Naître Conjugation in French
naître means “to be born” in English, and it is a verb French learners meet early and use often. This page gives you the complete conjugation of naître — 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: “Il naît en France.” — “He is born in France.” 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 naître 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: naître
- English: to be born
- Verb type: Irregular -re verb
- Irregular in: present, passe-simple, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative, past-participle
- Gerund: en naissant
- Past participle: né
- Auxiliary: être (all perfect tenses are formed with être + the past participle)
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for naître, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for naître. 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 | naîs |
| tu | naîs |
| il/elle | naît |
| nous | naissons |
| vous | naissez |
| ils/elles | naissent |
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | naquis |
| tu | naquis |
| il/elle | naquit |
| nous | naquîmes |
| vous | naquîtes |
| ils/elles | naquirent |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | naissais |
| tu | naissais |
| il/elle | naissait |
| nous | naissions |
| vous | naissiez |
| ils/elles | naissaient |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | naîtrai |
| tu | naîtras |
| il/elle | naîtra |
| nous | naîtrons |
| vous | naîtrez |
| ils/elles | naîtront |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | naîtrais |
| tu | naîtrais |
| il/elle | naîtrait |
| nous | naîtrions |
| vous | naîtriez |
| ils/elles | naîtraient |
Present perfect (passé composé)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | suis né |
| tu | es né |
| il/elle | est né |
| nous | sommes né |
| vous | êtes né |
| ils/elles | sont né |
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | étais né |
| tu | étais né |
| il/elle | était né |
| nous | étions né |
| vous | étiez né |
| ils/elles | étaient né |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | serai né |
| tu | seras né |
| il/elle | sera né |
| nous | serons né |
| vous | serez né |
| ils/elles | seront né |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | serais né |
| tu | serais né |
| il/elle | serait né |
| nous | serions né |
| vous | seriez né |
| ils/elles | seraient né |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | naisse |
| tu | naisses |
| il/elle | naisse |
| nous | naissions |
| vous | naissiez |
| ils/elles | naissent |
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | naquisse |
| tu | naquisses |
| il/elle | naquît |
| nous | naquissions |
| vous | naquissiez |
| ils/elles | naquissent |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | nais |
| nous | naissons |
| vous | naissez |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | nais |
| nous | naissons |
| vous | naissez |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en naissant |
| Past participle | né |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With naître this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Je naîs en France.” — “I am born in France.”
Passé simple
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mainly in written and literary French. With naître this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Tu naquis en France.” — “You were born in France one day.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. For example: “Il naissait en France quand j’étais jeune.” — “He used to be born in France.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, predictions and promises. For example: “Nous naîtrons en France.” — “We will be born in France tomorrow.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, polite requests and hypothetical situations. For example: “Vous naîtriez en France.” — “You would be born in France if you could.”
Present perfect (passé composé)
The present perfect (passé composé) is used for recent past actions and completed events. With naître it is formed with être + the past participle né. For example: “Ils sont né en France hier.” — “They were born in France yesterday.”
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
The pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'étais né en France avant la fête.” — “I had been born in France before the party.”
Future perfect
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Tu seras né en France.” — “You will have been born in France by tomorrow evening.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Il serait né en France.” — “He would have been born in France 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 naisse en France.” — “It is important that I be born in France.”
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 naquisse en France.” — “It was important that I be born in France.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. With naître this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Nais en France !” — “Be born in France!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. With naître this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Nais en France !” — “Do not be born in France!”
Gerund and past participle
The gerund is en naissant — “while being born” — used after en to say how something happens. The past participle is né, used with être for the perfect tenses, as in suis né.
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with naître, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je naîs en France.” — “I am born in France.”
- “Tu naîs en France.” — “You are born in France.”
- “Il naissait en France.” — “He used to be born in France.”
- “Nous naîtrons en France.” — “We will be born in France tomorrow.”
- “Je naîtrais en France.” — “I would be born in France if I could.”
- “Tu es né en France.” — “You were born in France yesterday.”
- “Il était né en France.” — “He had been born in France before the party.”
- “Nous serons né en France.” — “We will have been born in France by tomorrow evening.”
- “Il faut que je naisse en France.” — “It is important that I be born in France.”
- “Nais en France !” — “Be born in France!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je naître en France.”
✓ Right: “Je naîs en France.”
The infinitive naître never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form naîs.
