dire
/diʁ/
The English phrase 'to say' is translated into French as dire.
dire is the most common and general way to express something in words in French.
Which one should you use?
While dire means to say or tell, it is distinct from parler, which means to speak or to have a conversation.
How does it change in a sentence?
The third-person plural present form of dire is disent. In the imperfect tense, use disais for the first and second person singular (je/tu) and disait for the third person singular (il/elle/on). The past participle is dit.
How do you pronounce it?
/diʁ/
Did you know?
- The expression qu'est-ce que ça veut dire ? uses dire to ask for a definition, effectively asking 'what does that want to say?'
- The French expression dire que can be used to express disbelief or irony, such as dire que c'est vrai, meaning 'imagine that it is actually true'.
- The Latin ancestor of dire, dīcō, did not just mean 'to say' but originally meant 'to proclaim' or 'to declare' with authority.
Examples in context
- Peu reste à dire.There's not much left to say.This sentence uses the form dire to show how much remains to be expressed.Tatoeba #980180 by sacredceltic, translation #9192759 by sundown
- J'ai tant à dire.I have so much to say.This sentence uses the form dire to express having much to express.Tatoeba #4166658 by sacredceltic, translation #3729620 by CM
- Je dois dire non.I have to say no.This sentence uses the form dire to express a requirement to give a negative response.Tatoeba #4959180 by franlexcois, translation #2360565 by CK
- Elle a dit qu'elle viendrait plus tard.She said she would come later.
- J'ai dit que j'aiderais.I said I would help.
- Le président a déclaré son soutien à la nouvelle politique.The president declared his support for the new policy.
- Il m'a raconté ses vacances.He told me about his vacation.
- Qu'est-ce que tu as dit sur le film?What did you say about the movie?
- Il dit qu'il arrivera à 17h.He says he will arrive at 5 pm.
- Ils nous ont dit de ne pas nous inquiéter.They told us not to worry.
- Nous avons parlé de nos projets futurs.We spoke about our future plans.
- Elle a déclaré son amour pour lui.She declared her love for him.
- Je t'ai dit de ne pas faire ça.I told you not to do that.
- 889 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Emma and Lucas are talking about a secret.
- EmmaTu veux dire quoi ?What do you want to say?
- LucasJe ne peux pas le dire ici.I cannot say it here.
- EmmaPourquoi ne pas dire la vérité ?Why not tell the truth?
- LucasIl est trop tôt pour dire ça.It is too early to say that.
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.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
