Chercher Conjugation in French
chercher means “to look for” in English, and it is one of the first verbs French learners meet — it sits at number 53 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for French verbs. You use it whenever you talk about looking for my keys in the living room, and because it comes up in everyday conversation so often, learning its forms properly pays off from the very first week. This page gives you the complete conjugation of chercher — 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 cherche mes clés dans le salon tous les jours.” — “I look for my keys in the living room every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: chercher
- English: to look for
- Verb type: Regular
- Irregular in: none — regular in every tense
- Gerund: cherchant
- Past participle: cherché
- Auxiliary: avoir (all perfect tenses are formed with avoir + the past participle)
- Ending: -er verbs; pattern er in the verified tables
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for chercher, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Learn the spelling of the forms first, and listen to a native speaker for the sounds rather than trusting an invented transcription. The forms below are the ones that matter: once you can read chercher in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about chercher
- It is regular: every form follows the ordinary -er pattern, so once you know the stem you can build the whole table. The only work is learning the endings, not memorising exceptions.
- The perfect tenses use avoir: the present perfect is formed with avoir in the present plus the past participle cherché. The tables on this page give the participle in the masculine singular form, exactly as it appears in the verified dump; agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence, not on the verb table.
- The gerund is cherchant and the participle is cherché: keep both in mind as you read the tables, because the gerund appears in progressive constructions and the participle appears in every perfect tense. If you know those two forms and the present tense, you already know the skeleton of the whole conjugation.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for chercher. 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 | cherche |
| tu | cherches |
| il/elle | cherche |
| nous | cherchons |
| vous | cherchez |
| ils/elles | cherchent |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Je cherche un bon restaurant à Paris tous les jours.” — “I look for a good restaurant in Paris every day.”
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | cherchai |
| tu | cherchas |
| il/elle | chercha |
| nous | cherchâmes |
| vous | cherchâtes |
| ils/elles | cherchèrent |
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written and literary French. For example: “Tu cherchas un bon restaurant à Paris hier.” — “You looked for a good restaurant in Paris yesterday.”
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | cherchais |
| tu | cherchais |
| il/elle | cherchait |
| nous | cherchions |
| vous | cherchiez |
| ils/elles | cherchaient |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Il cherchait un bon restaurant à Paris autrefois.” — “He used to look for a good restaurant in Paris in the past.”
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | chercherai |
| tu | chercheras |
| il/elle | cherchera |
| nous | chercherons |
| vous | chercherez |
| ils/elles | chercheront |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Je chercherai un bon restaurant à Paris demain.” — “I will look for a good restaurant in Paris tomorrow.”
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | chercherais |
| tu | chercherais |
| il/elle | chercherait |
| nous | chercherions |
| vous | chercheriez |
| ils/elles | chercheraient |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Tu chercherais un bon restaurant à Paris un jour.” — “You would look for a good restaurant in Paris one day.”
Present perfect (passé composé)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai cherché |
| tu | as cherché |
| il/elle | a cherché |
| nous | avons cherché |
| vous | avez cherché |
| ils/elles | ont cherché |
The present perfect (passé composé) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken French. For example: “Il a cherché un bon restaurant à Paris cette semaine.” — “He has looked for a good restaurant in Paris this week.”
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais cherché |
| tu | avais cherché |
| il/elle | avait cherché |
| nous | avions cherché |
| vous | aviez cherché |
| ils/elles | avaient cherché |
The pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais cherché un bon restaurant à Paris avant la fête.” — “I had looked for a good restaurant in Paris before the party.”
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai cherché |
| tu | auras cherché |
| il/elle | aura cherché |
| nous | aurons cherché |
| vous | aurez cherché |
| ils/elles | auront cherché |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Tu auras cherché un bon restaurant à Paris pour demain.” — “You will have looked for a good restaurant in Paris by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais cherché |
| tu | aurais cherché |
| il/elle | aurait cherché |
| nous | aurions cherché |
| vous | auriez cherché |
| ils/elles | auraient cherché |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Il aurait cherché un bon restaurant à Paris hier.” — “He would have looked for a good restaurant in Paris yesterday.”
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | cherche |
| tu | cherches |
| il/elle | cherche |
| nous | cherchions |
| vous | cherchiez |
| ils/elles | cherchent |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. For example: “Il est important que je cherche un bon restaurant à Paris.” — “It is important that I look for a good restaurant in Paris.”
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | cherchasse |
| tu | cherchasses |
| il/elle | cherchât |
| nous | cherchassions |
| vous | cherchassiez |
| ils/elles | cherchassent |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in formal written French for past wishes and hypotheticals after que. For example: “Il est important que tu cherchasses un bon restaurant à Paris.” — “It is important that you look for a good restaurant in Paris.”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | cherche |
| nous | cherchons |
| vous | cherchez |
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Cherche un bon restaurant à Paris !” — “Look for a good restaurant in Paris!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | cherche |
| nous | cherchons |
| vous | cherchez |
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Ne cherche pas un bon restaurant à Paris.” — “Do not look for a good restaurant in Paris.”
Gerund
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en cherchant |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, usually after en. For example: “En cherchant mes clés dans le salon, je passe un bon moment.” — “While looking for my keys in the living room, I have a good time.”
