How do you say "to be" in French?

In French, "to be" is être. It is a verb.

Listen to the pronunciation:

Pronunciation

être is written using the Latin alphabet. Pronounce each syllable clearly, following French pronunciation rules.

Related words

Curated by Jack Ratcliffe

Practice être and hundreds more French words in the game.

Buy on Steam

Questions about être

How do you say "to be" in French?

In French, "to be" is être. It is a verb. The word is spelled être and pronounced as written, following French pronunciation rules.

Is être masculine or feminine?

être is a verb, so grammatical gender does not directly apply. In French, verbs conjugate by person and tense.

How is être used in a sentence?

Use être as you would use the equivalent verb in English. In French, word order and agreement rules determine how être fits into a sentence.

This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the French language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation.