Recevoir — to receive | French Verb Chart
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📚 This is the overview. « recevoir » is taught level by level — pick your CEFR level below for a full lesson (explanation, pronunciation, exercises & games).
Présent (Indicatif)
- je reçoisI receive
- tu reçoisyou receive
- il / elle reçoithe / she receives
- nous recevonswe receive
- vous recevezyou receive
- ils / elles reçoiventthey receive
Passé composé (Indicatif)
- j’ai reçuI received
- tu as reçuyou received
- il / elle a reçuhe / she received
- nous avons reçuwe received
- vous avez reçuyou received
- ils / elles ont reçuthey received
Imparfait (Indicatif)
- je recevaisI was receiving
- tu recevaisyou were receiving
- il / elle recevaithe / she was receiving
- nous recevionswe were receiving
- vous receviezyou were receiving
- ils / elles recevaientthey were receiving
Futur simple (Indicatif)
- je recevraiI will receive
- tu recevrasyou will receive
- il / elle recevrahe / she will receive
- nous recevronswe will receive
- vous recevrezyou will receive
- ils / elles recevrontthey will receive
Conditionnel présent
- je recevraisI would receive
- tu recevraisyou would receive
- il / elle recevraithe / she would receive
- nous recevrionswe would receive
- vous recevriezyou would receive
- ils / elles recevraientthey would receive
Subjonctif présent
- que je reçoivethat I receive
- que tu reçoivesthat you receive
- qu’il / elle reçoivethat he / she receive
- que nous recevionsthat we receive
- que vous receviezthat you receive
- qu’ils / elles reçoiventthat they receive
Impératif, Participe & Infinitif
- recevoirinfinitive
- recevantpresent participle
- en recevantgerund (gérondif)
- reçupast participle
- reçois · recevons · recevezimperative
- avoirauxiliary in compound tenses
🎬 The 20-second version
Five phrases with « recevoir » — guess before the reveal. Practise with the free games → Open this short as a page — transcript included →
📘 How to use Recevoir
- The ç + three stems model: reçoi- (je/tu/il/ils), recev- (nous/vous), and the ç only before o: reçois, reçoit, reçoivent — recevons has NO cedilla.
- Recevoir takes avoir, participle reçu: j’ai reçu ton message.
- Also = to host/entertain: recevoir des amis = to have friends over.
🔑 Key forms
🔊 Common expressions
🇬🇧 Recevoir in plain English: cedillas, guests and disappointments
Recevoir — to receive — is the flagship of the -cevoir family, and its table is a cedilla lesson: the ç appears wherever c meets o or u — je reçois, tu reçois, il reçoit, ils reçoivent, participle reçu — but vanishes before e: nous recevons, vous recevez. Soft c preserved, spelling rule made audible. Futur je recevrai (the -oir verbs drop their oi: recevr-, like devoir’s devr-), imparfait je recevais, subjonctif que je reçoive. The family conjugates as one: apercevoir (catch sight of — j’aperçois), décevoir (to disappoint — the false friend that never means deceive: « tu m’as déçu » = you let me down), concevoir (conceive/design).
Two senses make recevoir daily vocabulary. Receiving things: j’ai reçu ton message / un colis / une réponse — the inbox verb, with « bien reçu ! » as the standard professional acknowledgement. And receiving PEOPLE: « on reçoit des amis ce soir » — French hosts don’t have guests over, they receive them, a verb elevating dinner to ceremony. The noun un reçu (a receipt) is the participle gone shopping, and être reçu à un examen means to PASS it — receiving your success, as the language sees it. Drill the cedilla five times — je reçois, ils reçoivent, j’ai reçu, un reçu, je suis reçu — and this most administrative of charts starts sending you mail.
FAQ
Why does reçois have a cedilla and recevons not?
Ç keeps the c soft before o/u; before e the c is already soft. Je reçois but nous recevons — the cedilla appears exactly where needed, never elsewhere.
Does décevoir mean to deceive?
No — to disappoint: « ça me déçoit ». The false friend of the family; deceive is tromper. Both hurt, differently.
What does « être reçu à un examen » mean?
To pass it — French frames success as being received: « elle a été reçue au concours ». The noun un reçu, meanwhile, is just your shopping receipt.
🔊 Example sentences
✍️ Practice
present, je : ___ (cedilla!) (ç before o)
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reçois
nous form (no cedilla): nous ___ (recev-)
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recevons
décevoir means to… (false friend) (not deceive)
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disappoint
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🎯 More practice — conjugation drill — all six tenses
je ___ (Recevoir — present)
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reçois
tu ___ (Recevoir — passé composé)
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as reçu
il ___ (Recevoir — imperfect)
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recevait
nous ___ (Recevoir — future)
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recevrons
vous ___ (Recevoir — conditional)
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recevriez
Go further: Master the present tense — the full beginner guide.
Recevoir conjugation FAQ
What is the present tense of recevoir?
je reçois, tu reçois, il / elle reçoit, nous recevons, vous recevez, ils / elles reçoivent. Full charts for every tense are above, each form with audio.
What is the past participle of recevoir?
reçu — the passé composé is « j’ai reçu ». Recevoir uses avoir as its auxiliary verb.
How do you say recevoir in the future tense?
« je recevrai » — the future stem never changes across persons, only the endings do.
What does recevoir mean in English?
to receive. It is one of the essential French verbs — drill the present first, then the passé composé; those two tenses carry most conversations.
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🎬 All seven CEFR levels, end to end
« recevoir » at every CEFR level — the tense, its forms and the mechanic that makes it stick. Practise it with the free games →