guérir

Guérir is a French verb meaning to heal, to cure, or to recover health. It can describe the act of curing someone of a disease or injury (transitive use) as well as the process of becoming well again (intransitive use), often with the preposition de when referring to recovery from illness or a condition.

In everyday use, guérir is commonly contrasted with soigner. Guérir emphasizes the outcome of health restoration, while soigner focuses on care, treatment, or managing symptoms. The verb is widely used in medical, personal, and figurative contexts, such as guérir une maladie (to cure a disease), guérir d’une blessure (to recover from an injury), or se guérir de quelque chose (to recover from something). It can also appear in phrases like guérir rapidement (to heal quickly) or guérir d’un mal.

Conjugation is irregular. Present tense forms are je guéris, tu guéris, il guérit, nous guérissons, vous guérissez, ils guérissent. The past participle is guéri, used with the auxiliary avoir in compound tenses: j’ai guéri, il a guéri. Imperfect: j guérissais, tu guérissais, il guérissait, nous guérissions, vous guérissiez, ils guérissaient. Future simple: je guérirai, tu guériras, il guérira, nous guérirons, vous guérirez, ils guériront. Subjunctive present: que je guérisse, que tu guérisses, qu’il guérisse, que nous guérissions, que vous guérissiez, qu’ils guérissent.

Related forms include guérison (recovery), guérisseur/guérisseuse (healer), and the past participle guéri. Synonyms include soigner, remédier, and restaurer, though each carries distinct nuances regarding treatment versus outcome.