Voir is the verb of sight in its most passive sense: light hits your eyes and you register an image. It is the everyday verb for seeing, meeting (in the sense of arranging to spend time with someone), and understanding (figuratively — tu vois ? = "you see?"). It contrasts with regarder, which means to actively look at something. The contrast is sharp in French and worth getting right early.
This page is the full reference: paradigms in every tense, the irregular stem changes, the use with infinitives for perception, and the high-frequency idioms. Voir is one of the most frequent verbs in French, and its irregularities — the -voi/-voy stem alternation and the double-r futur stem verr- — must be memorized cold.
The simple tenses
Présent de l'indicatif
The defining feature is the stem alternation between -voi- (singular plus 3rd-person plural) and -voy- (1st and 2nd plural). The y in voyons / voyez reflects the historical glide /j/ that survives in pronunciation.
| Person | Form | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| je | vois | /vwa/ |
| tu | vois | /vwa/ |
| il / elle / on | voit | /vwa/ |
| nous | voyons | /vwajɔ̃/ |
| vous | voyez | /vwaje/ |
| ils / elles | voient | /vwa/ |
Notice that four of the six present forms are pronounced identically /vwa/: je vois, tu vois, il voit, ils voient. Only nous voyons and vous voyez sound different. This is why French requires the subject pronoun — context alone cannot disambiguate.
Je vois mal sans mes lunettes, je devrais aller chez l'ophtalmo.
I can't see well without my glasses, I should go to the eye doctor.
On voit la mer depuis la chambre, c'est magnifique.
You can see the sea from the bedroom, it's magnificent.
Imparfait
Built on the plural stem voy- (the nous voyons stem) plus the regular imparfait endings. The y survives throughout — but watch for the spelling nous voyions / vous voyiez, with both y and i (the y from the stem, the i from the ending). Many native speakers misspell these.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | voyais |
| tu | voyais |
| il / elle / on | voyait |
| nous | voyions |
| vous | voyiez |
| ils / elles | voyaient |
Quand on était petits, on voyait nos cousins tous les dimanches.
When we were little, we used to see our cousins every Sunday.
De ma fenêtre, je voyais le clocher de l'église.
From my window, I could see the church bell tower.
Passé simple (literary)
Stem v- with -i- class endings. Restricted to literary writing.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | vis |
| tu | vis |
| il / elle / on | vit |
| nous | vîmes |
| vous | vîtes |
| ils / elles | virent |
The circumflex on vîmes and vîtes is mandatory. Note that je vis, tu vis, il vit are spelled identically to forms of vivre (to live) — context disambiguates.
Il vit alors une silhouette traverser la cour.
He then saw a figure crossing the courtyard. (literary)
Ils virent au loin la lumière du phare.
They saw the lighthouse in the distance. (literary)
Futur simple
Highly irregular: stem verr- with double r. This is one of the small set of common French verbs with a double-r futur (voir → verrai, envoyer → enverrai, pouvoir → pourrai, courir → courrai, mourir → mourrai).
| Person | Form | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| je | verrai | /veʁe/ |
| tu | verras | /veʁa/ |
| il / elle / on | verra | /veʁa/ |
| nous | verrons | /veʁɔ̃/ |
| vous | verrez | /veʁe/ |
| ils / elles | verront | /veʁɔ̃/ |
The double r is purely orthographic — the spoken r is single in standard French. But the spelling is non-negotiable: verai with one r is wrong.
On verra demain, là je suis trop fatigué pour décider.
We'll see tomorrow, right now I'm too tired to decide.
Tu verras, ça va passer plus vite que tu ne crois.
You'll see, it'll pass faster than you think.
Conditionnel présent
Same verr- stem as the futur, with the imparfait endings.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | verrais |
| tu | verrais |
| il / elle / on | verrait |
| nous | verrions |
| vous | verriez |
| ils / elles | verraient |
Je verrais bien un peu plus de couleur dans ce salon.
I could see a bit more color in this living room.
Si on partait maintenant, on verrait le coucher du soleil depuis la plage.
If we left now, we'd see the sunset from the beach.
Subjonctif présent
Returns to the stem alternation: -voi- in singular and 3pl, -voy- in 1pl/2pl (matching the indicative pattern but without the standard subjunctive -ions/-iez combining with the y-stem).
