Cacher Conjugation in French
cacher means “to hide” in English, and it is a verb French learners meet early and use often. This page gives you the complete conjugation of cacher — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Je cache mes clés dans le tiroir.” — “I hide my keys in the drawer.” Learning the forms on this page first, before you try to use the verb in conversation, saves you from guessing later: French spelling and endings change with the person and the tense, and cacher is no exception. Work through the tables one tense at a time, say each form aloud, and then test yourself with the quiz at the end.
Quick facts
- Infinitive: cacher
- English: to hide
- Verb type: Regular -er verb
- Irregular in: — (regular in every tense)
- Gerund: en cachant
- Past participle: caché
- Auxiliary: avoir (all perfect tenses are formed with avoir + the past participle)
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for cacher, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for cacher. Learn the present tense first, then the passé composé and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | cache |
| tu | caches |
| il/elle | cache |
| nous | cachons |
| vous | cachez |
| ils/elles | cachent |
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | cachai |
| tu | cachas |
| il/elle | cacha |
| nous | cachâmes |
| vous | cachâtes |
| ils/elles | cachèrent |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | cachais |
| tu | cachais |
| il/elle | cachait |
| nous | cachions |
| vous | cachiez |
| ils/elles | cachaient |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | cacherai |
| tu | cacheras |
| il/elle | cachera |
| nous | cacherons |
| vous | cacherez |
| ils/elles | cacheront |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | cacherais |
| tu | cacherais |
| il/elle | cacherait |
| nous | cacherions |
| vous | cacheriez |
| ils/elles | cacheraient |
Present perfect (passé composé)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai caché |
| tu | as caché |
| il/elle | a caché |
| nous | avons caché |
| vous | avez caché |
| ils/elles | ont caché |
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais caché |
| tu | avais caché |
| il/elle | avait caché |
| nous | avions caché |
| vous | aviez caché |
| ils/elles | avaient caché |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai caché |
| tu | auras caché |
| il/elle | aura caché |
| nous | aurons caché |
| vous | aurez caché |
| ils/elles | auront caché |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais caché |
| tu | aurais caché |
| il/elle | aurait caché |
| nous | aurions caché |
| vous | auriez caché |
| ils/elles | auraient caché |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | cache |
| tu | caches |
| il/elle | cache |
| nous | cachions |
| vous | cachiez |
| ils/elles | cachent |
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | cachasse |
| tu | cachasses |
| il/elle | cachât |
| nous | cachassions |
| vous | cachassiez |
| ils/elles | cachassent |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | cache |
| nous | cachons |
| vous | cachez |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | cache |
| nous | cachons |
| vous | cachez |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en cachant |
| Past participle | caché |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Je cache mes clés dans le tiroir.” — “I hide my keys in the drawer.”
Passé simple
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mainly in written and literary French. For example: “Tu cachas mes clés dans le tiroir.” — “You hid my keys in the drawer one day.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. For example: “Il cachait mes clés dans le tiroir quand j’étais jeune.” — “He used to hide my keys in the drawer.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, predictions and promises. For example: “Nous cacherons mes clés dans le tiroir.” — “We will hide my keys in the drawer tomorrow.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, polite requests and hypothetical situations. For example: “Vous cacheriez mes clés dans le tiroir.” — “You would hide my keys in the drawer if you could.”
Present perfect (passé composé)
The present perfect (passé composé) is used for recent past actions and completed events. With cacher it is formed with avoir + the past participle caché. For example: “Ils ont caché mes clés dans le tiroir hier.” — “They have hidden my keys in the drawer.”
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
The pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais caché mes clés dans le tiroir avant la fête.” — “I had hidden my keys in the drawer before the party.”
Future perfect
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Tu auras caché mes clés dans le tiroir.” — “You will have hidden my keys in the drawer by tomorrow evening.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Il aurait caché mes clés dans le tiroir.” — “He would have hidden my keys in the drawer if he had been able to.”
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. For example: “Il faut que je cache mes clés dans le tiroir.” — “It is important that I hide my keys in the drawer.”
Imperfect subjunctive
The imperfect subjunctive is used for the past subjunctive: wishes and hypotheticals about the past, mainly in formal writing. For example: “Il fallait que je cachasse mes clés dans le tiroir.” — “It was important that I hide my keys in the drawer.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Cache mes clés dans le tiroir !” — “Hide my keys in the drawer!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Cache mes clés dans le tiroir !” — “Do not hide my keys in the drawer!”
Gerund and past participle
The gerund is en cachant — “while hiding” — used after en to say how something happens. The past participle is caché, used with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai caché.
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with cacher, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je cache mes clés dans le tiroir.” — “I hide my keys in the drawer.”
- “Tu caches mes clés dans le tiroir.” — “You hide my keys in the drawer.”
- “Il cachait mes clés dans le tiroir.” — “He used to hide my keys in the drawer.”
- “Nous cacherons mes clés dans le tiroir.” — “We will hide my keys in the drawer tomorrow.”
- “Je cacherais mes clés dans le tiroir.” — “I would hide my keys in the drawer if I could.”
