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FRENCH VERB

traduire

to translate

  • #492 most used
  • Irregular -re verb
  • Past participle: traduit
  • Present participle: traduisant

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

  1. je I translate
  2. tu you translate
  3. il, elle, on he/she translates
  4. nous we translate
  5. vous you translate
  6. ils, elles they translate

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

  1. je I translated
  2. tu you translated
  3. il, elle, on he/she translated
  4. nous we translated
  5. vous you translated
  6. ils, elles they translated

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. je I used to translate
  2. tu you used to translate
  3. il, elle, on he/she used to translate
  4. nous we used to translate
  5. vous you used to translate
  6. ils, elles they used to translate

Future

Futur simple · plans; in speech, “je vais parler” is just as common

  1. je I will translate
  2. tu you will translate
  3. il, elle, on he/she will translate
  4. nous we will translate
  5. vous you will translate
  6. ils, elles they will translate

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

  1. je I would translate
  2. tu you would translate
  3. il, elle, on he/she would translate
  4. nous we would translate
  5. vous you would translate
  6. ils, elles they would translate

Present subjunctive

Subjonctif présent · wishes, doubts, “il faut que …”

  1. je (that) I translate
  2. tu (that) you translate
  3. il, elle, on (that) he/she translate
  4. nous (that) we translate
  5. vous (that) you translate
  6. ils, elles (that) they translate

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

  1. tu translate!
  2. nous translate! (let’s)
  3. vous translate! (plural, or formal)

How to use traduire

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    Tu me traduis ce panneau ? Je ne comprends rien.

    Can you translate this sign for me? I don't understand a thing.

  2. Past

    Ma collègue a traduit le contrat en deux jours.

    My colleague translated the contract in two days.

  3. Imperfect

    Au début, je traduisais chaque mot dans ma tête.

    At first, I translated every word in my head.

  4. Future

    L'appli traduira le menu avec l'appareil photo.

    The app will translate the menu with the camera.

  5. Conditional

    Comment tu traduirais « dépaysement » en anglais ?

    How would you translate "dépaysement" into English?

  6. Present subjunctive

    Il faut que je traduise ce mail avant midi.

    I need to translate this email before noon.

  7. Imperative

    Traduis-moi juste la première ligne, s'il te plaît.

    Just translate the first line for me, please.

Good to know

  • Traduire du français en anglais : from French into English.

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: irregular -re verb.