French · Everyday Verbs
"to pay" in French: payer
payer
To pay in French is payer. Say je paie or je paye, and tu paies. Past is j'ai payé. At the till: Je paie par carte.
Café till
Je paie par carte, s'il te plaît.Speak with an AI partner · 7 days free
How to pronounce payer
Say it
pay-YAY
/pɛ.je/
pay-YAY. Stress on YAY. Je paie is zhuh pay.
"to pay" in French: quick reference
| French | English | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| payer | to pay Infinitive. | Infinitive. |
| je paie / je paye | I pay Present (both spellings). | Present (both spellings). |
| j'ai payé | I paid Past. | Past. |
| payer par carte | to pay by card Checkout. | Checkout. |
How to use payer in real life
- 1Café till
Je paie par carte, s'il te plaît.
I'll pay by card, please.
Je paie.
- 2Splitting
Tu paies l'addition, je te rembourse.
You pay the bill—I'll pay you back.
Tu paies.
- 3Rent day
J'ai payé le loyer ce matin.
I paid the rent this morning.
J'ai payé.
Mistakes English speakers make with payer
Incorrect: Je payer maintenant.
Correct: Je paie maintenant.
Conjugate: je paie / je paye.
Incorrect: J'ai payé à le serveur.
Correct: J'ai payé au serveur.
À + le → au.
Good to know
Card payments are normal; contactless is sans contact. L'addition is the restaurant bill. Paie and paye are both accepted spellings in the present.
Try it in a ChatPal conversation
Leaving a restaurant
ChatPal
Tu paies ou je paie ?
Are you paying or am I?
You
Je paie cette fois.
I'll pay this time.
ChatPal
Merci. La prochaine, je paie.
Thanks. Next time, I'll pay.
You
Marché conclu.
Deal.
This is a sample. In ChatPal you have this conversation out loud and get feedback on what you say.
Practice this conversation in ChatPal"to pay" in other languages
FAQ
Common questions about "to pay" in French
How do you say to pay?
Payer.
How do I say I pay / I'll pay?
Je paie… or Je paye…
How do I pay by card?
Je paie par carte.
How do you pronounce payer?
pay-YAY.
Learn a word, then use it out loud
- Step 1: See it in context
- Step 2: Say it out loud
- Step 3: Get feedback
- Step 4: Use it in real scenarios
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