Everything you need to know about the irregular French verb devoir

Devoir is one of the most common French verbs. It is irregular in conjugation and has a number of different meanings related to concepts like obligation and probability.

1. Obligation and necessity

Dois-tu étudier ce soir ?
Do you have to study tonight?

Elles doivent manger

They must / need to eat.

2. Probability and supposition

Il doit rentrer avant le dîner
He should / will probably be back before dinner.

Nous devons gagner plus cette année

We should earn more this year.

Elle doit être à l'école

She must be at school.

3. Expectation and intention

Je devais aller avec eux
I was supposed to go with them.

Il devait le faire, mais il a oublié

He was supposed to do it, but he forgot.

4. Fatalism and inevitability

Il devait perdre un jour
He had to / was bound to lose one day.

Elle ne devait pas l'entendre avant lundi

She wasn't to hear it until Monday.

Translating devoir

Devoir can be translated by should, must, ought to, have to, supposed to...

- the distinction between necessity and probability is not always clear:

Je dois faire la lessive
I should/must/have to do the laundry.

Il doit arriver demain

He is supposed to / should / has to arrive tomorrow.
To specify "must" rather than "should," add a word like absolument or vraiment:
Je dois absolument partir
I really have to go.

Nous devons vraiment te parler

We must speak to you.
To specify "should" rather than "must," use the conditional:
Tu devrais partir
You should leave.

Ils devraient lui parler

They should talk to him.
To talk about something that should have happened, use the conditional perfect of devoir plus the infinitive:
Tu aurais dû manger
You should have eaten.

J'aurais dû étudier
I should have studied.

Devoir as a transitive verb

When used transitively (and thus not followed by a verb), devoir means "to owe":
Combien est-ce qu'il te doit ?
How much does he owe you?

Pierre me doit 10 francs

Pierre owes me 10 francs.

Conjugations

Present tense
je dois
tu dois
il doit
nous devons
vous devez
ils doivent
Using Devoir
Conjugations of devoir Devoir vs falloir Expressions of obligation

Devoir vs Falloir - Confusing French Pairs

Obligation and Necessity

The French verbs devoir and falloir are used to express obligation and necessity in different ways. Each verb has another meaning when followed by a noun.

Devoir
 When followed by an infinitive, devoir expresses obligation, probability, or supposition. When followed by a noun it means to owe.

Je dois partir I have to, I must, I'm supposed to leave

Je dois 5 dollars I owe 5 dollars

Je devais I had to, I was supposed to, I owed

Je devrai / Je devrais I will have to / I would have to, I should

J'ai dû manger I had to eat, I must have eaten

J'aurais dû manger (vs j'aurais mangé) I should have eaten (vs I would have eaten)

The past participle of devoir is dû. When dû is modified to agree with a direct object, it loses the circonflex: dus, due, dues.

Falloir

Falloir is stronger and somewhat more formal than devoir; it expresses necessity. Falloir can be used with an infinitive or the subjunctive. It is an impersonal verb, so it does
not conjugate for different subjects. In order to specify a person, you can use the subjunctive or an indirect object pronoun with the infinitive.

Il faut travailler It is necessary to work, One needs to work.

Il me faut travailler, Il faut que je travaille I need to work.

Il ne faut pas manger One must not eat.

Il fallait manger We had to eat.

Il ne nous faut pas manger, Il ne faut pas que nous mangions We don't need to eat, We mustn't eat

When followed by a noun, falloir means to need.

Il me faut un stylo. I need a pen.

Quick summary

Devoir Falloir

Type of verb* Personal Impersonal

Register* Normal Formal/Normal

Meaning when followed by...

infinitive must, to have to to be necessary/need to

subjunctive to be necessary/need to

noun to owe to need