What does laisser mean in French?

To leave something or someone behind: j'ai laissé mon sac dans le train. With an infinitive it means to let: laisse-moi voir, let me see.

What's the difference between laisser, quitter and partir?

Laisser leaves an object behind (j'ai laissé les clés). Quitter separates you from a place, job or person (il a quitté Paris). Partir has no object and describes your departure (je pars demain).

How do you say 'let me' in French?

Laisse-moi in the tu form, laissez-moi with vous, followed straight by an infinitive: laisse-moi réfléchir, laissez-moi passer. There is no preposition between the pronoun and the infinitive.

What does laisse tomber mean?

Literally let it fall, and figuratively either drop it or never mind. J'ai laissé tomber mon verre is the literal sense; laisse tomber, ce n'est pas important is the everyday conversational one.

How is laisser conjugated?

As a regular -er verb: je laisse, tu laisses, il laisse, nous laissons, vous laissez, ils laissent. The past participle is laissé, with avoir: j'ai laissé. Se laisser takes être: il s'est laissé faire.

French grammar · Intermediate

Laisser in French: To Leave Behind, To Let, and To Let Go

Written by Camille Laurent, Lead French Curriculum Editor · Reviewed May 2026

Laisser means to leave something behind and, with an infinitive, to let someone do something: laisse-moi parler. It is a regular -er verb, and its difficulty is choosing it over quitter and partir, which also translate as to leave but describe leaving a place rather than leaving a thing.

J'ai laissé mon parapluie chez toi.

I left my umbrella at your place.

What it is

Laisser always has an object. Something or someone is left somewhere, or allowed to carry on. That is what separates it from partir, which describes the subject going, and from quitter, which describes the place or person being abandoned.

J'ai laissé les clés sur la table et je l'ai laissé dormir. — I left the keys on the table and I let him sleep.

How to spot it

Ask whether there is a direct object. If something is being left behind, laisser is correct. If nobody and nothing is left behind and the subject is simply going, you need partir.

Laisse ton sac ici. — Leave your bag here.
Elle a laissé un message. — She left a message.
Laisse-moi t'expliquer. — Let me explain.
Je le laisse décider. — I'll let him decide.

Laisser can be followed straight by an infinitive with no preposition: laisse-moi voir, laisse-le finir, laissez passer.

Laisser Quick Reference

Laisser and its neighbours

Verb	What it takes	Example
laisser	an object left behind	j'ai laissé mon sac — I left my bag
laisser + infinitive	letting someone act	laisse-moi parler — let me speak
quitter	a place or person abandoned	il a quitté Paris — he left Paris
partir	no object at all	je pars demain — I'm leaving tomorrow
sortir	going out of somewhere	elle est sortie — she went out
laisser tomber	to drop, to give up on	laisse tomber — forget it
se laisser + infinitive	letting it happen to you	il s'est laissé convaincre — he let himself be convinced

Common Laisser Examples in French

Laisser in each of its senses:

Leaving Something Behind

J'ai laissé mes gants dans le taxi.: I left my gloves in the taxi.
Laisse la porte ouverte.: Leave the door open.
Il a laissé un pourboire.: He left a tip.
Ne laisse pas tes affaires par terre.: Don't leave your things on the floor.

An adjective after the object describes the state it's left in: laisse la fenêtre fermée.

Letting Someone Do Something

Laisse-moi réfléchir.: Let me think.
Ses parents la laissent sortir le soir.: Her parents let her go out in the evening.
Laissez-le parler.: Let him speak.
Je ne te laisserai pas partir seul.: I won't let you leave on your own.

This is the permissive counterpart of faire: faire faire is making someone do it, laisser faire is allowing it.

Leaving Things In a State

Laisse-moi tranquille.: Leave me alone.
Il laisse tout en désordre.: He leaves everything in a mess.
Laissez la salle propre.: Leave the room clean.
Ça m'a laissé sans voix.: It left me speechless.

Laisser tranquille is the standard way to tell someone to stop bothering you, and it's not rude in itself.

Giving Up and Letting Go

Laisse tomber, ce n'est pas grave.: Forget it, it doesn't matter.
Il a laissé tomber ses études.: He dropped out of his studies.
Elle s'est laissé faire.: She didn't put up a fight.
Ne te laisse pas décourager.: Don't let yourself be discouraged.

Laisse tomber is extremely common in speech and covers everything from never mind to drop the subject.

How Laisser Works

Regular forms, one obligatory object, and a permissive structure that mirrors the causative.

Laisser Needs Something to Leave

The verb is transitive, so there is always an object: a thing, a person, or an infinitive clause. Je laisse on its own is incomplete in a way that je pars is not.

J'ai laissé la voiture devant chez toi.

I left the car outside your place.

No object, no laisser.