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| (que) je | voie |
| (que) tu | voies |
| (qu')il / elle / on | voie |
| (que) nous | voyions |
| (que) vous | voyiez |
| (qu')ils / elles | voient |
The nous voyions / vous voyiez forms have both y and i — same as the imparfait. This double letter combination is a frequent source of errors.
Il faut qu'on voie le médecin avant de partir en voyage.
We need to see the doctor before going on the trip.
Je veux que tu voies par toi-même ce qui se passe.
I want you to see for yourself what's going on.
Impératif
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| (tu) | vois |
| (nous) | voyons |
| (vous) | voyez |
Vois ça avec ton frère, moi je n'y comprends rien.
Sort that out with your brother, I don't understand any of it.
Voyons, ce n'est pas si grave.
Come on, it's not that serious.
The form voyons (also written as a standalone interjection) is one of those discourse markers that lubricates conversation: it can mean "let's see," "come now," or function as a mild rebuke.
Participles
- Participe passé: vu (feminine vue, plural vus / vues)
- Participe présent: voyant
- Gérondif: en voyant
En voyant les nuages, j'ai pris un parapluie.
Seeing the clouds, I took an umbrella.
The compound tenses
Voir uses avoir as its auxiliary. The participle agrees with a preceding direct object — standard avoir-rule.
Passé composé
avoir (présent) + vu
J'ai vu un film incroyable hier soir, je te le recommande.
I saw an amazing film last night, I recommend it to you.
Tu as vu Marie récemment ? — Non, je ne l'ai pas vue depuis Noël.
Have you seen Marie recently? — No, I haven't seen her since Christmas.
Note the agreement in the second example: l' refers to Marie (f.sg.), so vue takes the feminine -e. The agreement is silent for vu / vue / vus / vues — they all sound /vy/ — but it must be written.
Plus-que-parfait
avoir (imparfait) + vu
Je n'avais jamais vu autant de monde dans ce restaurant.
I'd never seen so many people in that restaurant.
Futur antérieur
avoir (futur) + vu
Quand tu auras vu cette série, on en reparlera.
Once you've watched that series, we'll talk about it again.
Conditionnel passé
avoir (conditionnel) + vu
Si tu m'avais prévenu, je serais venu et j'aurais vu le spectacle avec toi.
If you'd warned me, I'd have come and watched the show with you.
The core uses
1. Physical sight: passive perception
The fundamental meaning. Light reaches your eyes; you see something. Voir is the verb for this, regardless of whether you were trying to see it.
Je vois quelque chose bouger dans le jardin.
I see something moving in the garden.
On voit les étoiles très bien à la campagne.
You can see the stars very well in the countryside.
The contrast with regarder (to look at, to watch) is fundamental: voir is what happens to your eyes; regarder is what you choose to do with them. Je vois la télé would mean "I can see the TV (it's in front of me)"; je regarde la télé means "I'm watching TV." See choosing/voir-vs-regarder for the full distinction.
2. Meeting / spending time with someone
Voir quelqu'un often means to meet up with someone, to see someone socially. This use is extremely common and overlaps with English see in the social sense.
Je vois mes parents tous les week-ends.
I see my parents every weekend.
On se voit demain pour déjeuner ?
Are we meeting up tomorrow for lunch?
Ça fait longtemps qu'on ne s'est pas vus.
It's been a long time since we last saw each other.
The reflexive se voir with a reciprocal sense ("see each other") is the standard way to talk about social meetings.
3. Perception construction: voir + object + infinitive
voir + noun phrase + infinitive
This is how French expresses I see X doing Y. The infinitive — not a participle — appears after the perceived object.
J'ai vu Marie traverser la rue.
I saw Marie cross the street.
On voyait les enfants jouer dans le jardin.
We could see the children playing in the garden.
J'ai vu mon père vieillir d'un seul coup.
I saw my father grow old all at once.
This is one of the three perception verbs that take a bare infinitive: voir, entendre, sentir. English speakers often want to use -ing (a participle) here — that is wrong. French uses the infinitive: je l'ai vu partir, not je l'ai vu partant.
4. Aller voir / venir voir: go see / come see
The pattern aller + bare infinitive + object expresses purpose-of-motion. Aller voir means go (and) see — to visit a person, place, or event.
Je vais voir ma grand-mère ce week-end.
I'm going to see my grandmother this weekend.
Tu devrais aller voir ce film, il est très drôle.
You should go see that movie, it's very funny.
Viens voir ce que j'ai trouvé dans le grenier !
Come see what I found in the attic!
5. Figurative: understanding
Voir as a metaphor for grasp, get it, understand. This use is everyday-conversational.
Tu vois ce que je veux dire ?
Do you see what I mean?
Ah, je vois, c'est plus compliqué que ça.
Ah, I see, it's more complicated than that.
Je ne vois pas où tu veux en venir.
I don't see what you're getting at.
High-frequency idioms
- on verra — we'll see (deferring a decision)
- voyons voir — let's see (musing aloud)
- à voir — we'll have to see (a verdict is uncertain)
- avoir à voir avec — to have to do with (ça n'a rien à voir)
- faire voir — to show (fais-moi voir)
- se faire voir — to get noticed (sometimes negative: get told off)
- voir le jour — to come into being, to be born
- en voir de toutes les couleurs — to go through a lot
- je n'y vois rien — I can't see anything (in here)
- à vue d'œil — visibly (il grandit à vue d'œil)
Ça n'a rien à voir avec ce dont on parle.
That has nothing to do with what we're talking about.
Fais-moi voir la photo, s'il te plaît.
Show me the picture, please.
On verra bien si ça marche.
We'll see if it works.
Comparison with English
Three friction points:
- See vs look at vs watch. English distinguishes see (passive) from look at (briefly active) from watch (sustained active). French distinguishes voir (passive) from regarder (active — covers both look at and watch). Don't try to use voir for "watch a movie" — use regarder un film.
- Perception with bare infinitive. I saw him leave is je l'ai vu partir, not je l'ai vu partant. French uses the infinitive after perception verbs, never the present participle.
- The double-r futur. Verrai (with two r's) is irregular and must be memorized. The conditional verrais shares the same stem.
Beyond these, voir and see line up cleanly. Both cover physical sight, social meeting ("see someone"), and figurative understanding ("I see").
Common Mistakes
Mistake 1: Using voir where regarder is required.
❌ Je vois la télé tous les soirs.
Wrong if you mean 'I watch TV.' Voir is passive sight; for active watching, use regarder.
✅ Je regarde la télé tous les soirs.
I watch TV every evening.
Mistake 2: Using a present participle after voir.
❌ J'ai vu Marie traversant la rue.
Wrong — French uses the bare infinitive after perception verbs, not the present participle.
✅ J'ai vu Marie traverser la rue.
I saw Marie cross the street.
Mistake 3: Single r in the futur or conditionnel.
❌ On vera demain.
Wrong — voir's futur stem is verr- with double r: on verra demain.
✅ On verra demain.
We'll see tomorrow.
Mistake 4: Forgetting the y/i combination in nous/vous of imparfait and subjonctif.
❌ Quand nous voyons (imparfait) le clocher, on savait qu'on était presque chez nous.
Wrong tense form — for the imparfait, the spelling is voyions, with both y and i: 'quand nous voyions...' The form 'voyons' is the present indicative.
✅ Quand nous voyions le clocher, on savait qu'on était presque chez nous.
When we (used to) see the bell tower, we knew we were almost home.
Mistake 5: Forgetting agreement of vu with a preceding direct object.
❌ Tu as vu Marie ? — Oui, je l'ai vu hier.
Wrong — l' refers to Marie (f.sg.), so vu must agree as vue.
✅ Tu as vu Marie ? — Oui, je l'ai vue hier.
Did you see Marie? — Yes, I saw her yesterday.
Key takeaways
Voir is the verb of passive sight, social meeting, and figurative understanding. It contrasts with regarder (active looking / watching), and the contrast is sharp. The conjugation has two recurring quirks: the -voi/-voy- stem alternation (singular je vois /vwa/ vs plural nous voyons /vwajɔ̃/), and the doubled r in the futur and conditionnel (verrai, verrais).
The perception construction voir + noun + infinitive (j'ai vu Marie traverser la rue) is the standard way to express seeing someone do something. The bare infinitive is required — the present participle is wrong here.
Several high-frequency idioms — on verra, ça n'a rien à voir, fais-moi voir, aller voir — are everyday conversational glue. Memorize them as units. Master the paradigms, watch out for vu / vue / vus / vues agreement, and voir will serve you the rest of your French-speaking life.
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