Present tense of the French verb dire

Dire is a very common and useful French verb from the 3rd group. It generally means to say or to tell.

How to conjugate and pronounce dire in the present tense?

Here is the conjugation of the verb dire in the French present tense with its pronunciation.

Useful expressions to know with dire

Here are some other French expressions with dire that are commonly used in French:

dire à quelqu’un que = to tell somebody that, to say to somebody that

dire bonjour = to say hello

dire quelques mots (à quelqu’un) = to say a few words to somebody

Comment dit-on xxxx en anglais ? = What’s the English for xxxx?

Qu’est-ce que cela veut dire ? = What does that mean?

dire ce que l’on pense = to speak one’s mind

dit-on = as the saying goes, as they say

Comme on dit = so to speak

d’après ce qu’il dit = according to him

On dit que = Rumour has it that

On le dit malade. = He’s rumoured to be ill

cela dit = having said this

Cela va sans dire = It goes without saying

Il va sans dire que = It’s needless to say that

Quelque chose me dit que = Something tells me that

A qui le dites-vous ? / A qui le dis-tu ? = you’re telling me?

On ne peut pas dire = There’s no doubt about it

Il faut bien dire que = I must say

Il sait ce qu’il dit = He knows what he’s talking about.

Il ne sait pas ce qu’il dit. = He doesn’t know what he’s saying. / He doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

Qu’est-ce qui me dit que c’est vrai ? = How can I tell it’s the truth?

C’est moi qui vous le dis. = Just take my word for it.

Je n’ai rien à dire sur son travail. = I can’t complain about his/her work.

Cela vous dit de sortir ? = Do you feel like going out?

Cela ne me dit rien. = I don’t feel like it at all.

Cela ne me dit pas grand chose. = I don’t think much of that.

Cela me dit quelque chose. = That rings a bell.

Si le cœur vous en dit = If you feel like it

dire ce que l’on a sur le cœur = to get something off one’s chest

dire des sottises, dire n’importe quoi = to talk nonsense

ne pas se le faire dire deux fois = not to have to be told twice

Now test yourself with a quiz on the conjugation of dire in the present tense!