Désirer Conjugation in French
désirer means “to desire” in English, and it is a verb French learners meet early and use often. This page gives you the complete conjugation of désirer — 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 désire un café chaud.” — “I desire a hot coffee.” 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 désirer 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: désirer
- English: to desire
- Verb type: Regular -er verb
- Irregular in: — (regular in every tense)
- Gerund: en désirant
- Past participle: désiré
- 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 désirer, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for désirer. 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 | désire |
| tu | désires |
| il/elle | désire |
| nous | désirons |
| vous | désirez |
| ils/elles | désirent |
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | désirai |
| tu | désiras |
| il/elle | désira |
| nous | désirâmes |
| vous | désirâtes |
| ils/elles | désirèrent |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | désirais |
| tu | désirais |
| il/elle | désirait |
| nous | désirions |
| vous | désiriez |
| ils/elles | désiraient |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | désirerai |
| tu | désireras |
| il/elle | désirera |
| nous | désirerons |
| vous | désirerez |
| ils/elles | désireront |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | désirerais |
| tu | désirerais |
| il/elle | désirerait |
| nous | désirerions |
| vous | désireriez |
| ils/elles | désireraient |
Present perfect (passé composé)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai désiré |
| tu | as désiré |
| il/elle | a désiré |
| nous | avons désiré |
| vous | avez désiré |
| ils/elles | ont désiré |
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais désiré |
| tu | avais désiré |
| il/elle | avait désiré |
| nous | avions désiré |
| vous | aviez désiré |
| ils/elles | avaient désiré |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai désiré |
| tu | auras désiré |
| il/elle | aura désiré |
| nous | aurons désiré |
| vous | aurez désiré |
| ils/elles | auront désiré |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais désiré |
| tu | aurais désiré |
| il/elle | aurait désiré |
| nous | aurions désiré |
| vous | auriez désiré |
| ils/elles | auraient désiré |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | désire |
| tu | désires |
| il/elle | désire |
| nous | désirions |
| vous | désiriez |
| ils/elles | désirent |
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | désirasse |
| tu | désirasses |
| il/elle | désirât |
| nous | désirassions |
| vous | désirassiez |
| ils/elles | désirassent |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | désire |
| nous | désirons |
| vous | désirez |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | désire |
| nous | désirons |
| vous | désirez |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en désirant |
| Past participle | désiré |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Je désire un café chaud.” — “I desire a hot coffee.”
Passé simple
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mainly in written and literary French. For example: “Tu désiras un café chaud.” — “You desired a hot coffee one day.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. For example: “Il désirait un café chaud quand j’étais jeune.” — “He used to desire a hot coffee.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, predictions and promises. For example: “Nous désirerons un café chaud.” — “We will desire a hot coffee tomorrow.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, polite requests and hypothetical situations. For example: “Vous désireriez un café chaud.” — “You would desire a hot coffee if you could.”
Present perfect (passé composé)
The present perfect (passé composé) is used for recent past actions and completed events. With désirer it is formed with avoir + the past participle désiré. For example: “Ils ont désiré un café chaud hier.” — “They have desired a hot coffee.”
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
The pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais désiré un café chaud avant la fête.” — “I had desired a hot coffee 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 désiré un café chaud.” — “You will have desired a hot coffee by tomorrow evening.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Il aurait désiré un café chaud.” — “He would have desired a hot coffee 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 désire un café chaud.” — “It is important that I desire a hot coffee.”
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 désirasse un café chaud.” — “It was important that I desire a hot coffee.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Désire un café chaud !” — “Desire a hot coffee!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Désire un café chaud !” — “Do not desire a hot coffee!”
Gerund and past participle
The gerund is en désirant — “while desiring” — used after en to say how something happens. The past participle is désiré, used with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai désiré.
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with désirer, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je désire un café chaud.” — “I desire a hot coffee.”
- “Tu désires un café chaud.” — “You desire a hot coffee.”
- “Il désirait un café chaud.” — “He used to desire a hot coffee.”
- “Nous désirerons un café chaud.” — “We will desire a hot coffee tomorrow.”
- “Je désirerais un café chaud.” — “I would desire a hot coffee if I could.”
- “Tu as désiré un café chaud.” — “You have desired a hot coffee.”
- “Il avait désiré un café chaud.” — “He had desired a hot coffee before the party.”
- “Nous aurons désiré un café chaud.” — “We will have desired a hot coffee by tomorrow evening.”
- “Il faut que je désire un café chaud.” — “It is important that I desire a hot coffee.”
- “Désire un café chaud !” — “Desire a hot coffee!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je désirer un café chaud.”
✓ Right: “Je désire un café chaud.”
The infinitive désirer never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form désire.
2. Confusing désirer with espérer
✗ Wrong: “Je désire une bonne nouvelle aujourd’hui.” (meant as “espérer”)
✓ Right: “Je désire un café chaud.”
désirer means “to desire”; espérer means “to hope”. Keep the two verbs apart by their meaning, not by their sound.
3. Using the wrong auxiliary for the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je suis désiré un café chaud.”
✓ Right: “J'ai désiré un café chaud.”
With désirer the passé composé is formed with avoir, not être: ai désiré.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il faut que je désire un café chaud.”
✓ Right: “Il faut que je désire un café chaud.”
After il faut que French needs the subjunctive, so use désire here, not the indicative désire.
5. Using the present for a finished past event
✗ Wrong: “Je désire un café chaud hier.”
✓ Right: “J'ai désiré un café chaud hier.”
Yesterday’s finished event needs the passé composé (ai désiré), not the present.
Quiz: test yourself
What is the je form of désirer in the Present indicative?
- A) désirez
- B) désires
- C) désirent
- D) désire
What is the ils/elles form of désirer in the Present indicative?
- A) désire
- B) désires
- C) désirent
- D) désirons
What is the il/elle form of désirer in the Passé simple?
- A) désira
- B) désirai
- C) désirâmes
- D) désiras
What is the nous form of désirer in the Imperfect?
- A) désiriez
- B) désirions
- C) désirait
- D) désiraient
What is the tu form of désirer in the Future?
- A) désireras
- B) désirera
- C) désirerons
- D) désirerai
What is the je form of désirer in the Conditional?
- A) désireraient
- B) désirerions
- C) désirerais
- D) désirerait
What is the il/elle form of désirer in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) a désiré
- B) avez désiré
- C) ai désiré
- D) avons désiré
What is the vous form of désirer in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)?
- A) avions désiré
- B) avait désiré
- C) aviez désiré
- D) avaient désiré
What is the gerund of désirer?
- A) désirerai
- B) désire
- C) désiré
- D) en désirant
What is the past participle of désirer?
- A) en désirant
- B) désire
- C) désiré
- D) désirais
Answer key
- D) désire — the je form of désirer in the present indicative is désire.
- C) désirent — the ils/elles form of désirer in the present indicative is désirent.
- A) désira — the il/elle form of désirer in the passé simple is désira.
- B) désirions — the nous form of désirer in the imperfect is désirions.
- A) désireras — the tu form of désirer in the future is désireras.
- C) désirerais — the je form of désirer in the conditional is désirerais.
- A) a désiré — the il/elle form of désirer in the present perfect (passé composé) is a désiré.
- C) aviez désiré — the vous form of désirer in the pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is aviez désiré.
- D) en désirant — the gerund of désirer is en désirant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
- C) désiré — the past participle of désirer is désiré; perfect tenses use avoir + désiré.
Frequently asked questions
What does désirer mean in English?
désirer means “to desire”. You use it in everyday situations like the examples on this page — for example, “Je désire un café chaud.” (“I desire a hot coffee.”). It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is désirer regular or irregular?
désirer is regular: its endings follow the standard -er pattern in every tense. The gerund is en désirant and the past participle is désiré.
What are the gerund and past participle of désirer?
The gerund is en désirant — use it after en for actions in progress. The past participle is désiré — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai désiré.
What is the difference between désirer and espérer?
désirer means “to desire”, while espérer means “to hope”. They are easy to mix up because they appear in similar situations, but their meanings are different. If you are unsure, check the full conjugation page for espérer and compare the meanings in context.
How do I say “I desire” in French?
Say “Je désire un café chaud.” — “I desire a hot coffee.” The je form of the present is désire, and it is the form you will use most often.
How to learn désirer
Start with the present tense: désire, désires, désire, désirons, désirez, désirent. Say them in order every day for a week, then add the passé composé — ai désiré — and the imperfect — désirais. Next, learn the future (désirerai) and the conditional (désirerais), which share the same stem. Finally, tackle the subjunctive (désire) and the imperative (désire). 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
- désirer in the present tense — the full table and uses for this verb in the present tense.
- désirer 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.
- Esperer conjugation — another French verb to practise with.
- Adorer conjugation — another French verb to practise with.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- Verb Conjugator — practise désirer with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise désirer with the interactive tool.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise the present tense with the interactive tool.
- VerbFlow home — back to the start.