How to Say "We Must" in French

nous devons

The English phrase "we must" is expressed in French as nous devons.

This phrase is used to express a strong necessity or obligation to do something.

What does it mean word for word?

The phrase nous devons is the first-person plural present tense of the verb devoir, which literally means "we owe".

While nous devons is the grammatically standard way to say "we must", in spoken French, people often use on doit to mean "we must" or "one must".

When expressing necessity, nous devons is followed directly by an infinitive verb without a preposition.

In several historic dialects across northern and central France, people used je instead of nous to mean 'we'. This linguistic quirk was often mocked by playwrights like Molière as a peasant-like way of speaking.
The verb devoir in nous devons shares the same root as the English word 'debt'.
In French, devoir can be used to express a strong probability. If someone says nous devons être arrivés, they aren't saying 'we must arrive' but rather 'we must have arrived'.

Nous devons y aller.
We must go.
This sentence is useful for practicing the form nous devons in the context of going somewhere.
Tatoeba #1532757 by sacredceltic, translation #1531057 by Spamster
Nous devons partir !
We must leave!
This sentence is useful for practicing the form nous devons in the context of leaving.
Tatoeba #5972073 by christian63, translation #6736476 by Eccles17
Nous devons faire ça.
We must do this.
This sentence is useful for practicing the form nous devons in the context of doing something.
Tatoeba #7771108 by Aiji, translation #4498118 by CK
Nous devons être prêts pour la réunion importante.
We must be ready for the important meeting.
On doit acheter du pain avant de rentrer chez nous.
We must buy bread before going home.
Il faut qu'on s'amuse lors de la fête.
We must have fun at the party.
280 more sentences on Tatoeba

Lucas and Léa are discussing their shared school project.

Sources

⭐Share⭐ to appreciate human effort 🙏