dire
/diʁ/
In French, dire means bad in quality.
The adjective dire is used to describe something that is of poor quality or extremely bad.
Meaning: bad in quality (adj)
How do you pronounce it?
/diʁ/
Did you know?
- While dire as a verb is common, the English adjective 'dire' (meaning urgent or terrible) is a cognate that evolved from the Latin 'dirus', which is distinct from the root of the French verb dire.
- The French verb dire originates from the Proto-Indo-European root *déyḱeti, which meant 'to show' or 'to point out'.
- In French, the expression dire can be used as a noun in the phrase à mon dire, which means 'in my opinion'.
Examples in context
- Il a affirmé son innocence.He asserted his innocence.
Example conversation
Chloé and Hugo are looking at a broken-down car.
- ChloéRegarde l'état de cette voiture !Look at the state of this car!
- HugoOui, elle est dans un état dire.Yes, it is in terrible condition.
- ChloéEst-ce qu'elle peut encore rouler ?Can it still drive?
- HugoJe ne pense pas, Hugo.I don't think so, Hugo.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry dire, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries dire, CC BY-SA 4.0.
