Ils/elles diraient | They would say | Ils diraient la vérité mais ce n'est pas possible. | They'd tell the truth but it's not possible. |
Subjunctive (le subjonctif)
The French use the subjunctive mood (le subjonctif), ‘Que je dise’ translates to ‘that I say; and ‘that I tell’.
| Que je dise | that I say, tell | Il faut que je vous dise la vérité. | I need to tell you the truth. |
| Que tu dises | that you say, tell (familiar, singular) | Je veux que tu me dises ce qui s'est passé. | I want you to tell me what happened. |
| Qu'il/elle dise | that he/she says, tells | Je suis heureux qu'il dise la vérité. | I'm happy he's telling the truth. |
| Que nous disions | that we say, tell | Il faut que nous disions la vérité. | We need to say the truth. |
| Que vous disiez | that you say, tell (formal, plural) | J'exige que vous disiez ce qui s'est passé. | I demand that you say what happened. |
| Qu'ils/elles disent | that they say, tell | Il faut qu'ils disent quelque chose avant demain. | They need to say something before tomorrow. |
Usages of dire
The most basic usage of the verb dire is simply ‘to say’ and ‘to tell’. For example:
- Qu’est-ce que tu dis? What are you saying?
- Il nous a dit qu’elle part aujourd’hui. He told us that she’s leaving today.
How do you say? Comment dit-on?
The verb dire is commonly used in the context of asking, ‘How do you say _?’. For example:
- Comment dit-on apple en français ? How do you say ‘apple’ in French?
The expression vouloir dire translates to ‘to mean’. For example:
- Que veut dire pomme ? What does ‘pomme’ mean?
Se dire = is said
In the reflexive form, se dire means “is said”. For example:
- Non, ça ne se dit comme ça en France. No. It’s not said like that in France.
Se dire can also be a reciprocal pronominal verb to mean ‘to each other’. For example:
- Ils se disent au revoir sur le quai. They say goodbye to each other on the train platform.
Ça te/vous dit ? = how does that sound to you?
“Ça te/vous dit ?” is an expression that translates loosely to ‘How does sound ?’ or ‘How would you like?’. For example:
- Ça te/vous dit d’aller au cinema demain ? How would you like to go to the movies tomorrow?
- Ça te/vous dit une glace ? Would you like an ice cream?
More expressions with dire
- C’est-à-dire That’s to say
- Dire bonjour/au revoir à To say hello/goodbye to
- à dire vrai To tell the truth
- Comment dire ? How can I put it/explain?
- difficile à dire Hard to say
- Dire des bêtises To talk nonsense
- Dire oui/non To say yes/no
- Plus facile à dire qu’à faire Easier said than done
