# Réussir Conjugation — Every Tense of the French Verb “To Succeed”

> **Réussir** means “to succeed” — and “to pass” an exam. Présent: **je réussis, tu réussis, il réussit, nous réussissons, vous réussissez, ils réussissent**, following *finir*. To succeed *in doing* something is **réussir à**; but passing an exam takes no preposition: *j’ai réussi mon examen*.

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Updated: 2026-09-16

## Présent — finir’s pattern

Singular réuss- plus -is, -is, -it, plural with -iss-. The double s of the stem keeps a hard s sound throughout — “ray-ew-SEE”.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je réussis | I succeed |
| tu réussis | you succeed |
| il / elle réussit | he / she succeeds |
| nous réussissons | we succeed |
| vous réussissez | you succeed |
| ils / elles réussissent | they succeed |

## ⚠ Passer does not mean “to pass”

This one costs marks and causes real confusion in conversation, because both sentences are perfectly grammatical and mean different things.

| French | Actually means |  |
|---|---|---|
| j’ai passé mon examen | I took my exam | says nothing about the result |
| j’ai réussi mon examen | I passed my exam | the result was good |
| j’ai raté mon examen | I failed my exam | also échouer à |
| je passe le DELF en juin | I’m sitting the DELF in June |  |

**No preposition with an exam** — Réussir normally takes à, but with an exam or a test it takes the thing directly: j’ai réussi mon examen. Réussir à l’examen also exists and is fine; the bare version is more common in speech.

## Réussir à — to manage to

Before an infinitive, the à is compulsory — and the meaning shades into “managing”, which puts it close to arriver à.

- J’ai réussi à le convaincre. — I managed to convince him.
- Je n’arrive pas à ouvrir ça. — I can’t get this open. (arriver à for the effort in progress.)
- Il a réussi dans la vie. — he’s done well for himself.
- Ce plat est réussi. — that dish came out well.

**Réussir à or arriver à?** — Close, and often interchangeable. Réussir à leans on the achievement; arriver à leans on the struggle. In the negative, je n’arrive pas à… is much the more common of the two.

## Passé composé — réussi

Regular -ir participle with avoir: j’ai réussi. Also used as an adjective — une soirée réussie, “a successful evening”.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| j’ai réussi | I succeeded / managed to |
| tu as réussi | you succeeded / managed to |
| il / elle a réussi | he / she succeeded / managed to |
| nous avons réussi | we succeeded / managed to |
| vous avez réussi | you succeeded / managed to |
| ils / elles ont réussi | they succeeded / managed to |

## Imparfait — the -iss- stays

Je réussissais, from the nous stem.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je réussissais | I used to succeed / was succeeding |
| tu réussissais | you used to succeed / was succeeding |
| il / elle réussissait | he / she used to succeed / was succeeding |
| nous réussissions | we used to succeed / was succeeding |
| vous réussissiez | you used to succeed / was succeeding |
| ils / elles réussissaient | they used to succeed / was succeeding |

## Futur and conditionnel

Full infinitive as stem, -iss- gone: je réussirai.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je réussirai | I will succeed |
| tu réussiras | you will succeed |
| il / elle réussira | he / she will succeed |
| nous réussirons | we will succeed |
| vous réussirez | you will succeed |
| ils / elles réussiront | they will succeed |

## Conditionnel — would succeed

Je réussirais. Common in encouragement: tu réussirais si tu essayais.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je réussirais | I would succeed |
| tu réussirais | you would succeed |
| il / elle réussirait | he / she would succeed |
| nous réussirions | we would succeed |
| vous réussiriez | you would succeed |
| ils / elles réussiraient | they would succeed |

## Subjonctif — -iss- everywhere

Que je réussisse, from the plural stem.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je réussisse | (that) I succeed |
| tu réussisses | (that) you succeed |
| il / elle réussisse | (that) he / she succeed |
| nous réussissions | (that) we succeed |
| vous réussissiez | (that) you succeed |
| ils / elles réussissent | (that) they succeed |

## Impératif — good luck

Réussis ! is not really said. Before an exam, French says bonne chance or, more idiomatically, bon courage.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| réussis ! | succeed! (to one person you know) |
| réussissons ! | let’s succeed! |
| réussissez ! | succeed! (formal, or to a group) |

## Plus-que-parfait — had succeeded

J’avais réussi.

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

## FAQ

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

Je réussis, tu réussis, il / elle réussit, nous réussissons, vous réussissez, ils / elles réussissent.

### How do you say “I passed my exam” in French?

J’ai réussi mon examen. J’ai passé mon examen means only that you sat it.

### What does passer un examen mean?

To take an exam, not to pass it. It is one of the most reliable false friends in French.

### What is the difference between réussir à and arriver à?

Both mean “to manage to”. Réussir à emphasises the achievement; arriver à emphasises the effort, and is much commoner in the negative — je n’arrive pas à…

### Is réussir conjugated like finir?

Yes, exactly — including the -iss- in the plural and the participle réussi.

## Related guides

- Choisir conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/choisir-conjugation
- Finir conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/finir-conjugation
- Arriver conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/arriver-conjugation
- All free French guides: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides