Lire is the verb to read — and like its constant companion écrire, it is one of the irregular -re verbs that English speakers meet on the very first page of a French course. It belongs to the small -lire family, which includes relire (reread), élire (elect), and réélire (re-elect). All four conjugate identically.
The defining feature is the stem alternation between li- and lis-. The singular present (je lis, tu lis, il lit) uses the bare stem li-; the plural present (nous lisons, vous lisez, ils lisent) inserts an -s- before the ending. That alternation propagates: every form built on the plural stem (imparfait, present participle, subjunctive plural) keeps the -s-, while the past participle lu drops back to a bare stem with a different vowel entirely.
The literary passé simple uses the u-pattern (je lus, tu lus, il lut, nous lûmes, vous lûtes, ils lurent) — the same template as boire, croire, connaître, recevoir. Auxiliary in compound tenses is avoir.
This page is the full reference: every paradigm, every compound tense, the core uses with examples, and the high-frequency idioms.
The simple tenses
These are the tenses formed without an auxiliary — the basic conjugational paradigms.
Présent de l'indicatif
The split-stem irregularity. Singular li-, plural lis-.
| Person | Form | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| je | lis | /li/ |
| tu | lis | /li/ |
| il / elle / on | lit | /li/ |
| nous | lisons | /lizɔ̃/ |
| vous | lisez | /lize/ |
| ils / elles | lisent | /liz/ |
The singular forms are pronounced identically — /li/ — although they end -s, -s, -t in writing. The -s- in the plural is voiced /z/ between vowels.
Je lis un roman policier en ce moment.
I'm reading a detective novel right now.
Tu lis vraiment cinq livres par mois ?
You really read five books a month?
On lit le journal au petit-déjeuner.
We read the paper at breakfast.
Imparfait
Built on the plural-present stem lis- plus the regular imparfait endings.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | lisais |
| tu | lisais |
| il / elle / on | lisait |
| nous | lisions |
| vous | lisiez |
| ils / elles | lisaient |
Je lisais beaucoup quand j'étais ado.
I used to read a lot when I was a teenager.
Il lisait toujours avant de s'endormir.
He always used to read before falling asleep.
Passé simple (literary)
The u-pattern. Used in literary writing and historical narration; almost never heard in conversation.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | lus |
| tu | lus |
| il / elle / on | lut |
| nous | lûmes |
| vous | lûtes |
| ils / elles | lurent |
The nous and vous forms carry the circumflex (lûmes, lûtes) — a constant feature of the u-pattern passé simple. Don't drop it.
Il lut la lettre d'un seul trait, puis la posa sur la table.
He read the letter in one go, then set it down on the table. (literary)
Ils lurent les lettres de leur grand-père avec émotion.
They read their grandfather's letters with emotion. (literary)
Futur simple
Stem lir- (drop the -e of the infinitive, add the futur endings). Completely regular.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | lirai |
| tu | liras |
| il / elle / on | lira |
| nous | lirons |
| vous | lirez |
| ils / elles | liront |
Je lirai ton manuscrit ce week-end, c'est promis.
I'll read your manuscript this weekend, I promise.
On lira les résultats demain matin.
We'll read the results tomorrow morning.
Conditionnel présent
Same stem lir- as the futur, with the imparfait endings.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | lirais |
| tu | lirais |
| il / elle / on | lirait |
| nous | lirions |
| vous | liriez |
| ils / elles | liraient |
Si j'avais le temps, je lirais davantage.
If I had time, I'd read more.
Tu lirais ce livre au moins une fois si tu m'écoutais.
You'd read this book at least once if you'd listen to me.
Subjonctif présent
Built on the plural-present stem lis-. The endings are the regular subjunctive endings.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| (que) je | lise |
| (que) tu | lises |
| (qu')il / elle / on | lise |
| (que) nous | lisions |
| (que) vous | lisiez |
| (qu')ils / elles | lisent |
Note that que nous lisions and que vous lisiez are spelled identically to the imparfait nous lisions / vous lisiez. Context tells them apart.
Il faut que tu lises ce passage avant la réunion.
You need to read this passage before the meeting.
Le prof veut qu'on lise les trois premiers chapitres.
The teacher wants us to read the first three chapters.
Impératif
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| (tu) | lis |
| (nous) | lisons |
| (vous) | lisez |
Lis-moi cette histoire, s'il te plaît.
Read me this story, please.
Lisez attentivement la notice avant de commencer.
Read the instructions carefully before starting. (formal)
Participles and gérondif
- Participe passé: lu / lue / lus / lues (vowel u, no circumflex)
- Participe présent: lisant
- Gérondif: en lisant
J'ai appris l'anglais en lisant des romans.
I learned English by reading novels.
C'est un livre lu et relu, regarde dans quel état il est.
It's a book that's been read over and over — look at the state it's in.
The past participle lu is bare — no circumflex, no extra vowel. Don't confuse it with the past participle of any other verb. Feminine lue, plural lus / lues, with regular adjectival agreement.
The compound tenses
Lire takes avoir as its auxiliary. Past participle lu.
Passé composé
avoir (présent) + lu
| Person | Form | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| j' | ai lu | I read / I've read |
| tu | as lu | you read |
| il / elle / on | a lu | he/she/we read |
| nous | avons lu | we read |
| vous | avez lu | you read |
| ils / elles | ont lu | they read |
J'ai lu ton article, c'était passionnant.
I read your article, it was fascinating.
Vous avez lu les nouvelles ce matin ?
Have you read the news this morning?
Because lire takes avoir, the past participle agrees only with a preceding direct object: les livres que j'ai lus (with -s because les livres precedes), but j'ai lu les livres (no agreement, because les livres follows).
Les nouvelles que j'ai lues étaient très inquiétantes.
The news items I read were very worrying.
Plus-que-parfait
avoir (imparfait) + lu
J'avais déjà lu ce livre quand le prof l'a recommandé.
I'd already read this book when the teacher recommended it.
Futur antérieur
avoir (futur) + lu
D'ici la fin de l'année, j'aurai lu ses œuvres complètes.
By the end of the year, I'll have read her complete works.
Conditionnel passé
avoir (conditionnel) + lu
J'aurais lu le livre si tu me l'avais prêté plus tôt.
I would have read the book if you'd lent it to me earlier.
Subjonctif passé
avoir (subjonctif) + lu
Je suis surpris qu'il ait lu ce roman si vite.
I'm surprised he read this novel so quickly.
Core uses
1. Read (something)
The basic transitive use. Lire takes a direct object — a book, an article, a sign, a face.
J'ai lu trois romans pendant les vacances.
I read three novels over the holidays.
Tu peux lire ce qui est écrit là-bas ?
Can you read what's written over there?
Elle lit les étiquettes avant d'acheter quoi que ce soit.
She reads the labels before buying anything.
2. Read (a person, a face, a situation)
Lire extends naturally into figurative meanings — reading someone's emotions, reading a situation. This carries over from the literal sense without any adjustment.
Je lis la fatigue sur ton visage.
I can see the tiredness on your face.
Il sait lire les gens en quelques secondes.
He can read people in a few seconds.
3. Lire à haute voix — read aloud
A fixed expression for reading out loud. Lire tout haut exists as a colloquial alternative; lire à voix basse is the contrastive "read softly / under one's breath."
Mon père nous lisait des contes à haute voix tous les soirs.
My father used to read us fairy tales aloud every evening.
Lis-moi le passage à haute voix, s'il te plaît.
Read me the passage aloud, please.
4. Lire entre les lignes — read between the lines
A direct calque of the English idiom — and the metaphor works the same way.
Avec lui, il faut toujours lire entre les lignes.
With him, you always have to read between the lines.
High-frequency idioms and collocations
- lire à haute voix / tout haut — read aloud
- lire à voix basse — read in a quiet voice
- lire entre les lignes — read between the lines
- lire dans les pensées de quelqu'un — read someone's mind
- lire dans le marc de café — read tea leaves (literally: read in the coffee grounds)
- lire sur les lèvres — lipread
- lu et approuvé — read and approved (formula on contracts and signed documents)
- donner à lire — give someone something to read
- avoir une bonne / mauvaise lecture de — have a good / poor read on (a situation)
Je n'arrive pas à lire dans ses pensées, mais j'ai l'impression qu'il est déçu.
