# Lire Conjugation — Every Tense of the French Verb “To Read”

> **Lire** means “to read”. Présent: **je lis, tu lis, il lit, nous lisons, vous lisez, ils lisent**. An *s* appears in the plural stem that is nowhere in the infinitive, and the past participle is **lu**.

Canonical page: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/lire-conjugation
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Updated: 2026-09-16

## Présent — li- and lis-

The singular is as small as French gets — lis, lis, lit, all pronounced “lee”. The plural inserts an s, which is pronounced as a z between the two vowels: lisons is “lee-ZOHN”.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je lis | I read |
| tu lis | you read |
| il / elle lit | he / she reads |
| nous lisons | we read |
| vous lisez | you read |
| ils / elles lisent | they read |

**⚠ nous lisons vs nous lirons** — One letter apart and both real. Lisons (with s) is the présent, “we read”. Lirons (with r) is the futur, “we will read”. They are clearly different out loud — a buzzing z against a rolled r — but easy to confuse on the page.

Dire works the same way (dis / disons), with the one famous difference: lire has an entirely regular vous lisez, while dire has vous dites.

## Reading, aloud and otherwise

A handful of phrases that come up constantly once you start reading in French:

| French | Means |  |
|---|---|---|
| lire à haute voix | to read aloud | literally “in a high voice” |
| je lis un roman | I’m reading a novel | no continuous tense needed |
| ça se lit bien | it’s an easy read | literally “it reads itself well” |
| j’ai lu que… | I read that… | for something you came across |
| relire | to reread, to proofread | same conjugation throughout |

**There is no “am reading”** — French has no continuous tense. Je lis covers both “I read” and “I am reading”, and context decides. If you must stress that it is happening right now, the phrase is je suis en train de lire.

## Passé composé — lu

With avoir, participle lu. One of a small group of participles that end in u with no warning from the infinitive — like vu, bu, su and pu.

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

## Imparfait — from lis-

Je lisais. This is the natural tense for describing what you used to read, or what you were in the middle of when something interrupted.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je lisais | I used to read / was reading |
| tu lisais | you used to read / was reading |
| il / elle lisait | he / she used to read / was reading |
| nous lisions | we used to read / was reading |
| vous lisiez | you used to read / was reading |
| ils / elles lisaient | they used to read / was reading |

## Futur and conditionnel — lir-

The infinitive minus its e, and the s gone: je lirai.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je lirai | I will read |
| tu liras | you will read |
| il / elle lira | he / she will read |
| nous lirons | we will read |
| vous lirez | you will read |
| ils / elles liront | they will read |

## Conditionnel — would read

Je lirais — and, with bien, a soft way of saying you fancy something: je lirais bien quelque chose de léger.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je lirais | I would read |
| tu lirais | you would read |
| il / elle lirait | he / she would read |
| nous lirions | we would read |
| vous liriez | you would read |
| ils / elles liraient | they would read |

## Subjonctif — lise

Regular from the plural stem: que je lise. No stem change anywhere.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je lise | (that) I read |
| tu lises | (that) you read |
| il / elle lise | (that) he / she read |
| nous lisions | (that) we read |
| vous lisiez | (that) you read |
| ils / elles lisent | (that) they read |

## Impératif — read this

Lis !, lisons, lisez ! — the everyday forms on worksheets and in instructions: lisez le texte.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| lis ! | read! (to one person you know) |
| lisons ! | let’s read! |
| lisez ! | read! (formal, or to a group) |

## Plus-que-parfait — had read

J’avais lu. And if the object comes first, it agrees: la lettre que j’avais lue.

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

## FAQ

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

Je lis, tu lis, il / elle lit, nous lisons, vous lisez, ils / elles lisent.

### What is the past participle of lire?

Lu, with avoir: j’ai lu.

### What is the difference between nous lisons and nous lirons?

Lisons is the présent, “we read”. Lirons is the futur, “we will read”. One letter apart in writing, and clearly different out loud.

### How do you say “I am reading” in French?

Je lis. French has no continuous tense, so the présent covers both “I read” and “I am reading”. For emphasis, je suis en train de lire.

### Is lire conjugated like dire?

Almost. Both take an s in the plural stem, but lire is regular in the vous form — vous lisez — where dire has the irregular vous dites.

## Related guides

- Écrire conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/ecrire-conjugation
- Dire conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/dire-conjugation
- French verb conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/french-verb-conjugation
- All free French guides: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides