Mourir Examples, Sentences & Quiz in French

mourir — “to die” — is one of the verbs you will use every day in French. On this page you will find mourir in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short dialogues that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself. A first sentence to fix the verb in your memory: “Je meurs de rire.” — “I die of laughter.”

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for mourir, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

Example sentences with mourir

In the present tense

  • “Je meurs de rire tous les jours.” — “I die of laughter.”
  • “Tu meurs de rire souvent.” — “You die of laughter.”
  • “Il meurt de rire chaque matin.” — “He dies of laughter.”
  • “Nous mourons de rire le week-end.” — “We die of laughter.”

In the passé composé

  • “Je suis mort de rire hier.” — “I died of laughter yesterday.”
  • “Tu es mort de rire ce matin.” — “You died of laughter yesterday.”
  • “Il est mort de rire la semaine dernière.” — “He died of laughter yesterday.”

In the imperfect and the future

  • “Je mourais de rire quand j’étais jeune.” — “When I was young, I used to die of laughter.”
  • “Nous mourions de rire quand j’étais jeune.” — “We used to die of laughter.”
  • “Tu mourras de rire demain.” — “You will die of laughter tomorrow.”
  • “Ils mourront de rire demain.” — “They will die of laughter tomorrow.”

In other tenses

  • “Je mourrais de rire si je pouvais.” — “I would die of laughter if I could.”
  • “Il faut que je meure de rire.” — “It is important that I die of laughter.”
  • “Meurs de rire !” — “Die of laughter!” The same verb in the pluperfect: “J'étais mort de rire avant la fête.” — “I had died of laughter before the party.”

All forms above come from the verified tables. The gerund is en mourant and the past participle is mort; the perfect tenses use être + mort, as in suis mort.

Mourir in context

Dialogue 1: every day

Marie and Paul talk about what they do every day. Notice how mourir changes with the person, and how the passé composé appears when they talk about yesterday.

Marie: “Tu meurs de rire tous les jours ?” — “You die of laughter.” Paul: “Je meurs de rire tous les jours.” — “I die of laughter.” Marie: “Tu es mort de rire hier ?” — “You died of laughter yesterday.” Paul: “Je suis mort de rire hier.” — “I died of laughter yesterday.” Marie: “Nous mourrons de rire demain ?” — “We will die of laughter tomorrow.” Paul: “Nous mourrons de rire demain.” — “We will die of laughter tomorrow.”

Dialogue 2: making plans

Paul and Marie make plans for the weekend. The conditional appears for polite suggestions, and the imperative for a direct request.

Paul: “Je mourrais de rire si je pouvais.” — “I would die of laughter if I could.” Marie: “Tu meurs de rire souvent ?” — “You die of laughter.” Paul: “Je meurs de rire souvent.” — “I die of laughter.” Marie: “Meurs de rire !” — “Die of laughter!” Paul: “Il faut que je meure de rire.” — “It is important that I die of laughter.” Marie: “Nous sommes mort de rire hier.” — “We died of laughter yesterday.”

Read both dialogues aloud, changing the person each time: meurs becomes meurs, meurs becomes meurt, and so on. That is the fastest way to fix the six present forms — meurs*, meurs, meurt, mourons, mourez, *meurent — in memory.

Common mistakes with mourir

Mistake 1: Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

Wrong: “Je mourir de rire.”

Right: “Je meurs de rire.”

The infinitive mourir never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form meurs.

Mistake 2: Confusing mourir with naître

Wrong: “Je meurs en France.” (meant as “naître”)

Right: “Je meurs de rire.”

mourir means “to die” and naître means “to be born”. They appear in similar situations, but they are different actions — check the meaning before you choose the verb.

Mistake 3: Treating mourir as a regular verb

Wrong: “Je moure de rire.” (a guessed regular form)

Right: “Je meurs de rire.”

mourir is irregular — its present and other tenses do not follow the regular endings, so they have to be memorised as a set.

Mistake 4: Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

Wrong: “Il faut que je meurs de rire.”

Right: “Il faut que je meure de rire.”

After il faut que French needs the subjunctive: meure, not the indicative meurs.

Mistake 5: Mixing up the persons

Wrong: “Tu meurs de rire.”

Right: “Tu meurs de rire.”

After tu you need meurs, not the je form meurs.

Quiz: mourir in everyday use

  1. What is the je form of mourir in the Present indicative?

    • A) mourons
    • B) meurt
    • C) mourez
    • D) meurs

  2. What is the ils/elles form of mourir in the Present indicative?

    • A) mourons
    • B) meurent
    • C) meurs
    • D) mourez

  3. What is the tu form of mourir in the Present perfect (passé composé)?

    • A) est mort
    • B) sont mort
    • C) es mort
    • D) suis mort

  4. What is the nous form of mourir in the Imperfect?

    • A) mourions
    • B) mouraient
    • C) mourais
    • D) mouriez

  5. What is the il/elle form of mourir in the Future?

    • A) mourrons
    • B) mourra
    • C) mourront
    • D) mourrai

  6. What is the je form of mourir in the Conditional?

    • A) mourraient
    • B) mourrions
    • C) mourrais
    • D) mourriez

  7. What is the tu form of mourir in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) mouriez
    • B) meurent
    • C) mourions
    • D) meures

  8. What is the tu form of mourir in the Imperative (affirmative)?

    • A) mourons
    • B) meurs
    • C) seraient mort
    • D) mourez

  9. What is the past participle of mourir?

    • A) mourais
    • B) en mourant
    • C) meurs
    • D) mort

  10. What does mourir mean in English?

  • A) to be
  • B) to have
  • C) to die
  • D) to go

Answer key

  1. D) meurs — the je form of mourir in the present indicative is meurs.
  2. B) meurent — the ils/elles form of mourir in the present indicative is meurent.
  3. C) es mort — the tu form of mourir in the present perfect (passé composé) is es mort.
  4. A) mourions — the nous form of mourir in the imperfect is mourions.
  5. B) mourra — the il/elle form of mourir in the future is mourra.
  6. C) mourrais — the je form of mourir in the conditional is mourrais.
  7. D) meures — the tu form of mourir in the present subjunctive is meures.
  8. B) meurs — the tu form of mourir in the imperative (affirmative) is meurs.
  9. D) mort — the past participle of mourir is mort; perfect tenses use être + mort.
  10. C) to die — mourir means “to die” in English.

Frequently asked questions

What does mourir mean in English?

mourir means “to die”. You use it in everyday situations like the examples on this page — for example, “Je meurs de rire.” (“I die of laughter.”).

Which auxiliary does mourir take in the passé composé?

mourir takes être: suis mort. Because the auxiliary is être, the participle agrees with the subject in gender and number.

What is the hardest form of mourir to remember?

Most learners struggle with the irregular forms — for example the present meurs and the passé composé suis mort. Practise those two first, then add the subjunctive meure.

Where can I see the full conjugation of mourir?

On the full conjugation page for mourir, which has every tense, and on the mourir passé composé page, which goes deep on one tense.

Say it yourself

Cover the French sentences above and translate the English back into French. Start with the present tense: “I die of laughter.” should become “Je meurs de rire”. Then try the passé composé: “I died of laughter yesterday.” should become “Je suis mort de rire”. Finally, try the future: “I will die of laughter tomorrow.” should become “Je mourrai de rire”. If you get a form wrong, check it against the full conjugation page and say the correct form aloud three times before moving on.

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