essayer verb french meaning

Essayer Meaning & Translation – To try in French

By: Author David Issokson

Posted on Published: January 7, 2024  - Last updated: January 22, 2024

In today’s lesson we’ll have a look at the verb essayer , which means “to try”. For example, j’essaie d’apprendre le français (I try to learn French). Let’s jump right into the lesson!

Essayer Meaning & Translation

Word origin.

According to Wiktionary.org , the French verb essayer is related to the noun essai (try, attempt), which comes from the Latin verb exigere (to judge, examine, weigh) and noun exagium (weight, balance).

Present tense conjugation

Essayer is a regular ER verb. This means that its endings are the same as all other French regular ER verbs when conjugated in the present tense. Essayer has two accepted spelling patterns in the present tense. The pronunciations are the exact same.

J’essaie I try Tu essaies You try (singular, informal) Il, elle essaie He, she tries Nous essayons We try Vous essayez You try (plural, formal) Ils, elles essaient They try

J’essaye I try Tu essayes You try (singular, informal) Il, elle essaye He, she tries Nous essayons We try Vous essayez You try (plural, formal) Ils, elles essayent They try

Example sentences

In our first example sentence, essayer is simply “to try”. This example uses the word jamais (never), which we cover in our French negations lesson .

Si tu n’essaies pas, tu ne réussiras jamais.

If you don’ try, you’ll never succeed.

Essayer de + infinitive

In these two example sentnces, essayer de + infinitive means “to try to do something”.

J’essaie de chanter la chanson mais c’est très difficile.

I try to sing the song but it’s very difficult.

Je vais essayer de terminer mon projet avant demain.

I’ll try to finish my project before tomorrow

Essayer + noun

In the next two examples, essayer is followed by a noun, meaning “to try something”. Essayer can also translate to “to test”. Hence, “I test the skis” could also work as a translation for this next sentence.

The les in this example sentence is a direct object pronoun, meaning “them”. This post on our site covers object pronouns in depth.

J’essaie les nouveaux skis avant de les acheter.

I try the new skies before buying them.

Nous allons essayer le nouveau restaurant ce soir.

We are going to try the new restaurant tonight.

In French, the noun essai transaltes to “try” or “attempt” and is the origin of the English word “essay”.

Il a réussi son examen au troisième essai.

He passed the exam after the third try.

Et voilà ! You now know how to use essayer in French! Now check out our other lessons covering the verbs quitter (to leave) , bosser (to work hard) and ranger (to tidy, put away) .

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David Issokson

David Issokson is a lifelong language enthusiast. His head is swimming with words and sounds as he speaks over six languages. Of all the languages he speaks, he's the most passionate about French! David has helped hundreds of students to improve their French in his private online lessons. When procrastinating working on his site, FrenchLearner.com, David enjoys his time skiing and hiking in Teton Valley, Idaho.

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French Verb Conjugation Using "Essayer" (to Try)

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• Pronunciation & Conversation
• Resources For Teachers

The French verb  essayer  means "to try." It's a simple word that can easily be confused with  essuyer  (to wipe) , so be sure to look and listen for that 'A' in  essayer .

In order to place  essayer  into the past, present, or future tense, the verb needs to be conjugated . Just follow along in this lesson and you'll be saying "tried" and "trying" in French before you know it.

Conjugating the French Verb  Essayer ​​

Essayer  is an optional stem-changing verb . Typically with verbs that end in - yer , the 'Y' has to change to an 'I' in certain forms. The rules are a little more casual with  essayer  as you'll see in the table. When there are two forms of the conjugation, you can use either.

The stem of  essayer  is  essay -. To this, a variety of infinitive endings is added that conform with the subject pronoun as well as the tense of the sentence. For instance, "I try" is " j'essaie " or " j'essaye ." Similarly, there are two options for "we will try": " nous essaierons " or " nous essayerons ."

All this leaves you with many words to memorize. The good news is that there are many opportunities to practice it and use  essayer  as you "try" things throughout your day.

The Present Participle of  Essayer

The  present participle  of essayer is  essayant . This is as simple as adding - ant  to the verb stem. Not only does it work as a verb, but it can also become an adjective, gerund, or noun when needed.

The Past Participle and Passé Composé

The  past participle   essayé  is used to form the  passé composé , a common past tense form of "tried" in French. To use this, you'll also need to conjugate the  auxiliary verb   avoir . For example, "I tried" is " j'ai essayé " and "we tried" is " nous avons essayé ."

More Simple  Essayer  Conjugations to Know

When the action of trying is in some way questionable, you can turn to the subjunctive verb mood . Similarly, if it's dependent on something, the conditional verb mood is used.

With less frequency, you will come across the passé simple or the imperfect subjunctive . These are mostly found in formal writing and will help considerably with reading comprehension.

To use  essayer  in commands or direct requests, turn to the imperative verb form . When using this, the subject pronoun is not required: use " essaie " instead of " tu essaie ."

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• 1.1 Etymology
• 2.1 Etymology
• 2.2 Pronunciation
• 2.3.1 Conjugation
• 2.3.2 Related terms
• 2.4 Further reading
• 2.5 Paronyms
• 2.6 Anagrams
• 3.1.1 Conjugation
• 4.1.1 Synonyms

English [ edit ]

Etymology [ edit ].

From essay +‎ -er .

Noun [ edit ]

essayer ( plural essayers )

• ( obsolete ) One who performs an essay ; an experimenter .

French [ edit ]

Inherited from Middle French essayer , essaier , from Old French essaiier , essayer , essaier , from essay , essai ( “ attempt; assay; experiment ” ) + -er ( “ infinitive-forming suffix ” ) , from Late Latin exagium ( “ weight; weighing, testing on the balance ” ) , from Latin exigere + -ium , from ex- + agere , from Proto-Italic *agō , from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti .

Pronunciation [ edit ]

• IPA ( key ) : /e.sɛ.je/ , /e.se.je/

Verb [ edit ]

• ( transitive ) to test , to try on Essayez cette chemise. ― Try this shirt on .
• 2018 , Zaz, Résigne-moi : J ’essaie vraiment d ’ t’aider sans m’oublier. I'm truly trying to help you without forgetting myself.
• ( reflexive , transitive with à ) to try one's hand at s’essayer à quelque chose ― to try one's hand at something

Conjugation [ edit ]

This is a regular -er verb as far as pronunciation is concerned, but as with other verbs in -ayer (such as payer and essayer , the <y> of its stem may optionally be written as <i> when it precedes a silent <e> (compare verbs in -eyer , which never have this spelling change, and verbs in -oyer and -uyer , which always have it; verbs in -ayer belong to either group, according to the writer's preference).

Related terms [ edit ]

• bien essayé

Further reading [ edit ]

• “ essayer ”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [ Digitized Treasury of the French Language ] , 2012.

Paronyms [ edit ]

Anagrams [ edit ].

• ressaye , ressayé

Middle French [ edit ]

• ( transitive ) to test
• ( with "de" ) to try
• Middle French conjugation varies from one text to another. Hence, the following conjugation should be considered as typical, not as exhaustive.

Norwegian Bokmål [ edit ]

essayer   n

• indefinite singular of essay

Synonyms [ edit ]

• English terms suffixed with -er (agent noun)
• English lemmas
• English nouns
• English countable nouns
• English terms with obsolete senses
• French terms inherited from Middle French
• French terms derived from Middle French
• French terms inherited from Old French
• French terms derived from Old French
• French terms derived from Late Latin
• French terms derived from Latin
• French terms derived from Proto-Italic
• French terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
• French 3-syllable words
• French terms with IPA pronunciation
• French terms with audio links
• French lemmas
• French verbs
• French transitive verbs
• French terms with usage examples
• French terms with quotations
• French reflexive verbs
• French verbs with conjugation -ayer
• French first group verbs
• Middle French lemmas
• Middle French verbs
• Middle French transitive verbs
• Middle French first group verbs
• Norwegian Bokmål non-lemma forms
• Norwegian Bokmål noun forms
• Quotation templates to be cleaned

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Conjugation verb essayer in French

Model : marcher / balayer

Auxiliary : avoir

Other forms: s'essayer / ne pas essayer / ne pas s'essayer

The regular verbs of the 1st group follow this conjugation model (verbs ending in -er). Verbs ending in -ayer follow at the same time this model (il balaye) and the model of balayer (il balaie)

The verb has several variants of conjugation, which may correspond to different meanings. Please use the menu to select one or all variants.

• il/elle essaye
• nous essayons
• vous essayez
• ils/elles essayent
• il/elle essaie
• ils/elles essaient
• j' essayais
• tu essayais
• il/elle essayait
• nous essayions
• vous essayiez
• ils/elles essayaient
• j' essayerai
• tu essayeras
• il/elle essayera
• nous essayerons
• vous essayerez
• ils/elles essayeront
• j' essaierai
• tu essaieras
• il/elle essaiera
• nous essaierons
• vous essaierez
• ils/elles essaieront

Passé simple

• il/elle essaya
• nous essayâmes
• vous essayâtes
• ils/elles essayèrent

Passé composé

• j' ai essayé
• tu as essayé
• il/elle a essayé
• nous avons essayé
• vous avez essayé
• ils/elles ont essayé

Plus-que-parfait

• j' avais essayé
• tu avais essayé
• il/elle avait essayé
• nous avions essayé
• vous aviez essayé
• ils/elles avaient essayé

Passé antérieur

• j' eus essayé
• tu eus essayé
• il/elle eut essayé
• nous eûmes essayé
• vous eûtes essayé
• ils/elles eurent essayé

Futur antérieur

• j' aurai essayé
• tu auras essayé
• il/elle aura essayé
• nous aurons essayé
• vous aurez essayé
• ils/elles auront essayé
• que j' essaye
• que tu essayes
• qu' il/elle essaye
• que nous essayions
• que vous essayiez
• qu' ils/elles essayent
• que j' essaie
• que tu essaies
• qu' il/elle essaie
• qu' ils/elles essaient
• que j' essayasse
• que tu essayasses
• qu' il/elle essayât
• que nous essayassions
• que vous essayassiez
• qu' ils/elles essayassent
• que j' eusse essayé
• que tu eusses essayé
• qu' il/elle eût essayé
• que nous eussions essayé
• que vous eussiez essayé
• qu' ils/elles eussent essayé
• que j' aie essayé
• que tu aies essayé
• qu' il/elle ait essayé
• que nous ayons essayé
• que vous ayez essayé
• qu' ils/elles aient essayé

Conditionnel

• j' essayerais
• tu essayerais
• il/elle essayerait
• nous essayerions
• vous essayeriez
• ils/elles essayeraient
• j' essaierais
• tu essaierais
• il/elle essaierait
• nous essaierions
• vous essaieriez
• ils/elles essaieraient

Passé première forme

• j' aurais essayé
• tu aurais essayé
• il/elle aurait essayé
• nous aurions essayé
• vous auriez essayé
• ils/elles auraient essayé

Passé deuxième forme

• j' eusse essayé
• tu eusses essayé
• il/elle eût essayé
• nous eussions essayé
• vous eussiez essayé
• ils/elles eussent essayé
• ayant essayé
• masc.sg.: essayé
• masc.pl.: essayés
• fém.sg.: essayée
• fém.pl.: essayées
• ayons essayé
• ayez essayé
• avoir essayé

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▾ dictionary french-english, essayer ( qqch. ) verb —, try (sth.) v (almost always used), test v ( tested , tested ), try sth. out v, sample v ( sampled , sampled ), s'essayer à qqch. v —, essayer de deviner v —, essayer de forcer qqch. v —, ▾ external sources (not reviewed).

