décider
/de.si.de/
To decide in French is décider.
The verb décider means to give judgement. To express that someone has made a decision to act, use the construction décider de + infinitive, which translates to 'to decide to (do something)' or 'to decide on'.
Meaning: give judgement (verb)
Which one should you use?
The verb décider can be used transitively to mean 'to decide something' (for example, 'décider un sort'), but when you are expressing a personal choice to perform an action, it is typically used with 'de'.
How does it change in a sentence?
When décider is followed by an infinitive verb, it requires the preposition de.
How do you pronounce it?
décider is pronounced /de.si.de/ and has 3 syllables.
Did you know?
- The word décider comes from the Latin decidere, which literally means 'to cut off'. To decide is, quite physically, to cut off all other possibilities.
- The word décidément is often used as a sentence starter to express a feeling of 'really' or 'clearly' when the speaker is slightly annoyed by a recurring situation.
- French uses the expression C'est décidé ! as a standalone exclamation to mean 'It's settled!' or 'That's final!', often accompanied by a firm nod or a clap of the hands.
Examples in context
- À toi de décider.It's up to you to decide.This sentence shows how to say it is up to someone to use décider.Tatoeba #4598205 by sacredceltic, translation #238563 by CK
- Il nous faut décider.We must decide.This sentence uses décider to express a necessity to make a decision.Tatoeba #4777523 by sacredceltic, translation #2241168 by CK
- On décidera plus tard.We'll decide later.Tatoeba #5891568 by Aiji, translation #3481068 by Ooneykcall
- Je dois décider quelle université choisirI have to decide which university to choose
- L'équipe doit prendre une décision rapidementThe team needs to make a decision quickly
- Il a finalement arrêté son choix sur une destination de vacancesHe finally settled on a vacation destination
- Je dois me décider sur la couleur de la voitureI have to make up my mind about the color of the car
- Il faut trancher une fois pour toutesWe need to make a final decision once and for all
- Je dois faire un choix entre ces deux restaurantsI have to make a choice between these two restaurants
- Je n'arrive pas à décider quel film regarder ce soirI can't decide which movie to watch tonight
- Nous devons prendre une décision bientôtWe need to make a decision soon
- Elle s'est finalement décidée concernant l'offre d'emploiShe has finally made up her mind about the job offer
- 139 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Gabriel and Emma are choosing a restaurant for dinner.
- GabrielOn va manger où ce soir ?Where are we eating tonight?
- EmmaJe ne sais pas, je n'arrive pas à décider.I don't know, I can't decide.
- GabrielOn peut essayer le nouveau bistro italien.We could try the new Italian bistro.
- EmmaC'est parfait, on va décider ça !That's perfect, let's decide on that!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “decide” translations and entries décider, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries décider, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
