Voir Conjugation: Je Vois, J'ai Vu & Every Tense

Voir means to see, and you use it far more often than you think: to see a friend, to see a movie, to understand ("I see"), to put off a decision ("we'll see"). Its present tense is friendly. The trouble starts later, with je voirai (wrong), nous voyons written where nous voyions was needed, and j'ai vois. I correct those three in nearly every intermediate class.

This page gives you the full voir conjugation in every tense you need, with simple pronunciation hints, the y-then-i trap, the difference between voir and regarder, the related verbs revoir and prévoir, 10 example sentences, the expressions French speakers actually use, and a short practice set.

Voir conjugation in the present tense

Larousse classifies voir as an irregular verb of the third group. Learn these six forms first.

The University of Minnesota's French program points out that the s and t of the singular are silent, and that the -ent of ils voient is silent too. So four forms out of six are pronounced exactly the same: vwah. Only nous and vous stand out, and that's where the spelling changes from i to y.

Tip from class: think of voir as a "two-sound verb." Say vwah for everyone, except nous and vous, who get a y and an extra syllable. Once students hear it that way, they stop trying to pronounce the -ent in ils voient.

Voir in the passé composé: j'ai vu

Voir takes avoir, and its past participle is vu.

Larousse lists four written forms: vu, vue, vus, vues. They all sound like "vew," so the agreement is only visible on paper. You write Cette série ? Je l'ai vue deux fois (That show? I've seen it twice) because série is feminine and comes before the verb.

One agreement rule that even French speakers check: with vu + infinitive, Larousse gives je l'ai vue recevoir l'averse (I saw her get caught in the downpour), with agreement, but elle s'est vu refuser une subvention (she was refused a grant), with no agreement. The question is whether she does the action (agreement) or undergoes it (none).

Voir in the imparfait: je voyais

Take nous voyons, drop -ons, and add the imparfait endings.

The y-then-i trap

Look at nous voyions and vous voyiez. The y belongs to the stem (voy-), and the i belongs to the ending (-ions, -iez), so you write both. Larousse flags this exact spot as a difficulty. Because nous voyions and nous voyons sound almost identical, learners write the present when they mean the past. Check the meaning: "we used to see" needs the i.

Use the imparfait for habits and background: Quand j'étais petite, je voyais mes grands-parents tous les dimanches (When I was little, I saw my grandparents every Sunday). Use the passé composé for one event: Hier, j'ai vu ma grand-mère (Yesterday I saw my grandmother). Our guide to passé composé vs imparfait has more examples of this logic.

Voir in the future: je verrai

Here is the part to memorize. The future stem is verr-, with a double r and no trace of voir.

Larousse warns specifically about je verrai in the first person, because learners write je voirai by analogy with regular verbs. You'll use on verra (we'll see) constantly, and Larousse notes that je verrai on its own is how French speakers postpone an answer. If you prefer the spoken future, je vais voir works too; our French future tense guide explains when to pick each.

Voir in the conditional: je verrais

Same stem, verr-, with the imparfait endings.

Tip from class: je verrai (will) and je verrais (would) sound nearly the same. In writing, ask "will" or "would"? "Will" gets no s. Students who remember voir and verr- as a pair, the way English has "see" and "saw," make far fewer slips.

Voir in the subjunctive: que je voie

The subjunctive looks like the present with an e, except for nous and vous, which borrow the imparfait forms.

Que je voie sounds exactly like je vois. The difference is only in writing, and only after triggers like il faut que: Il faut que tu voies ce film (You have to see this movie). The French subjunctive explained simply covers every trigger.

The imperative has three forms, according to Larousse: vois, voyons, voyez. Voyons also works alone, to hurry someone or call them to order: Voyons, il faut partir ! (Come on, we have to go!)

Voir vs regarder: see or watch?

This is the question my students ask most about voir, and the answer is simpler than it looks.

• Voir = to see. The image reaches you, effort or not. Je vois la mer de ma fenêtre. I can see the sea from my window.
• Regarder = to look at, to watch. You choose to point your eyes. Je regarde la mer. I'm looking at the sea.

So you say je regarde la télé (I watch TV), but je vais voir un film when you mean "go see a movie." And voir also means to understand: Tu vois ce que je veux dire ? (Do you see what I mean?)

