rire Examples, Sentences & Quiz in French

rire — laugh — is one of the verbs you will use every day in French. rire is the verb for talking about humour: it comes up whenever you talk about describing a funny film or laughing with friends. On this page you will find rire in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts 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.

Example sentences with rire

In the present tense

  • “Je ris beaucoup.” — “I laugh a lot.”
  • “Tu ris aux blagues.” — “You laugh at jokes.”
  • “Il rit tous les jours.” — “He laughs every day.”
  • “Nous risons très fort.” — “We laugh very loudly.”
  • “Vous risez beaucoup.” — “You laugh a lot.”
  • “Ils risent aux blagues.” — “They laugh at jokes.”

In the passé composé

  • “J'ai ri beaucoup cette semaine.” — “I have laughed a lot this week.”
  • “Tu as ri aux blagues cette semaine.” — “You have laughed at jokes this week.”
  • “Il a ri tous les jours cette semaine.” — “He has laughed every day this week.”
  • “Nous avons ri très fort cette semaine.” — “We have laughed very loudly this week.”
  • “Vous avez ri beaucoup cette semaine.” — “You have laughed a lot this week.”
  • “Ils ont ri aux blagues cette semaine.” — “They have laughed at jokes this week.”

In other tenses

The same verb in the imperfect, the future, the conditional and the present subjunctive — the four tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.

  • “Je risais beaucoup avant.” — “I used to laugh a lot before.”
  • “Je rirai aux blagues demain.” — “I will laugh at jokes tomorrow.”
  • “Je rirais tous les jours un jour.” — “I would laugh every day one day.”
  • “Bien que il rise très fort” — “Although he laughs very loudly.”

rire in context

Je ris beaucoup. Tu ris aux blagues. Il rit tous les jours. Nous risons très fort.

I laugh a lot. You laugh at jokes. He laughs every day. We laugh very loudly.

J'ai ri beaucoup. Il a ri aux blagues. Nous avons ri tous les jours.

I have laughed a lot this week. He has laughed at jokes this week. We have laughed every day this week.

Common mistakes with rire

Mistake 1

Wrong: Je rire beaucoup.

Right: Je ris beaucoup.

The infinitive never takes a subject: after je you need the conjugated form ris.

Mistake 2

Wrong: Je risons aux blagues.

Right: Je ris aux blagues.

risons is the nous form. With je, use ris.

Mistake 3

Wrong: Hier, je ris tous les jours.

Right: Hier, j'ai ri tous les jours.

Yesterday needs the passé composé ai ri, not the present.

Mistake 4

Wrong: Bien que je ris très fort.

Right: Bien que je rise très fort.

After bien que French needs the subjunctive rise.

Mistake 5

Wrong: Je risais beaucoup hier. (said of one finished moment)

Right: J'ai ri beaucoup hier.

The imperfect describes an ongoing or repeated past. One finished moment yesterday takes the passé composé.

Quiz: test yourself on rire

Ten questions on rire. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. What is the tu form of rire in the Present indicative?

    • A) risez
    • B) ris
    • C) risent
    • D) rit

  2. What is the nous form of rire in the Present indicative?

    • A) risent
    • B) risons
    • C) ris
    • D) rit

  3. What is the il/elle form of rire in the Present perfect?

    • A) avons ri
    • B) avez ri
    • C) a ri
    • D) ai ri

  4. What is the je form of rire in the Imperfect?

    • A) risait
    • B) risiez
    • C) risais
    • D) risions

  5. What is the nous form of rire in the Future?

    • A) rirons
    • B) rirez
    • C) rira
    • D) riras

  6. What is the tu form of rire in the Conditional?

    • A) rirait
    • B) ririez
    • C) riraient
    • D) rirais

  7. What is the je form of rire in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) rises
    • B) risent
    • C) risions
    • D) rise

  8. What is the il/elle form of rire in the Imperfect subjunctive?

    • A) rît
    • B) rissent
    • C) rissions
    • D) risse

  9. What is the gerund of rire?

    • A) risant
    • B) dormant
    • C) buvant

  10. What is the past participle of rire?

  • A) dormi
  • B) ri
  • C) bu

Answer key

  1. B) ris — The tu form of rire in the present indicative is ris.
  2. B) risons — The nous form of rire in the present indicative is risons.
  3. C) a ri — The il/elle form of rire in the present perfect is a ri.
  4. C) risais — The je form of rire in the imperfect is risais.
  5. A) rirons — The nous form of rire in the future is rirons.
  6. D) rirais — The tu form of rire in the conditional is rirais.
  7. D) rise — The je form of rire in the present subjunctive is rise.
  8. A) rît — The il/elle form of rire in the imperfect subjunctive is rît.
  9. A) risant — The gerund of rire is en risant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
  10. B) ri — The past participle of rire is ri; perfect tenses use avoir + ri.

Frequently asked questions

What does rire mean in English?

rire means “laugh”. You use it for talking about humour, for describing a funny film, and for laughing with friends.

Is rire regular or irregular?

rire is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The gerund is en risant and the past participle is ri.

How do I say “I laugh” in French?

Say “Je ris beaucoup.” — “I laugh a lot.” The je form of the present is ris.

Where can I see the full conjugation of rire?

On the full conjugation page, which has every tense, and on the Rire Passé Composé Tense Conjugation in French page.

How to practise rire this week

Pick one tense a day and say five sentences with rire out loud, using the examples on this page as your starting point. On the first day, use only the present tense and the complements from the examples above — beaucoup, aux blagues and tous les jours — and change only the person, so you hear how ris, ris and rit sound next to each other. On the second day, retell yesterday in the passé composé with ai ri and the other perfect forms from the table. On the third day, write three short plans for tomorrow in the future tense, and on the fourth day, turn them into polite conditional sentences. Keep a small notebook and write each new sentence down: seeing en risant and ri in your own handwriting fixes them in memory far better than reading them once. Finally, take the quiz above again without looking at the answer key — when you can answer all ten questions from memory, move on to the next verb in the hub.

Pronunciation

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

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