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• Essayer conjugation table
• Essayer conjugation rules
• Essayer synonyms

Essayer french definition

Essayer conjugation in all forms, essayer conjugation in all tenses.

• Essayer : verbs with similar conjugation
• Essayer conjugation in indicative
• Essayer conjugation in present indicative
• Essayer conjugation in present perfect indicative
• Essayer conjugation in imperfect indicative
• Essayer conjugation in pluperfect indicative
• Essayer conjugation in simple past indicative
• Essayer conjugation in past perfect indicative
• Essayer conjugation in simple future indicative
• Essayer conjugation in future perfect indicative
• Essayer conjugation in subjunctive
• Essayer conjugation in present subjunctive
• Essayer conjugation in past subjunctive
• Essayer conjugation in imperfect subjunctive
• Essayer conjugation in pluperfect subjunctive
• Essayer conjugation in conditional
• Essayer conjugation in present conditional
• Essayer conjugation in past conditional
• Essayer conjugation in imperative
• Essayer conjugation in present imperative
• Essayer conjugation in past imperative
• Infinitive of french verb Essayer
• Present infinitive of french verb Essayer
• Past infinitive of french verb Essayer
• Participle of french verb essayer
• Present participle of french verb essayer
• Past participle of french verb essayer
• Gerundive of french verb essayer
• Present gerundive of french verb essayer
• Past gerundive of french verb essayer

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• French Conjugation
• Essayer conjugation

Conjugation of french verb essayer

Present perfect, simple past, past perfect, simple future, future perfect, subjunctive, conditional, essayer french verb, conjugation rules, reflexive form:, negative form:, interrogative form:.

• Essayer french verb conjugation rules

Essayer french synonyms

• Essayer similar verbs conjugation

This is the list of essayer french verb synonyms :

Active voice conjugation

Passive voice conjugation, reflexive form conjugation, similar verbs conjugation.

Here is the full list of verbs sharing the same verb conjugation :

List of verbs used as patterns in french conjugation:

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• Essayer Conjugation

Essayer to try, to attempt

Essayer - indicative, essayer - perfect, essayer - subjunctive, essayer - conditional, essayer - imperative (commands).

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Verb Table for essayer

All conjugation types.

• Conjugation with avoir (Currently shown)
• Reflexive (conjugation with être)

Indicatif  •  Subjonctif  •  Conditionnel  •  Impératif  •  Formes impersonnelles

Passé simple, futur simple, passé composé, plus-que-parfait, passé antérieur, futur antérieur, participe présent, participe passé, browse the conjugations (verb tables).

• estampiller

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• Conjugation essayer
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Conjugation French verb essayer

Translation essayer, indicatif (indicative), présent (present), passé composé (present perfect), imparfait (imperfect), plus-que-parfait (pluperfect), passé simple (simple past), passé antérieur (past perfect), futur simple (future), futur antérieur (past future), conditionnel (conditional), passé (perfect), subjonctif (subjunctive), passé (past), impératif (imperative), infinitif (infinitive), participe (participle), gérondif (gerund), synonyms for the verb essayer.

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Translation of essayer – French-English dictionary

(Translation of essayer from the GLOBAL French-English Dictionary © 2018 K Dictionaries Ltd)

Translation of essayer | PASSWORD French-English Dictionary

(Translation of essayer from the PASSWORD French-English Dictionary © 2014 K Dictionaries Ltd)

Examples of essayer

Word of the Day

a bitter pill (to swallow)

something that is very unpleasant but must be accepted

Sitting on the fence (Newspaper idioms)

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French: essayer

French verb 'essayer' conjugated.

English translation of 'essayer'

Verb conjugations for essayer

Browse collins french collocations essayer, video: pronunciation of essayer.

Examples of 'essayer' in a sentence essayer

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• essais en plein champ
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• essayer de plaire à qn
• essayer vainement
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Related terms of essayer

• J’ai beau essayer, je n’y arrive pas.

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Imperfect of the French verb essayer