# Dire Conjugation — Every Tense of the French Verb “To Say”

> **Dire** means “to say” or “to tell”. Présent: **je dis, tu dis, il dit, nous disons, vous dites, ils disent**. **Vous dites** is the one to notice — it is one of only three French verbs whose *vous* form does not end in *-ez*, alongside *être* (vous êtes) and *faire* (vous faites).

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Updated: 2026-09-16

## Présent — and the exception

The stem is di- in the singular and dis- in the plural, which is ordinary enough. The vous form is not.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je dis | I say |
| tu dis | you say |
| il / elle dit | he / she says |
| nous disons | we say |
| vous dites | you say |
| ils / elles disent | they say |

**The three verbs that break the -ez rule** — Vous êtes, vous faites, vous dites. That is the complete list in the whole language — every other verb, regular or irregular, ends vous in -ez. Worth learning as a set of three rather than three separate facts.

**⚠ The compounds do not follow** — Redire (to say again) keeps vous redites, but the others go regular: it is vous interdisez, vous prédisez, vous contredisez — with the -ez restored. The exception is narrower than it looks.

## Saying and telling

English separates “say” and “tell” by grammar — you say something, you tell someone. French uses one verb and marks the person with à.

| French | Literally | Means |
|---|---|---|
| je dis la vérité | I say the truth | I’m telling the truth |
| je lui dis | I say to him/her | I tell him/her |
| dis-moi | say to me | tell me |
| il m’a dit de partir | he said to me to leave | he told me to leave |
| ça veut dire quoi ? | that wants to say what? | what does that mean? |
| ça te dit ? | does that say to you? | fancy it? |

**The construction to learn** — Dire à quelqu’un de faire quelque chose — to tell somebody to do something. Both little words matter: à before the person, de before the action. J’ai dit à Marie de venir.

And vouloir dire — literally “to want to say” — is simply how French says “to mean”. There is no other everyday verb for it: qu’est-ce que ça veut dire ?

## Passé composé — dit

With avoir, participle dit — the same three letters as the il form of the présent, and pronounced the same way.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| j’ai dit | I said / have said |
| tu as dit | you said / have said |
| il / elle a dit | he / she said / have said |
| nous avons dit | we said / have said |
| vous avez dit | you said / have said |
| ils / elles ont dit | they said / have said |

## Imparfait — regular

From disons, with no surprises: je disais. The vous irregularity does not reach this tense — it is vous disiez, entirely regular.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je disais | I used to say / was saying |
| tu disais | you used to say / was saying |
| il / elle disait | he / she used to say / was saying |
| nous disions | we used to say / was saying |
| vous disiez | you used to say / was saying |
| ils / elles disaient | they used to say / was saying |

## Futur and conditionnel — dir-

The infinitive minus its e, so dir-. And here the vous form behaves itself: vous direz.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je dirai | I will say |
| tu diras | you will say |
| il / elle dira | he / she will say |
| nous dirons | we will say |
| vous direz | you will say |
| ils / elles diront | they will say |

## Conditionnel — would say

Je dirais. Very common as a hedge — je dirais que…, “I’d say that…” — and as an invitation: ça te dirait d’aller au cinéma ?

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je dirais | I would say |
| tu dirais | you would say |
| il / elle dirait | he / she would say |
| nous dirions | we would say |
| vous diriez | you would say |
| ils / elles diraient | they would say |

## Subjonctif — dise

Regular from the plural stem, and the vous form is normal here too: que vous disiez.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je dise | (that) I say |
| tu dises | (that) you say |
| il / elle dise | (that) he / she say |
| nous disions | (that) we say |
| vous disiez | (that) you say |
| ils / elles disent | (that) they say |

## Impératif — where dites comes back

The imperative is taken from the présent, so the irregular form survives: dites !, not disez. Dites-moi is the polite “tell me”, and dis donc ! is an all-purpose “hey!” or “well I never”, depending entirely on tone.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| dis ! | say! (to one person you know) |
| disons ! | let’s say! |
| dites ! | say! (formal, or to a group) |

## Plus-que-parfait — had said

Je t’avais dit — “I’d told you” — which in practice is almost always followed by the French for “so”.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| j’avais dit | I had said |
| tu avais dit | you had said |
| il / elle avait dit | he / she had said |
| nous avions dit | we had said |
| vous aviez dit | you had said |
| ils / elles avaient dit | they had said |

## FAQ

### How do you conjugate dire in the present tense?

Je dis, tu dis, il / elle dit, nous disons, vous dites, ils / elles disent.

### Why is it vous dites and not vous disez?

It is an irregularity inherited from Latin, and only three French verbs keep it: vous êtes, vous faites and vous dites. Every other verb ends vous in -ez.

### Do dire’s compounds also take -tes?

Only redire. Interdire, prédire and contredire all go regular — vous interdisez.

### What is the past participle of dire?

Dit, with avoir: j’ai dit.

### How do you say “to tell someone to do something” in French?

Dire à quelqu’un de faire quelque chose — à before the person, de before the action: il m’a dit de partir.

### What does ça veut dire mean?

“That means.” Vouloir dire — literally “to want to say” — is the ordinary French verb for “to mean”: qu’est-ce que ça veut dire ?

## Related guides

- Faire conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/faire-conjugation
- Lire conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/lire-conjugation
- French verb conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/french-verb-conjugation
- All free French guides: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides