Le Présent: Peindre, Craindre, Joindre

The verbs in -aindre, -eindre, and -oindre are one of the most consistent families of irregular verbs in French. Peindre (to paint), craindre (to fear), and joindre (to join) look unrelated, but they all conjugate on the same template: the -d- of the infinitive disappears, the singular forms end in a nasal vowel, and the plural forms substitute -gn- for the -n-, producing the palatal sound /ɲ/ — the same consonant you hear in montagne or Espagne.

Once you know the template, you have access to a much larger set of verbs than the three model verbs above. The -eindre family alone includes atteindre (to reach), éteindre (to turn off), feindre (to feign), teindre (to dye), enfreindre (to break a rule), restreindre (to restrict), repeindre (to repaint). The -aindre family adds contraindre (to compel) and plaindre (to pity, with reflexive se plaindre — to complain). The -oindre family adds rejoindre (to rejoin, to meet up with), adjoindre (to attach), and disjoindre (to disjoin). All of them follow the template you learn here once.

This page works through the full present-tense paradigm, explains the singular-to-plural sound shift, surveys the three sub-families, and previews the past participle in -t.

The model — peindre (to paint)

The three singular forms peins, peins, peint are pronounced identically — /pɛ̃/. The endings -s, -s, and -t are all silent. What you hear is the bare nasal vowel /ɛ̃/, the same sound as in pain (bread) or vin (wine).

The plural forms shift dramatically. The -d- of the infinitive disappears (it never surfaces in the present anyway), the -n- is replaced by -gn- in spelling, and the pronunciation changes from a nasal vowel /ɛ̃/ to an oral /ɛ/ followed by the palatal consonant /ɲ/. So peignons /pɛɲɔ̃/ has nothing nasal about its vowel — the e is the same lax /ɛ/ you hear in peigne (comb), and what was a nasalizing n in the singular has become an audible /ɲ/.

The sound shift, explained

The pattern is the same in all three sub-families and follows a single phonological logic: in the singular, the underlying -n- nasalizes the preceding vowel and drops out as a separate consonant; in the plural, the spelling switches to -gn-, which signals the palatal /ɲ/ before a real vowel ending.

Note: the -aindre and -eindre families share the singular nasal /ɛ̃/ — crains and peins are perfect rhymes. They differ only in spelling. The -oindre family alone has the rounded nasal /wɛ̃/, the same sound as in coin or moins.

In the plural, the three families all share the structure /(vowel) + ɲ/, but the vowel before /ɲ/ differs by family. For -aindre: /ɛ/ (we say craignons with the lax /ɛ/, even though spelled -aig-). For -eindre: /ɛ/ as well — peignons /pɛɲɔ̃/. For -oindre: /a/ preceded by the glide /w/ — joignons /ʒwaɲɔ̃/, where the o of the spelling carries the diphthong /wa/.

The -eindre family — peindre and friends

The most useful members for a learner are peindre, atteindre, and éteindre. Atteindre is the everyday verb for reaching a destination, a goal, or a level. Éteindre covers anything you can switch off — a light, a fire, a phone, the TV. Note the related noun éteint (extinguished, off) — les feux sont éteints / the lights are off.

Feindre and enfreindre are mid-frequency, mostly in literary or formal contexts. Geindre is colloquial for "to whine" but uncommon in everyday speech. Teindre is everyday for hair colouring (je me teins les cheveux — I'm dyeing my hair).

The -aindre family — craindre and friends

Craindre is the literary or slightly formal verb for fearing. In everyday speech, French speakers usually prefer avoir peur de — j'ai peur des chiens (I'm afraid of dogs) is more natural than je crains les chiens (I dread dogs). Craindre survives in fixed expressions and in slightly elevated register.

There's a colloquial use of craindre worth knowing: ça craint, literally that fears, is slangy French for that sucks / that's sketchy / that's bad. It's everyday speech — A2 learners hear it constantly.

The reflexive se plaindre is the standard verb for "to complain" and is much more common than the non-reflexive plaindre ("to pity, feel sorry for"):

The -oindre family — joindre and friends

Joindre covers two distinct senses: physically attaching one thing to another (joindre un document à un email — attach a document to an email) and reaching someone by phone or message (je n'arrive pas à le joindre — I can't get hold of him). The second sense is high-frequency in business and personal communication.

Rejoindre is the everyday verb for "meeting up with" someone — joining a group already in motion. Je te rejoins au café à dix-huit heures — I'll meet you at the café at six. It's less formal than retrouver and lighter than rencontrer.

Adjoindre and disjoindre are administrative or technical and rare in everyday speech. The derived noun adjoint (deputy, assistant) is everyday — l'adjoint au maire / deputy mayor.

Past participles — all in -t

The whole family forms its past participle by replacing the -dre of the infinitive with -t:

The final -t is silent in the masculine singular but reappears in the feminine -te (peinte /pɛ̃t/, atteinte /atɛ̃t/, jointe /ʒwɛ̃t/) and in liaison.

The compound tenses use avoir throughout — these are transitive verbs (with the exception of reflexive se plaindre, which uses être like all reflexives).

The pattern across other tenses

The same stem alternation runs through the rest of the verb's life. The -eign-/-aign-/-oign- stem (the plural-present stem) is the basis for the imperfect, the present subjunctive, and the present participle. The singular nasal stem is the basis for the future and conditional.

• Imperfect: je peignais, nous peignions, ils peignaient (built on peign-)
• Subjunctive: que je peigne, que nous peignions (built on peign-)
• Present participle: peignant (built on peign-)
• Future: je peindrai, nous peindrons (built on peindr-)
• Conditional: je peindrais, nous peindrions (built on peindr-)
• Passé simple (literary): je peignis, il peignit, ils peignirent (built on peign-)

Knowing the present-tense alternation gives you the key to the whole conjugation. There is no separate stem to memorize for the imperfect or subjunctive — the plural-present stem does the work.

A note on register

Most of these verbs sit comfortably in everyday French:

• (everyday) peindre, atteindre, éteindre, joindre, rejoindre, se plaindre, repeindre, teindre
• (slightly elevated) craindre (more often replaced by avoir peur de in speech), feindre, contraindre, restreindre
• (formal / administrative) adjoindre, enfreindre, disjoindre
• (literary) plaindre in the non-reflexive sense ("to pity")
• (colloquial) ça craint (that sucks)
• (rare) geindre (to whine — found in literature, less in speech)

Common Mistakes

Mistake 1: Keeping the -d- in plural forms.

Mistake 2: Using -n- instead of -gn- in plural forms.

Mistake 3: Pronouncing -gn- as /gn/ instead of /ɲ/.

Mistake 4: Using craindre where avoir peur de is more natural.

Mistake 5: Forgetting that se plaindre is reflexive.

Mistake 6: Past participle in -i instead of -t.

Key takeaways

The -aindre/-eindre/-oindre family is a rare gift in French verb learning: a single template that generates the conjugation of more than a dozen common and useful verbs. The singular forms have a silent ending and a nasal vowel; the plural forms shift to -gn- with the palatal sound /ɲ/; the past participle ends in -t and is silent in the masculine.

Master peindre once and you have atteindre, éteindre, repeindre, feindre, teindre, enfreindre, restreindre. Master craindre and you have contraindre and plaindre. Master joindre and you have rejoindre — one of the most useful conversational verbs in French.

The pattern's consistency makes it ideal drill material for early intermediate learners. Once the -gn- /ɲ/ shift clicks in your ear, every verb in this family becomes pronounceable on first sight.