Mini-dialogue: making plans

• Léa : Tu as vu le nouveau film au cinéma du quartier ?
• Tom : Non, pas encore. Je voulais le voir ce week-end.
• Léa : On y va ensemble samedi ?
• Tom : Peut-être. Je dois voir avec mon frère. On verra !

Léa: Have you seen the new movie at the neighborhood theater? Tom: No, not yet. I wanted to see it this weekend. Léa: Shall we go together on Saturday? Tom: Maybe. I need to check with my brother. We'll see!

Notice voir avec quelqu'un: to check with someone. It's one of the most useful everyday uses, and English speakers rarely know it.

Revoir, prévoir and the voir family

Revoir (to see again, to review) follows voir in every tense. Larousse gives je reverrai and j'ai revu. It's the revoir in au revoir, literally "until seeing again."

Prévoir (to plan, to forecast) is the exception. It follows voir in the present (je prévois, nous prévoyons) and the past participle (prévu), but Larousse gives the future as je prévoirai and the conditional as je prévoirais, on the full infinitive. Pourvoir (to provide) does the same: je pourvoirai.

10 example sentences with voir

1. Je ne vois rien sans mes lunettes. I can't see anything without my glasses.
2. Tu vois ce que je veux dire ? Do you see what I mean?
3. Nous avons vu la tour Eiffel illuminée. We saw the Eiffel Tower lit up.
4. Ils voient leurs cousins à Montréal chaque été. They see their cousins in Montréal every summer.
5. Je voyais souvent Paul quand j'habitais à Lyon. I used to see Paul often when I lived in Lyon.
6. On verra demain. We'll see tomorrow.
7. Si j'avais le temps, je verrais ce spectacle. If I had time, I would see that show.
8. Il faut que vous voyiez un médecin. You need to see a doctor.
9. Ça se voit que tu es fatigué. You can tell you're tired.
10. Au revoir, à bientôt ! Goodbye, see you soon!

Everyday expressions with voir

These come from the Larousse dictionary entry. They're the ones my students hear first in movies and in conversation.

Regarde voir, dis voir: voir as a filler

In casual French, you'll hear voir tacked on after an imperative: regarde voir, écoutez voir, dis voir, attends voir, voyons voir. Larousse describes it as a familiar way to add insistence. It doesn't mean "see" at all; it's closer to "go on" or "let's see." Use it with friends, never in a cover letter.

You can drill these expressions, along with être, avoir, faire and the other core verbs, in five minutes a day with the free French Keys flashcards.

Common mistakes English speakers make

• Mistake: je voirai → Say instead: je verrai.
• Mistake: nous voyons for "we used to see" → Say instead: nous voyions. The imparfait needs the i.
• Mistake: je regarde mon ami demain for "I'm seeing my friend tomorrow" → Say instead: je vois mon ami demain.
• Mistake: je vois la télé for "I watch TV" → Say instead: je regarde la télé.
• Mistake: je préverrai → Say instead: je prévoirai. Prévoir keeps its infinitive in the future.
• Mistake: il voulait voir après moi (copying "see after") → Say instead: il voulait me voir or il m'a demandé. Larousse recommends avoiding voir après in that sense.

Practice

Fill in the correct form of voir, or of the verb in brackets.

1. Est-ce que vous ___ la différence ? (present)
2. L'année dernière, nous ___ ce film trois fois. (passé composé)
3. Quand on était jeunes, nous ___ nos amis tous les soirs. (imparfait)
4. Demain, je ___ mes parents. (future)
5. Il faut que tu ___ cette exposition. (subjunctive)
6. Nous ___ une réunion lundi. (prévoir, future)

Answers: 1. voyez · 2. avons vu · 3. voyions (y and i) · 4. verrai · 5. voies · 6. prévoirons

In short

Voir has two present-tense sounds: vwah for je, tu, il and ils, and voy- for nous and vous. It uses verr- in the future and conditional, voie in the subjunctive, and takes avoir (j'ai vu). Keep the y and the i together in nous voyions, and remember that prévoir breaks the pattern in the future. Next, compare it with prendre, and see where both rank among the most common French verbs.

If you'd like Magali to listen to your on verra and help you use voir and regarder naturally in conversation, book a free 30-minute assessment. You'll leave knowing exactly which verbs to work on next.