I can't read his mind, but I get the feeling he's disappointed.
Sur le contrat, n'oublie pas d'écrire « lu et approuvé ».
On the contract, don't forget to write \"read and approved.\"
The -lire family
These verbs all conjugate exactly like lire: same stem alternation, same endings, same past participle pattern. Élire and réélire are mostly used with political or formal contexts; relire is everyday.
| Verb | Meaning | Past participle | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| relire | reread, proofread | relu | il relit, ils relisent |
| élire | elect | élu | il élit, ils élisent |
| réélire | re-elect | réélu | il réélit, ils réélisent |
Je relis toujours mes mails avant de les envoyer.
I always reread my emails before sending them.
Elle a été élue à l'unanimité.
She was elected unanimously.
Le maire a été réélu pour un troisième mandat.
The mayor was re-elected for a third term.
A note: élire is overwhelmingly used in passive constructions in news writing — X a été élu(e), X est élu(e). The active les électeurs ont élu X is grammatical but rarer.
Comparison with English
Three friction points for English speakers:
- The English past tense "read" is a homograph (spelled the same as the present, pronounced /rɛd/). French has no such ambiguity: lis in the present is /li/, ai lu in the past is /ɛ ly/. The two are completely distinct.
- The -s- alternation has no English parallel. English "read/read" stays the same in spelling; French lire inserts an -s- between singular and plural stems. Treat the li- / lis- split as a memorized unit.
- The past participle lu is short and bare. No prefix, no suffix, no circumflex. English speakers used to long Latinate past participles often try to lengthen lu — don't.
Common Mistakes
Mistake 1: Forgetting the -s- in plural forms.
❌ Nous lions un livre. (intended: we are reading)
Wrong — *nous lions* belongs to *lier* (to tie). The verb *lire* is *nous lisons*.
✅ Nous lisons un livre.
We are reading a book.
Mistake 2: Adding extra letters to the past participle.
❌ J'ai lis ce livre hier soir.
Wrong — the past participle is *lu*, not *lis*. *Lis* is the present-tense form.
✅ J'ai lu ce livre hier soir.
I read this book last night.
Mistake 3: Adding a circumflex to the past participle.
❌ J'ai lû le journal.
Wrong — the past participle is bare *lu*. The circumflex appears only on *nous lûmes / vous lûtes* in the literary passé simple.
✅ J'ai lu le journal.
I read the paper.
Mistake 4: Confusing lire with lier (to tie).
❌ Je lie un livre. (intended: I'm reading)
Wrong — *je lie* is *lier* (to tie). *Je lis* is *lire* (to read). One letter, different verb.
✅ Je lis un livre.
I'm reading a book.
Mistake 5: Skipping participle agreement with a preceding direct object.
❌ Les lettres que j'ai lu m'ont émue.
Wrong — *les lettres* precedes the participle, so agreement applies: *lues* (feminine plural).
✅ Les lettres que j'ai lues m'ont émue.
The letters I read moved me.
Key takeaways
Lire is irregular but predictable: a clean stem split between singular li- and plural lis-. The -s- shows up in the plural present, the imparfait, the present participle (lisant), the subjunctive, and the imperative lisons / lisez. The futur and conditionnel use a different stem entirely (lir-), and the past participle is the bare vowel lu — no circumflex.
The literary passé simple (je lus, nous lûmes) follows the u-pattern shared with boire, croire, recevoir, connaître — useful for recognition when reading older novels or formal prose.
Auxiliary in compound tenses is avoir: j'ai lu, j'avais lu, j'aurai lu. With avoir, the past participle agrees only with a preceding direct object: les livres que j'ai lus, but j'ai lu les livres.
The -lire family — relire, élire, réélire — conjugates identically. Watch the contrast with lier (to tie): je lie / je lis differ by one letter and belong to entirely different verbs.
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