dire

/diʁ/
1.
verbInf3rdPres

to say

to tell

Je vais te dire ce qui s'est passé.

I'll tell you what happened.

Synonyms:annoncer, déclarer, raconter, exprimer
2.
verbInf3rdPres

to mean

to signify

Que veut dire ce smiley ?

What does this emoji mean?

Synonyms:signifier, vouloir dire

Notes

GENERAL INFO

Dire means "to say" or "to tell". It is a very common, irregular verb in French.

USAGE

Use dire to express spoken words or information. It often takes a direct object ("dire la vérité" - to tell the truth) or an indirect object ("dire à quelqu'un" - to tell someone). It's also used for reported speech: "Elle dit qu'il est gentil" (She says that he is kind).

CONJUGATION - 3rd Group

Je dis

Tu dis

Il/elle/on dit

Nous disons

Vous dites

Ils/elles disent

TRAPS

Be very careful with its irregular conjugation, especially "vous dites" (you say/tell), not "vous disez". Also, don't confuse dire (to say *something specific*) with "parler" (to speak in general or a language).