# Entendre Conjugation — Every Tense of the French Verb “To Hear”

> **Entendre** means “to hear”. Présent: **j’entends, tu entends, il entend, nous entendons, vous entendez, ils entendent** — a regular *-re* verb. Hearing is passive; deliberate listening is **écouter**. And **s’entendre bien avec** means to get on well with someone.

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## Présent — the regular -re pattern

Stem entend-, the standard -re endings, and the bare il entend. Starting with a vowel, it takes j’.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| j’entends | I hear |
| tu entends | you hear |
| il / elle entend | he / she hears |
| nous entendons | we hear |
| vous entendez | you hear |
| ils / elles entendent | they hear |

## Entendre or écouter?

The same split as voir and regarder, one sense over. Entendre is what happens to you; écouter is what you do.

| French | Means |  |
|---|---|---|
| j’entends la musique | I can hear music | it reaches me |
| j’écoute la musique | I’m listening to music | I chose to |
| tu m’entends ? | can you hear me? | on the phone |
| écoute-moi | listen to me | pay attention |
| j’ai entendu dire que… | I’ve heard that… | reported rumour |

**French does not need “can”** — J’entends covers both “I hear” and “I can hear”. Adding pouvoir narrows it to being physically able to. On a bad phone line the question is tu m’entends ?, never tu peux m’entendre ?

**Entendre dire and entendre parler de** — Two set phrases worth having. J’ai entendu dire que… — “I’ve heard that…”, for a rumour. J’ai entendu parler de ce film — “I’ve heard of that film”. English uses “heard of” and “heard that”; French uses two different verbs after entendre.

## S’entendre — getting on

The reflexive has almost nothing to do with hearing any more. It means getting along with people, and it is the everyday way to say it.

- On s’entend bien. — we get on well.
- Je m’entends mal avec lui. — I don’t get on with him.
- Ils ne s’entendent plus. — they’ve fallen out.
- Entendu ! — agreed, understood.

**Where the sense came from** — Hearing each other → understanding each other → getting along. Bien entendu (“of course”) and un malentendu (“a misunderstanding”, literally a bad hearing) come from the same thread.

## Passé composé — entendu

Regular -u participle with avoir. On its own, entendu ! means “got it, agreed”.

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

## Imparfait — could hear

J’entendais — usually best translated “I could hear”, which is a state rather than an event.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| j’entendais | I used to hear / could hear |
| tu entendais | you used to hear / could hear |
| il / elle entendait | he / she used to hear / could hear |
| nous entendions | we used to hear / could hear |
| vous entendiez | you used to hear / could hear |
| ils / elles entendaient | they used to hear / could hear |

## Futur and conditionnel

Drop the e: j’entendrai.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| j’entendrai | I will hear |
| tu entendras | you will hear |
| il / elle entendra | he / she will hear |
| nous entendrons | we will hear |
| vous entendrez | you will hear |
| ils / elles entendront | they will hear |

## Conditionnel — would hear

J’entendrais. Also in the polite je m’entendrais bien avec eux, “I think I’d get on with them”.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| j’entendrais | I would hear |
| tu entendrais | you would hear |
| il / elle entendrait | he / she would hear |
| nous entendrions | we would hear |
| vous entendriez | you would hear |
| ils / elles entendraient | they would hear |

## Subjonctif — regular

From the plural stem, with no changes.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| j’entende | (that) I hear |
| tu entendes | (that) you hear |
| il / elle entende | (that) he / she hear |
| nous entendions | (that) we hear |
| vous entendiez | (that) you hear |
| ils / elles entendent | (that) they hear |

## Impératif — rare on its own

Entends ! is unusual — you cannot instruct someone to hear. Écoute ! is what gets said. Entendons-nous bien — “let’s be clear” — does turn up.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| entends ! | hear! (to one person you know) |
| entendons ! | let’s hear! |
| entendez ! | hear! (formal, or to a group) |

## Plus-que-parfait — had heard

J’avais entendu.

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

## FAQ

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

J’entends, tu entends, il / elle entend, nous entendons, vous entendez, ils / elles entendent.

### What is the difference between entendre and écouter?

Entendre is hearing — passive, it just happens. Écouter is listening — deliberate. J’entends la musique against j’écoute la musique.

### What does s’entendre bien mean?

“To get on well.” On s’entend bien is “we get on well”; je m’entends mal avec lui is the opposite.

### How do you say “I’ve heard of it” in French?

J’en ai entendu parler. For “I’ve heard that…”, use j’ai entendu dire que…

### What does bien entendu mean?

“Of course” — literally “well heard”. A close cousin of bien sûr, and slightly more formal.

## Related guides

- Attendre conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/attendre-conjugation
- Regarder conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/regarder-conjugation
- Vendre conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/vendre-conjugation
- All free French guides: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides