Peindre Conjugation in French
peindre means “to paint” in English, and it is one of the verbs French learners meet early — it sits at frequency rank 864 in VerbFlow’s French list. It is a non-reflexive, irregular -re verb, and this page gives you its complete conjugation — 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 peins la maison tous les jours.” — “I paint the house every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: peindre
- English: to paint
- Verb type: Non-reflexive, Irregular
- Irregular in: present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative
- Gerund: en peignant
- Past participle: peint
- 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 peindre, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for peindre. 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 | peins |
| tu | peins |
| il/elle | peint |
| nous | peignons |
| vous | peignez |
| ils/elles | peignent |
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | peignis |
| tu | peignis |
| il/elle | peignit |
| nous | peignîmes |
| vous | peignîtes |
| ils/elles | peignirent |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | peignais |
| tu | peignais |
| il/elle | peignait |
| nous | peignions |
| vous | peigniez |
| ils/elles | peignaient |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | peindrai |
| tu | peindras |
| il/elle | peindra |
| nous | peindrons |
| vous | peindrez |
| ils/elles | peindront |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | peindrais |
| tu | peindrais |
| il/elle | peindrait |
| nous | peindrions |
| vous | peindriez |
| ils/elles | peindraient |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai peint |
| tu | as peint |
| il/elle | a peint |
| nous | avons peint |
| vous | avez peint |
| ils/elles | ont peint |
Pluperfect (past perfect)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais peint |
| tu | avais peint |
| il/elle | avait peint |
| nous | avions peint |
| vous | aviez peint |
| ils/elles | avaient peint |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai peint |
| tu | auras peint |
| il/elle | aura peint |
| nous | aurons peint |
| vous | aurez peint |
| ils/elles | auront peint |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais peint |
| tu | aurais peint |
| il/elle | aurait peint |
| nous | aurions peint |
| vous | auriez peint |
| ils/elles | auraient peint |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | peigne |
| tu | peignes |
| il/elle | peigne |
| nous | peignions |
| vous | peigniez |
| ils/elles | peignent |
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | peignisse |
| tu | peignisses |
| il/elle | peignît |
| nous | peignissions |
| vous | peignissiez |
| ils/elles | peignissent |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | peins |
| nous | peignons |
| vous | peignez |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | peins |
| nous | peignons |
| vous | peignez |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en peignant |
| Past participle | peint |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With peindre 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 peins la maison tous les jours.” — “I paint the house every day.”
Passé simple
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mainly in written and literary French. With peindre 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 peignis la maison la semaine dernière.” — “You painted the house last week.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. With peindre this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -re pattern. For example: “Il peignait la maison ce matin.” — “He used to paint the house this morning.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, and for predictions. With peindre this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -re pattern. For example: “Nous peindrons la maison.” — “We will paint the house.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. With peindre this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -re pattern. For example: “Vous peindriez la maison.” — “You would paint the house.”
Present perfect
The present perfect (passé composé) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken French. With peindre this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -re pattern. For example: “Ils ont peint la maison hier.” — “They have painted the house yesterday.”
Pluperfect (past perfect)
The pluperfect (past perfect) is used for an action completed before another past action. With peindre this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -re pattern. For example: “J'avais peint la maison hier.” — “I had painted the house yesterday.”
Future perfect
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. With peindre this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -re pattern. For example: “Tu auras peint la maison la semaine prochaine.” — “You will have painted the house next week.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. With peindre this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -re pattern. For example: “Il aurait peint la maison ce matin.” — “He would have painted the house this morning.”
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. With peindre 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: “Il est important que nous peignions la maison tous les jours.” — “It is important that We paint the house every day.”
Imperfect subjunctive
The imperfect subjunctive is used for the past subjunctive: wishes and hypotheticals about the past, mostly in formal and literary French. With peindre this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -re pattern. For example: “Il fallait que vous peignissiez la maison hier.” — “It was necessary that You paint the house yesterday.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. With peindre 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: “Peignez la maison !” — “Paint the house!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. With peindre 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: “Ne peins pas la maison !” — “Do not paint the house!”
Gerund and past participle
The gerund en peignant is used after en for an action happening at the same time as the main verb. For example: “En peignant, je commence la journée.” — “While painting, I start the day.” The past participle peint is used with avoir in the perfect tenses, as in j'ai peint — “I have painted the house yesterday.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with peindre, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je peins la maison à la maison.” — “I paint the house at home.”
- “Tu peignis la maison ce matin.” — “You painted the house this morning.”
- “Il peignait la maison avec Paul.” — “He used to paint the house with Paul.”
- “Je peindrai la maison demain.” — “I will paint the house tomorrow.”
- “Tu peindrais la maison tous les jours.” — “You would paint the house every day.”
- “Il a peint la maison la semaine dernière.” — “He has painted the house last week.”
- “J'avais peint la maison ce matin.” — “I had painted the house this morning.”
- “Tu auras peint la maison demain.” — “You will have painted the house tomorrow.”
- “Il est important que il peigne la maison tous les jours.” — “It is important that He paint the house every day.”
- “Peins la maison !” — “Paint the house!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je peindre la maison.”
✓ Right: “Je peins la maison tous les jours.”
The infinitive peindre never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form peins.
2. Using the wrong person
✗ Wrong: “Je peins la maison.”
✓ Right: “Je peins la maison tous les jours.”
peins is the tu form, not the je form. The je form is peins — check the person before you write the form.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Je peins la maison hier.”
✓ Right: “J'ai peint la maison hier.”
Hier points to the past, so use the present perfect ai peint here, not the present peins.
4. Mixing up the stem in the stressed forms
✗ Wrong: “Je peignons la maison.”
✓ Right: “Je peins la maison tous les jours.”
peindre is irregular in present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative: those tenses do not follow the regular -re pattern, so learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. The other tenses follow the regular pattern.
5. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je suis peint la maison hier.”
✓ Right: “J'ai peint la maison hier.”
peindre takes avoir in the compound tenses, not être: ai peint, never the être form.
6. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il est important que nous peignons la maison.”
✓ Right: “Il est important que nous peignions la maison.”
After il est important que French needs the subjunctive, so use peignions here, not the indicative peignons.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on peindre. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of peindre in the Present indicative?
- A) peins
- B) peignisse
- C) avais peint
- D) peignez
What is the il/elle form of peindre in the Passé simple?
- A) aura peint
- B) a peint
- C) peignit
- D) peint
What is the nous form of peindre in the Imperfect?
- A) peigniez
- B) peignions
- C) peindrions
- D) aurions peint
What is the tu form of peindre in the Future?
- A) as peint
- B) peindras
- C) peindrons
- D) peindront
What is the je form of peindre in the Conditional?
- A) peindraient
- B) peindrai
- C) peignis
- D) peindrais
What is the il/elle form of peindre in the Present subjunctive?
- A) peignent
- B) peignions
- C) peigne
- D) peignait
What is the nous form of peindre in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) peignons
- B) a peint
- C) peignissions
- D) avons peint
What is the gerund of peindre?
- A) appartenant
- B) dessinant
- C) acceptant
- D) en peignant
What is the past participle of peindre?
- A) aperçu
- B) admiré
- C) arrangé
- D) peint
What does peindre mean in English?
- A) create
- B) consider
- C) cause
- D) paint
Answer key
- A) peins — the je form of peindre in the present indicative is peins. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- C) peignit — the il/elle form of peindre in the passé simple is peignit. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- B) peignions — the nous form of peindre in the imperfect is peignions. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- B) peindras — the tu form of peindre in the future is peindras. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- D) peindrais — the je form of peindre in the conditional is peindrais. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- C) peigne — the il/elle form of peindre in the present subjunctive is peigne. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- D) avons peint — the nous form of peindre in the present perfect (passé composé) is avons peint. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- D) en peignant — the gerund of peindre is en peignant; it is used with en for actions happening at the same time as the main verb. The other options are the present participles of neighbouring verbs.
- D) peint — the past participle of peindre is peint; perfect tenses use avoir + peint. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
- D) paint — peindre means “to paint” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
How to learn this verb
Learn peindre in three passes. First, say the present tense aloud in order — je peins, tu peins, il peint, nous peignons, vous peignez, ils peignent — three times, then write three sentences with the verb. Second, learn the passé composé with its auxiliary: ai peint shows the pattern, and the participle peint is the same in every perfect tense. Third, add one new tense a day, always in a sentence, and test yourself the next day before you learn the next one. A verb you can use in a sentence is learnt; a verb you can only recite is not. Use the Verb Quiz and the Verb Conjugator to check what has stuck, and compare peindre with the other verbs in this batch on the French verbs hub.
Frequently asked questions
What does peindre mean in English?
peindre means “to paint”. It is a non-reflexive, irregular verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is peindre regular or irregular?
peindre is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. peindre is irregular in present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative: those tenses do not follow the regular -re pattern, so learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. The other tenses follow the regular pattern.
What are the gerund and past participle of peindre?
The gerund is en peignant — use it after en for an action happening at the same time as the main verb. The past participle is peint — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in j'ai peint.
How do I say “I paint” in French?
Say “Je peins la maison tous les jours.” — “I paint the house every day.” The je form of the present is peins, and it is the form you will use most often.
How do you pronounce peindre?
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for peindre, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Related pages
- peindre in the passé composé tense
- peindre examples and quiz
- Accepter conjugation — another French verb in this batch.
- Avouer conjugation — another French verb in this batch.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- French irregular verbs — every common irregular French verb, grouped by pattern.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- Conjugation Practice — practise peindre with the interactive tool.
- Stem Change Finder — practise peindre with the interactive tool.
- Imperfect Conjugator — practise peindre with the interactive tool.