Conjugating the French Verb 'Souffrir' ('to Suffer')

Souffrir ("to suffer," "to endure," to tolerate," "to be in pain") is an irregular French -ir verb. Below are simple conjugations of the verb souffrir; the conjugation table does not include compound tenses, which consist of a form of the auxiliary verb avoir with the past participle souffert.

Within irregular -ir verb conjugations, there are some patterns. Two groups exhibit similar characteristics and conjugation patterns.

Then there is a final, large category of extremely irregular -ir verbs that follow no pattern.

'Souffrir' IS AN IRREGULAR '-IR-' VERB

Soufrir lies in the second group of irregular -ir verbs that display a pattern. The second group of verbs includes verbs like souffrir that all end in -frir or -vrir. These verbs, surprisingly, are all conjugated like regular -er verbs.

'Souffrir' IS CONJUGATED LIKE VERBS ENDING IN '-FRIR' AND '-VRIR'

All French verbs that end in -frir or -vrir are conjugated this way. They include:

couvrir > to cover
cueillir > to pick
découvrir > to discover
entrouvrir > to half-open
ouvrir > to open
offrir > to offer
recouvrir > to recover, conceal
rouvrir > to reopen

EXPRESSIONS AND USAGE

souffrir en silence > to suffer in silence
Si tu avais souffert ce que j'ai souffert ! > If you'd suffered as much as I have !, if you had gone through what I have !
Elle ne souffre pas d'être critiquée / qu'on la critique. > She can't stand / take criticism

Tu souffres ? > Are you in pain ? Does it hurt ?
souffrir de > to suffer from
souffrir des dents > to have trouble with one's teeth
souffrir le martyr > to suffer agonies
Son dos lui fait souffrir le martyre. > He has terrible trouble with his back.
faire souffrir quelqu'un > to make someone suffer
ne pas pouvoir souffrir quelqu'un > to not be able to bear someone

Je ne peux souffrir cette idée. > I can't bear the thought
Il ne peut pas la souffrir. > He can't bear her.
souffrir inutilement > to suffer needlessly
souffrir financièrement > to suffer financially / to be in bad straits financially
Où souffrez-vous ? > Where is the pain ? / Where does it hurt ?
Elle a beaucoup souffert lors de son accouchement. > She had a very painful delivery.
Il est mort sans souffrir. > He felt no pain when he died.
souffrir de la faim / soif > to suffer from hunger / thirst
souffrir de la chaleur > to suffer from the heat
souffrir de (figurative): Sa renommée a souffert du scandale. > His reputation suffered from the scandal.
dût ton amour-propre en souffrir > even though your pride may suffer
Les récoltes n'ont pas trop souffert. > The crops didn't suffer too much / weren't too badly damaged.
C'est le sud du pays qui a le plus souffert. > The southern part of the country was the hit the hardest.
se souffrir (pronominal): Ils ne peuvent pas se souffrir. > They can't stand / bear each other.

Simple Conjugations of the Irregular French '-ir' Verb 'Soufrir'

	Present	Future	Imperfect	Present participle
je	souffre	souffrirai	souffrais	souffrant
tu	souffres	souffriras	souffrais
il	souffre	souffrira	souffrait	Passé composé
nous	souffrons	souffrirons	souffrions	Auxiliary verb	avoir
vous	souffrez	souffrirez	souffriez	Past participle	souffert
ils	souffrent	souffriront	souffraient

	Subjunctive	Conditional	Passé simple	Imperfect subjunctive
je	souffre	souffrirais	souffris	souffrisse
tu	souffres	souffrirais	souffris	souffrisses
il	souffre	souffrirait	souffrit	souffrît
nous	souffrions	souffririons	souffrîmes	souffrissions
vous	souffriez	souffririez	souffrîtes	souffrissiez
ils	souffrent	souffriraient	souffrirent	souffrissent

	Imperative
(tu)	souffre
(nous)	souffrons
(vous)	souffrez