2. Confusing naître with mourir
✗ Wrong: “Je naîs de rire.” (meant as “mourir”)
✓ Right: “Je naîs en France.”
naître means “to be born”; mourir means “to die”. Keep the two verbs apart by their meaning, not by their sound.
3. Applying the regular pattern to naître
✗ Wrong: “Je naître…” (a guessed regular form)
✓ Right: “Je naîs en France.”
naître is irregular in present, passe-simple, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative, past-participle. The present indicative form for je is naîs, not what the regular endings would give — learn it as a set.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il faut que je naîs en France.”
✓ Right: “Il faut que je naisse en France.”
After il faut que French needs the subjunctive, so use naisse here, not the indicative naîs.
5. Forgetting that the participle agrees with être
✗ Wrong: “Elle est né.” (said of a woman, with the masculine form)
✓ Right: “Elle est née.” — the participle agrees in gender and number with the subject when the auxiliary is être; the tables on this page give the masculine singular form né.
With être the past participle agrees with the subject. The tables give the masculine singular; add -e for a feminine subject and -s for a plural one.
Quiz: test yourself
What is the je form of naître in the Present indicative?
- A) naissons
- B) naissez
- C) naîs
- D) naissent
What is the ils/elles form of naître in the Present indicative?
- A) naissez
- B) naîs
- C) naît
- D) naissent
What is the il/elle form of naître in the Passé simple?
- A) naquirent
- B) naquis
- C) naquîtes
- D) naquit
What is the nous form of naître in the Imperfect?
- A) naissaient
- B) naissions
- C) naissais
- D) naissait
What is the tu form of naître in the Future?
- A) naîtras
- B) naîtront
- C) naîtrons
- D) naîtrez
What is the je form of naître in the Conditional?
- A) naîtrais
- B) naîtrait
- C) naîtrions
- D) naîtraient
What is the il/elle form of naître in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) êtes né
- B) sommes né
- C) est né
- D) sont né
What is the vous form of naître in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)?
- A) étions né
- B) était né
- C) étiez né
- D) étais né
What is the gerund of naître?
- A) en naissant
- B) naîs
- C) naîtrai
- D) né
What is the past participle of naître?
- A) né
- B) en naissant
- C) naîs
- D) naissais
Answer key
- C) naîs — the je form of naître in the present indicative is naîs.
- D) naissent — the ils/elles form of naître in the present indicative is naissent.
- D) naquit — the il/elle form of naître in the passé simple is naquit.
- B) naissions — the nous form of naître in the imperfect is naissions.
- A) naîtras — the tu form of naître in the future is naîtras.
- A) naîtrais — the je form of naître in the conditional is naîtrais.
- C) est né — the il/elle form of naître in the present perfect (passé composé) is est né.
- C) étiez né — the vous form of naître in the pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is étiez né.
- A) en naissant — the gerund of naître is en naissant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
- A) né — the past participle of naître is né; perfect tenses use être + né.
Frequently asked questions
What does naître mean in English?
naître means “to be born”. You use it in everyday situations like the examples on this page — for example, “Il naît en France.” (“He is born in France.”). It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is naître regular or irregular?
naître is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, passe-simple, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative, past-participle. The gerund is en naissant and the past participle is né.
What are the gerund and past participle of naître?
The gerund is en naissant — use it after en for actions in progress. The past participle is né — use it with être for the perfect tenses, as in suis né.
What is the difference between naître and mourir?
naître means “to be born”, while mourir means “to die”. 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 mourir and compare the meanings in context.
How do I say “I am born” in French?
Say “Il naît en France.” — “He is born in France.” The je form of the present is naîs, and it is the form you will use most often.
How to learn naître
Start with the present tense: naîs, naîs, naît, naissons, naissez, naissent. Say them in order every day for a week, then add the passé composé — suis né — and the imperfect — naissais. Next, learn the future (naîtrai) and the conditional (naîtrais), which share the same stem. Finally, tackle the subjunctive (naisse) and the imperative (nais). 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
- naître in the present tense — the full table and uses for this verb in the present tense.
- naître examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- French irregular verbs — every common irregular French verb, grouped by pattern.
- Mourir conjugation — another French verb to practise with.
- Grandir conjugation — another French verb to practise with.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- Verb Conjugator — practise naître with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise naître with the interactive tool.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise the present tense with the interactive tool.
- VerbFlow home — back to the start.