Past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Past participle | cherché |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “J'ai cherché mes clés dans le salon cette semaine.” — “I have looked for my keys in the living room this week.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with chercher, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je cherche mes clés dans le salon tous les jours.” — “I look for my keys in the living room every day.”
- “Tu cherchas un bon restaurant à Paris hier.” — “You looked for a good restaurant in Paris yesterday.”
- “Il cherchait un travail depuis juin autrefois.” — “He used to look for a job since June in the past.”
- “Je chercherai mes clés dans le salon demain.” — “I will look for my keys in the living room tomorrow.”
- “Tu chercherais un bon restaurant à Paris un jour.” — “You would look for a good restaurant in Paris one day.”
- “Il a cherché un travail depuis juin cette semaine.” — “He has looked for a job since June this week.”
- “J'avais cherché mes clés dans le salon avant la fête.” — “I had looked for my keys in the living room before the party.”
- “Tu auras cherché un bon restaurant à Paris pour demain.” — “You will have looked for a good restaurant in Paris by tomorrow.”
- “Il est important que il cherche un travail depuis juin.” — “It is important that he look for a job since June.”
- “Cherche mes clés dans le salon !” — “Look for my keys in the living room!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je chercher mes clés dans le salon.”
✓ Right: “Je cherche mes clés dans le salon.”
The infinitive chercher never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form cherche.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Je cherchent mes clés dans le salon.”
✓ Right: “Je cherche mes clés dans le salon.”
cherchent is the ils/elles form, not the je form. Match the verb to the subject every time: je goes with cherche.
3. Using the passé simple for a present habit
✗ Wrong: “Je cherchai mes clés dans le salon tous les jours.”
✓ Right: “Je cherche mes clés dans le salon tous les jours.”
The passé simple cherchai describes one finished past action. For something that happens every day, use the present cherche.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il est important que je cherche mes clés dans le salon.”
✓ Right: “Il est important que je cherche mes clés dans le salon.”
After il est important que French needs the subjunctive, so use cherche here, not the indicative cherche.
5. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je suis cherché mes clés dans le salon.”
✓ Right: “Je ai cherché mes clés dans le salon.”
The passé composé of chercher is formed with avoir plus the past participle cherché: the je form is ai cherché. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
6. Dropping a written accent
✗ Wrong: “cherche” written without its accent
✓ Right: “cherche”
Accents are part of the spelling in French. Write the form exactly as it appears in the table, accent included, or it looks like a different word.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on chercher. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of chercher in the Present indicative?
- A) cherchons
- B) cherchez
- C) cherche
- D) cherches
What is the il/elle form of chercher in the Passé simple?
- A) cherchas
- B) cherchâmes
- C) chercha
- D) cherchai
What is the nous form of chercher in the Imperfect?
- A) cherchait
- B) cherchiez
- C) cherchions
- D) cherchais
What is the tu form of chercher in the Future?
- A) chercheras
- B) chercherai
- C) cherchera
- D) chercherons
What is the je form of chercher in the Conditional?
- A) chercherait
- B) chercherions
- C) chercheriez
- D) chercherais
What is the il/elle form of chercher in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) avons cherché
- B) a cherché
- C) ai cherché
- D) as cherché
What is the il/elle form of chercher in the Present subjunctive?
- A) cherchions
- B) cherchiez
- C) cherche
- D) cherches
What is the je form of chercher in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) cherchasses
- B) cherchât
- C) cherchassions
- D) cherchasse
What is the gerund of chercher?
- A) en écoutant
- B) en cherchant
- C) en répondant
- D) en travaillant
What does chercher mean in English?
- A) to listen to
- B) to look for
- C) to answer
- D) to work
Answer key
- C) cherche — the je form of chercher in the Present indicative is cherche. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) chercha — the il/elle form of chercher in the Passé simple is chercha. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) cherchions — the nous form of chercher in the Imperfect is cherchions. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) chercheras — the tu form of chercher in the Future is chercheras. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) chercherais — the je form of chercher in the Conditional is chercherais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) a cherché — the il/elle form of chercher in the Present perfect (passé composé) is a cherché. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) cherche — the il/elle form of chercher in the Present subjunctive is cherche. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) cherchasse — the je form of chercher in the Imperfect subjunctive is cherchasse. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) en cherchant — the gerund of chercher is en cherchant; it is used after en for actions happening at the same time as another action. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
- B) to look for — chercher means “to look for” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does chercher mean in English?
chercher means “to look for”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is chercher regular or irregular?
chercher is regular: it follows the ordinary -er pattern in every tense. The gerund is cherchant and the past participle is cherché.
What are the gerund and past participle of chercher?
The gerund is cherchant — use it after en for an action happening at the same time as another action. The past participle is cherché — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai cherché.
Which auxiliary does chercher take in the passé composé?
chercher takes avoir in the passé composé: the je form is ai cherché. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with avoir plus the past participle cherché.
How do I say “I look for” in French?
Say “Je cherche mes clés dans le salon tous les jours.” — “I look for my keys in the living room every day.” The je form of the present is cherche, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of chercher — every tense of chercher in one place.
- Chercher in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Chercher examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Répondre conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Travailler conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Écouter conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Spanish Verb Conjugator — practise chercher with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise chercher with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise chercher with the interactive tool.