- “Tu as caché mes clés dans le tiroir.” — “You have hidden my keys in the drawer.”
- “Il avait caché mes clés dans le tiroir.” — “He had hidden my keys in the drawer before the party.”
- “Nous aurons caché mes clés dans le tiroir.” — “We will have hidden my keys in the drawer by tomorrow evening.”
- “Il faut que je cache mes clés dans le tiroir.” — “It is important that I hide my keys in the drawer.”
- “Cache mes clés dans le tiroir !” — “Hide my keys in the drawer!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je cacher mes clés dans le tiroir.”
✓ Right: “Je cache mes clés dans le tiroir.”
The infinitive cacher never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form cache.
2. Using the wrong tense for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Je cachais mes clés dans le tiroir hier.” (for one finished event yesterday)
✓ Right: “J'ai caché mes clés dans le tiroir hier.”
A single finished event in the past takes the passé composé (ai caché), not the imperfect.
3. Using the wrong auxiliary for the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je suis caché mes clés dans le tiroir.”
✓ Right: “J'ai caché mes clés dans le tiroir.”
With cacher the passé composé is formed with avoir, not être: ai caché.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il faut que je cache mes clés dans le tiroir.”
✓ Right: “Il faut que je cache mes clés dans le tiroir.”
After il faut que French needs the subjunctive, so use cache here, not the indicative cache.
5. Using the present for a finished past event
✗ Wrong: “Je cache mes clés dans le tiroir hier.”
✓ Right: “J'ai caché mes clés dans le tiroir hier.”
Yesterday’s finished event needs the passé composé (ai caché), not the present.
Quiz: test yourself
What is the je form of cacher in the Present indicative?
- A) cachons
- B) cachent
- C) cache
- D) caches
What is the ils/elles form of cacher in the Present indicative?
- A) cachons
- B) cachez
- C) caches
- D) cachent
What is the il/elle form of cacher in the Passé simple?
- A) cachâmes
- B) cacha
- C) cachai
- D) cachâtes
What is the nous form of cacher in the Imperfect?
- A) cachions
- B) cachait
- C) cachiez
- D) cachaient
What is the tu form of cacher in the Future?
- A) cacheront
- B) cachera
- C) cacherez
- D) cacheras
What is the je form of cacher in the Conditional?
- A) cacherait
- B) cacheraient
- C) cacheriez
- D) cacherais
What is the il/elle form of cacher in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) avez caché
- B) avons caché
- C) ont caché
- D) a caché
What is the vous form of cacher in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)?
- A) avions caché
- B) avait caché
- C) aviez caché
- D) avaient caché
What is the gerund of cacher?
- A) cache
- B) cacherai
- C) en cachant
- D) caché
What is the past participle of cacher?
- A) cachais
- B) caché
- C) en cachant
- D) cache
Answer key
- C) cache — the je form of cacher in the present indicative is cache.
- D) cachent — the ils/elles form of cacher in the present indicative is cachent.
- B) cacha — the il/elle form of cacher in the passé simple is cacha.
- A) cachions — the nous form of cacher in the imperfect is cachions.
- D) cacheras — the tu form of cacher in the future is cacheras.
- D) cacherais — the je form of cacher in the conditional is cacherais.
- D) a caché — the il/elle form of cacher in the present perfect (passé composé) is a caché.
- C) aviez caché — the vous form of cacher in the pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is aviez caché.
- C) en cachant — the gerund of cacher is en cachant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
- B) caché — the past participle of cacher is caché; perfect tenses use avoir + caché.
Frequently asked questions
What does cacher mean in English?
cacher means “to hide”. You use it in everyday situations like the examples on this page — for example, “Je cache mes clés dans le tiroir.” (“I hide my keys in the drawer.”). It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is cacher regular or irregular?
cacher is regular: its endings follow the standard -er pattern in every tense. The gerund is en cachant and the past participle is caché.
What are the gerund and past participle of cacher?
The gerund is en cachant — use it after en for actions in progress. The past participle is caché — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai caché.
How do I say “I hide” in French?
Say “Je cache mes clés dans le tiroir.” — “I hide my keys in the drawer.” The je form of the present is cache, and it is the form you will use most often.
How to learn cacher
Start with the present tense: cache, caches, cache, cachons, cachez, cachent. Say them in order every day for a week, then add the passé composé — ai caché — and the imperfect — cachais. Next, learn the future (cacherai) and the conditional (cacherais), which share the same stem. Finally, tackle the subjunctive (cache) and the imperative (cache). Write one sentence of your own in each tense, using the examples above as models, and check every form against the tables. When you can produce all six persons of the present without looking, move on to the present-tense quiz.
Related pages
- cacher in the present tense — the full table and uses for this verb in the present tense.
- cacher examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- French present tense guide — how this tense works for regular verbs.
- Continuer conjugation — another French verb to practise with.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- Verb Conjugator — practise cacher with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise cacher with the interactive tool.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise the present tense with the interactive tool.
- VerbFlow home — back to the start.