Fuir

Fuir is a French verb meaning to flee or run away, especially to escape pursuit or danger. It can also describe fleeing from responsibilities or obligations. Its etymology traces to the Latin fugere, related to the English flee and the noun fugitive.

Conjugation and usage: Fuir is irregular and primarily used as a third-conjugation verb. In the present tense the forms are: je fuis, tu fuis, il fuit, nous fuyons, vous fuyez, ils fuient. The passé composé uses the auxiliary avoir with the past participle fui: j'ai fui, tu as fui, il a fui, nous avons fui, vous avez fui, ils ont fui. The imperfect is je fuyais; the future tense is je fuirai, tu fuiras, il fuira, nous fuirons, vous fuirez, ils fuiront. The present subjunctive is: que je fuis, que tu fuis, qu'il fuie, que nous fuyions, que vous fuyiez, qu'ils fuient. The present participle is fuyant and the past participle is fui. In everyday language, the verb is used to express escaping danger or avoiding duties.

Usage notes: Fuir is transitive and often pairs with direct objects, as in fuir le danger or fuir la justice. It also appears in idiomatic phrases such as fuir devant quelqu’un, or fuir son regard, though the latter is less common. The verb commonly appears in narrative or formal language to convey pursuit and escape, and its noun counterpart is fuite, meaning flight or leakage.

See also: fuite, fugitif, fugue.