peins

Peins is a form of the French verb peindre, meaning to paint or to depict. In the present indicative tense, peins is used for the first-person singular (je) and the second-person singular informal (tu) forms: je peins means I paint, and tu peins means you paint. The third-person singular is peint (il/elle peint). The full present-tense paradigm of peindre is: je peins, tu peins, il/elle peint, nous peignons, vous peignez, ils/elles peignent.

Etymology and related forms: peindre comes from Old French peindre, which in turn derives from Latin pingere, meaning to paint or depict. Related nouns include peinture (painting) and peintre (painter). The spelling peins reflects the irregular but characteristic present-tense endings of this verb.

Usage notes: peins is specifically the present tense form for je and tu. It does not occur as a standalone infinitive or third-person form; those roles are filled by other forms of the verb peindre (infinitive: peindre; third person: peint; past tenses use other stems). In sentences, peins is used to state current painting activity, e.g., Je peins un portrait. Tu peins les murs.

Other uses: outside of standard French grammar, Peins may appear as a proper name in some contexts, such as a surname or place name, but such uses are not tied to the verb’s conjugation and vary by language and region.

See also: peindre, peinture, peintre.