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FRENCH VERB

vouloir dire

to mean

  • #114 most used
  • Irregular -ir verb
  • Past participle: voulu dire
  • Present participle: voulant dire

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use vouloir dire

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

  1. Present

    Qu'est-ce que ce mot veut dire ?

    What does this word mean?

  2. Past

    Je n'ai pas voulu dire ça, excuse-moi.

    I didn't mean that, sorry.

  3. Imperfect

    Il voulait dire mardi, pas mercredi.

    He meant Tuesday, not Wednesday.

  4. Future

    Un oui de sa part voudra dire beaucoup.

    A yes from her will mean a lot.

  5. Conditional

    Ça voudrait dire qu'on arrive après minuit.

    That would mean we arrive after midnight.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Je ne crois pas que ça veuille dire non.

    I don't think that means no.

  7. Imperative

    Veuillez dire à Chloé que je l'attends en bas.

    Please tell Chloé I'm waiting for her downstairs.

Good to know

  • Ça veut dire is it means; qu'est-ce que ça veut dire ? is what does that mean?
  • Veuillez dire is simply please tell : the only imperative you will hear of these two words.

Where you hear vouloir dire

The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.

French · Beginner Level 1

  • Ça veut dire quatre heures. That means four o'clock.
  • Je n'ai pas voulu dire ça. I didn't mean that.
  • Ça va vouloir dire plus de travail. That is going to mean more work.
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What Time Is It?

Beginner Level 1 · Ça veut dire

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Verbs like this one

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