taire

to stay silent, to say nothing

verb TEHR Common

Usage Note

Taire is an irregular verb most often used reflexively as se taire, meaning 'to be quiet' or 'to shut up'. The imperative tais-toi is a direct command to be silent, ranging from firm to rude depending on tone. Its past participle is tu (invariable), which can be confused with the pronoun tu.

Examples

"Il faut se taire pendant la réunion."

Natural Translation

You have to stay quiet during the meeting.

Literal Translation

It is necessary to be quiet during the meeting.

Related Words

Explore French by topic

FrenchNow

En, Au, Aux: French Prepositions for Countries

Use en for feminine countries, au for masculine, aux for plural, and à for cities. Full French preposition rule for countries, with a lookup table and traps.

June 4, 2026 5 min read

FrenchNow

French Silent Letters: The CaReFuL Rule

Final consonants in French are silent by default — except C, R, F, L. The CaReFuL rule, the silent -e, the plural-s trap, and liaison, explained simply.

June 4, 2026 5 min read

FrenchNow

Avoir or Être? Picking the Right Past-Tense Helper

Use avoir for the passé composé unless the verb is reflexive or one of ~16 DR MRS VANDERTRAMP motion verbs, which take être and force agreement.

June 4, 2026 5 min read

FrenchNow

Telling Time in French: Hours, Quarters, 24-Hour

Telling time in French means Il est cinq heures, et quart, et demie, and the 24-hour clock like quatorze heures trente. Read any French schedule.

June 4, 2026 5 min read