guérir

ByFast French

The French verb “guérir” means “to heal,” “to cure,” “to recover” or “to cure oneself.” It can be used in three different ways: transitively, intransitively and reflexively. Let’s see what that means below.

Transitive

Used transitively, “guérir” means “to cure” someone of something. Transitive means that the verb “guérir” will have a direct object, which is a noun or pronoun that the verb acts on, directly.

  • Ce médicament guérira mon rhume (This medicine will cure my cold)

Intransitive

Used intransitively, “guérir” means “to heal,” but without an object.

  • La blessure a guéri toute seule (The injury healed by itself)

Reflexive

Used reflexively, “guérir” means “to cure oneself” or “to be cured,” rather than to cure someone else, or for something to heal of its own accord.

  • Je me suis guéri de ma grippe en restant au chaud (I recovered from my flu by staying warm)

Etymology

The French verb “guérir” traces its origins to the Latin word “curare,” meaning “to take care of” or “to cure.” Over time, “curare” transformed into Old French “guarir” and eventually became the modern French “guérir.”

Conjugation

Present tense

  • Je guéris (I heal)
  • Tu guéris (You heal)
  • Il/elle/on guérit (He/she/one heals)
  • Nous guérissons (We heal)
  • Vous guérissez (You heal – formal/plural)
  • Ils/elles guérissent (They heal)

Passé composé

  • J’ai guéri (I have healed)
  • Tu as guéri (You have healed)
  • Il/elle/on a guéri (He/she/one has healed)
  • Nous avons guéri (We have healed)
  • Vous avez guéri (You have healed – formal/plural)
  • Ils/elles ont guéri (They have healed)

Don’t miss new articles!

Get 1 email a week with new articles about French

We don’t spam! Read more in our privacy policy

Similar Posts

  • contredire

    ByFast French

    The French verb “contredire” means “to contradict” or “to oppose”. Learn how it is conjugated in the present tense and the passé composé. Interestingly, the “vous” form in the present tense does not follow the example of the verb “dire.” Conjugation in the Present Tense “Contredire” is an irregular verb that follows the pattern of…

  • il vaut mieux

    ByFast French

    The phrase “il vaut mieux” can be translated as “it is better” or “it is preferable.” It is employed to express a preference or recommendation, suggesting that one option is superior or more desirable than another. It uses an impersonal construction of the verb “valoir,” which means “to be worth.” An impersonal construction means that…

  • | |

    derrière

    ByFast French

    The French word “derrière” can function either as a preposition, as an adverb or as a noun. Depending on which one of these three parts of speech it is being used as, it can mean “behind,” “after,” “shortly after,” “afterwards,” “bottom,” or “back.” It is the opposite of “devant,” discussed in this blog post. Preposition…

  • Possessive pronouns

    ByFast French

    Possessive pronouns replace nouns and show ownership or possession. They agree in gender and number with the nouns they replace. In English, they are “mine,” “yours,” “his,” “hers,” “ours,” and “theirs.” Here’s a comprehensive table listing the French possessive pronouns: Possessor Singular Plural 1st person le mien (mine) les miens (mine) la mienne (mine) les…

  • where

    ByFast French

    Most French learners are familiar with the word for “where,” which is “où.” But how do you say “somewhere,” “nowhere,” “anywhere,” “everywhere,” “elsewhere,” and similar words?

  • plus pronunciation

    ByFast French

    In French, the word plus can have different meanings depending on whether the final “s” is pronounced or silent. This small pronunciation change can alter the sense of a sentence significantly. When the “s” is pronounced (plus) When the final “s” in plus is pronounced, it generally means “more” or is used in mathematical addition….