dire/diʁ/
verb / noun · A1 · Frequency 51
verb
Meanings
to say; to tell
Core meaning: to express something in words; can also take an indirect object meaning 'to tell someone'.
to tell sb to (do); to instruct sb (to)
Often used for telling someone to do something, as in dire a quelqu'un de faire quelque chose.
to mean; to signify
Used for the meaning conveyed by words, sentences, signs, gestures, or expressions.
to recite; to recount
Used for orally delivering or recounting a text, prayer, story, or similar content.
to say to oneself; to think to oneself
Often appears in the pronominal form se dire, expressing inner speech or private thought.
to ring a bell; to sound familiar
Common in ça me dit quelque chose, meaning something seems familiar or rings a bell.
to appeal to; to feel like; to be up for
Common in ça te dit ? or ça me dit bien, expressing interest, willingness, or desire to do something.
Examples
Elle préfère dire la vérité plutôt que de cacher son erreur.
She prefers to tell the truth rather than hide her mistake.
Le professeur lui a demandé de dire son texte plus lentement.
The teacher asked him to recite his text more slowly.
Que veut dire ce panneau à l'entrée du bâtiment ?
What does this sign at the entrance to the building mean?
Le comédien aime dire des poèmes devant un petit public.
The actor likes to recite poems in front of a small audience.
Collocations
- dire la véritéto tell the truth
- dire à quelqu’un de faire quelque choseto tell someone to do something
- ça me dit quelque chosethat rings a bell to me
Common mistakes
Vous disez la vérité.
Vous dites la vérité.
In the present indicative, the second-person plural of dire is the irregular form dites, not the regularized form disez.
Related words
Grammar note
Dire is a transitive verb with the auxiliary verb avoir in compound tenses; as an essential pronominal verb, it must be used with a reflexive pronoun.
nounmasculine
Meanings
saying (that which is said)
Usually refers to spoken content or words.
Examples
Le dire du témoin ne correspondait pas aux images de la caméra.
The witness's statement did not match the camera footage.
Son dire sur cette question a changé après plusieurs années de recherche.
His opinion on this question changed after several years of research.
Le dire de la directrice a rassuré toute l'équipe.
The director's words reassured the whole team.
Collocations
- au dire de quelqu’unaccording to what someone says
Common mistakes
à le dire de quelqu’un
au dire de quelqu’un
The preposition à contracts with the masculine singular definite article le to form au, so the expression is « au dire de quelqu’un ».
Related words
synonymproposremark
synonymparoleutterance, expression (an orally articulated unit of discourse or word)
verb
Meanings
to say; to tell
Core meaning: to express something in words; can also take an indirect object meaning 'to tell someone'.
to tell sb to (do); to instruct sb (to)
Often used for telling someone to do something, as in dire a quelqu'un de faire quelque chose.
to mean; to signify
Used for the meaning conveyed by words, sentences, signs, gestures, or expressions.
to recite; to recount
Used for orally delivering or recounting a text, prayer, story, or similar content.
to say to oneself; to think to oneself
Often appears in the pronominal form se dire, expressing inner speech or private thought.
to ring a bell; to sound familiar
Common in ça me dit quelque chose, meaning something seems familiar or rings a bell.
to appeal to; to feel like; to be up for
Common in ça te dit ? or ça me dit bien, expressing interest, willingness, or desire to do something.
Examples
En disant la vérité, elle a évité un malentendu.
By telling the truth, she avoided a misunderstanding.
Il a quitté la réunion en disant qu'il reviendrait le lendemain.
He left the meeting saying that he would return the next day.
Le guide repartit, disant aux randonneurs de rester groupés.
The guide set off again, telling the hikers to stay together.
En disant « demain », il voulait parler du lendemain, pas de la semaine suivante.
By saying “tomorrow,” he meant the following day, not the next week.
Grammar note
Dire is a transitive verb with the auxiliary verb avoir in compound tenses; as an essential pronominal verb, it must be used with a reflexive pronoun.
verb
Meanings
to say; to tell
Core meaning: to express something in words; can also take an indirect object meaning 'to tell someone'.
to tell sb to (do); to instruct sb (to)
Often used for telling someone to do something, as in dire a quelqu'un de faire quelque chose.
to mean; to signify
Used for the meaning conveyed by words, sentences, signs, gestures, or expressions.
to recite; to recount
Used for orally delivering or recounting a text, prayer, story, or similar content.
to say to oneself; to think to oneself
Often appears in the pronominal form se dire, expressing inner speech or private thought.
to ring a bell; to sound familiar
Common in ça me dit quelque chose, meaning something seems familiar or rings a bell.
to appeal to; to feel like; to be up for
Common in ça te dit ? or ça me dit bien, expressing interest, willingness, or desire to do something.
Examples
Elle dit la vérité à ses parents.
She tells her parents the truth.
Le médecin lui dit de se reposer pendant quelques jours.
The doctor tells her to rest for a few days.
Ce geste dit beaucoup sur ses intentions.
This gesture says a lot about his intentions.
Elle dit le poème sans regarder ses notes.
She recites the poem without looking at her notes.
Collocations
- dire la véritéto tell the truth
- dire à quelqu’un de faire quelque choseto tell someone to do something
- ça me dit quelque chosethat rings a bell to me
Common mistakes
Vous disez la vérité.
Vous dites la vérité.
In the present indicative, the second-person plural of dire is the irregular form dites, not the regularized form disez.
Related words
Grammar note
Dire is a transitive verb with the auxiliary verb avoir in compound tenses; as an essential pronominal verb, it must be used with a reflexive pronoun.
verb
Meanings
to say; to tell
Core meaning: to express something in words; can also take an indirect object meaning 'to tell someone'.
to tell sb to (do); to instruct sb (to)
Often used for telling someone to do something, as in dire a quelqu'un de faire quelque chose.
to mean; to signify
Used for the meaning conveyed by words, sentences, signs, gestures, or expressions.
to recite; to recount
Used for orally delivering or recounting a text, prayer, story, or similar content.
to say to oneself; to think to oneself
Often appears in the pronominal form se dire, expressing inner speech or private thought.
to ring a bell; to sound familiar
Common in ça me dit quelque chose, meaning something seems familiar or rings a bell.
to appeal to; to feel like; to be up for
Common in ça te dit ? or ça me dit bien, expressing interest, willingness, or desire to do something.
Examples
Dis aux enfants de ranger leurs affaires.
Tell the children to put their things away.
Dis le texte lentement pour que tout le monde entende.
Recite the text slowly so that everyone can hear.
Je me dis que nous devrions partir plus tôt.
I tell myself that we should leave earlier.
Collocations
- dire la véritéto tell the truth
- dire à quelqu’un de faire quelque choseto tell someone to do something
- ça me dit quelque chosethat rings a bell to me
Common mistakes
Vous disez la vérité.
Vous dites la vérité.
In the present indicative, the second-person plural of dire is the irregular form dites, not the regularized form disez.
Related words
Grammar note
Dire is a transitive verb with the auxiliary verb avoir in compound tenses; as an essential pronominal verb, it must be used with a reflexive pronoun.