The Infinitive Follows Directly

Laisser plus an infinitive means to let. Nothing comes between the two verbs except the object pronoun: laisse-moi voir, je te laisse choisir, elle nous a laissés entrer.

Laisse-moi finir ma phrase.

Let me finish my sentence.

laisser + object + infinitive.

An Adjective Can Describe the Result

Laisser plus an object plus an adjective says what state you left something in. The adjective agrees with the object: laisse la porte ouverte, il a laissé les fenêtres fermées.

Elle a laissé les volets ouverts toute la nuit.

She left the shutters open all night.

laisser + object + adjective.

Se Laisser Faire Means Not Resisting

The pronominal form describes accepting something rather than fighting it: se laisser convaincre, se laisser aller, se laisser faire. It takes être in the past and the participle usually stays invariable.

Il s'est laissé convaincre par ses collègues.

He let his colleagues talk him round.

se laisser + infinitive = allow it to happen to you.

Laisser Is Not Partir

Both come out as leave in English, but partir has no object at all and describes the subject's departure. If you can answer the question leave what?, the verb is laisser or quitter.

Je pars à huit heures et je laisse les clés au voisin.

I'm leaving at eight and I'm leaving the keys with the neighbour.

partir = go; laisser = leave something.

Common Mistakes with Laisser

Incorrect: Je laisse à huit heures. — I'm leaving at eight.

Correct: Je pars à huit heures. — I'm leaving at eight.

Laisser always needs an object. When nothing is being left behind and the subject is simply departing, French uses partir or s'en aller.

Incorrect: Elle a laissé son travail en juin. — She left her job in June.

Correct: Elle a quitté son travail en juin. — She left her job in June.

Leaving a job is separating yourself from it, which is quitter. Laisser son travail would suggest she put the work down somewhere and walked off.

Incorrect: Laisse-moi de parler. — Let me speak.

Correct: Laisse-moi parler. — Let me speak.

Laisser takes a bare infinitive, like faire, voir and entendre. Inserting de breaks the structure.

Incorrect: Laisse la porte ouvert. — Leave the door open.

Correct: Laisse la porte ouverte. — Leave the door open.

The adjective describes the door, so it agrees with it. Porte is feminine, which makes it ouverte.

Laisser Plus Infinitive, and the Phrases Built on It

The permissive structure and a short list of idioms account for most of the times you'll hear this verb in conversation.

Laisser + infinitive: letting and allowing

Put an object between the two verbs, or before both if it's a pronoun. Where faire forces the action, laisser permits it.

Laisse-moi t'aider.: Let me help you.
Ils ne me laissent jamais conduire.: They never let me drive.
Laissez-nous entrer.: Let us in.
Je te laisse juger.: I'll let you be the judge.

Compare je le fais travailler, I make him work, with je le laisse travailler, I let him work.

Laisser tomber and se laisser aller

Two very frequent phrases. Laisser tomber drops a thing or a subject; se laisser aller is letting yourself go, physically or emotionally.

J'ai laissé tomber mon téléphone.: I dropped my phone.
Laisse tomber, on en reparlera.: Drop it, we'll talk about it later.
Il s'est laissé aller depuis son divorce.: He's let himself go since his divorce.
Ne te laisse pas abattre.: Don't let it get you down.

Laisse tomber said sharply means drop the subject; said gently it means never mind.

Fixed expressions

A handful of phrases use laisser in ways you can't derive from to leave.

Laissez-moi tranquille.: Leave me in peace.
Ça laisse à désirer.: It leaves something to be desired.
Je vous laisse la parole.: I'll hand over to you.
Laisser un blanc.: To leave a blank.

Je vous laisse on its own is a polite way to end a conversation or a phone call: right, I'll let you get on.

Laisser FAQs

What does laisser mean in French?: To leave something or someone behind: j'ai laissé mon sac dans le train. With an infinitive it means to let: laisse-moi voir, let me see.
What's the difference between laisser, quitter and partir?: Laisser leaves an object behind (j'ai laissé les clés). Quitter separates you from a place, job or person (il a quitté Paris). Partir has no object and describes your departure (je pars demain).
How do you say 'let me' in French?: Laisse-moi in the tu form, laissez-moi with vous, followed straight by an infinitive: laisse-moi réfléchir, laissez-moi passer. There is no preposition between the pronoun and the infinitive.
What does laisse tomber mean?: Literally let it fall, and figuratively either drop it or never mind. J'ai laissé tomber mon verre is the literal sense; laisse tomber, ce n'est pas important is the everyday conversational one.
How is laisser conjugated?: As a regular -er verb: je laisse, tu laisses, il laisse, nous laissons, vous laissez, ils laissent. The past participle is laissé, with avoir: j'ai laissé. Se laisser takes être: il s'est laissé faire.