What does leur mean in French?

As an object pronoun it means to them and replaces à plus a plural person: je leur ai dit la vérité, I told them the truth. Spelt leurs, it is a possessive adjective meaning their, agreeing with the noun that follows: leurs voisins.

What's the difference between lui and le?

Le is a direct object and stands for a masculine noun with no preposition: je le vois, I see him. Lui is an indirect object and stands for à plus a person of either gender: je lui parle, I'm talking to him or to her. The verb decides which one you need.

Does lui mean him or her?

Both, when it sits in front of a verb as an indirect object: je lui écris can be I'm writing to him or to her. As a stressed pronoun after a preposition it is masculine only, and the feminine equivalent is elle: avec lui, avec elle.

Why is it je pense à lui and not je lui pense?

A handful of verbs describing attitude rather than transfer keep the preposition à and take a stressed pronoun: penser à, tenir à, s'intéresser à, faire attention à. With them the indirect object pronoun is simply not available.

Where do lui and leur go with two pronouns?

After le, la and les in every structure except an affirmative command: je le lui ai donné, elle la leur a montrée. In a command the order flips to verb, direct object, indirect object: donne-le-lui.

French grammar · Intermediate

Lui and Leur: French Indirect Object Pronouns for People

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

Lui and leur replace a person the verb reaches through à. Lui covers to him and to her with no gender distinction, leur covers to them and never takes an -s as a pronoun, and both go in front of the verb: je lui parle, je leur réponds.

J'ai écrit à mes grands-parents : je leur ai envoyé des photos.

I wrote to my grandparents: I sent them some photos.

What it is

Some French verbs reach their object through à: parler à, donner à, répondre à. When that object is a person, you replace the whole à phrase with a single pronoun, lui for one person and leur for several. The à disappears with the noun, which is why nothing in the sentence looks like to any more.

Je parle à mon voisin → je lui parle. Je parle à mes voisins → je leur parle. — I speak to my neighbour → I speak to him. I speak to my neighbours → I speak to them.

How to spot it

Look at the verb rather than the English. If putting the noun back requires à before a person, the pronoun is lui or leur.

Je lui ai donné mon numéro. — I gave him my number.
Elle leur a tout expliqué. — She explained everything to them.
Tu lui ressembles beaucoup. — You look a lot like her.
Ne leur dis rien. — Don't tell them anything.

Lui carries no gender. Je lui téléphone can mean I'm phoning him or I'm phoning her, and only the context decides.

Lui and Leur as Indirect Objects Quick Reference

Lui and leur at a glance

Replaces	Pronoun	Example
à + one man	lui	Je lui parle. — I'm talking to him.
à + one woman	lui	Je lui parle. — I'm talking to her.
à + several people	leur	Je leur parle. — I'm talking to them.
In a compound tense	before the auxiliary	Je lui ai parlé. — I spoke to him.
In a command	after the verb	Parle-lui ! — Talk to him!
With a direct object too	le lui, la leur…	Je le lui ai donné. — I gave it to him.
Participle agreement	none	Je leur ai parlé, never parlés

Common Lui and Leur as Indirect Objects Examples in French

The verbs that produce lui and leur most often:

Speaking and Writing

Je lui ai écrit la semaine dernière.: I wrote to him last week.
Dis-leur que je suis en retard.: Tell them I'm running late.
Elle ne lui répond jamais.: She never answers him.
On leur a téléphoné deux fois.: We phoned them twice.

Parler, dire, écrire, répondre, téléphoner and demander all take à before the person, so all of them produce lui or leur.

Giving and Showing

Je leur offre toujours des fleurs.: I always give them flowers.
Montre-lui la photo.: Show her the photo.
Il lui a rendu la monnaie.: He gave her the change.
Nous leur avons envoyé un colis.: We sent them a parcel.

These verbs have two objects: the thing given is direct, the person given to is indirect. Only the second becomes lui or leur.

Attitudes and Relations

Ce chapeau lui va très bien.: That hat suits her very well.
Ça leur plaît beaucoup.: They like it a lot.
Mon fils lui obéit sans discuter.: My son obeys him without arguing.
Tu lui manques.: He misses you.

Manquer reverses the English subject and object: tu lui manques is literally you are missing to him.

Two Pronouns at Once

Je le lui ai déjà dit.: I've already told him.
Elle la leur a montrée.: She showed it to them.
Je leur en ai parlé.: I talked to them about it.
Donne-le-leur.: Give it to them.

Everywhere except an affirmative command, le, la and les come before lui and leur.

How Lui and Leur Work

The form depends on how many people you mean; everything else depends on the verb and the structure.

The Verb Decides, Not the Meaning

French and English do not agree about which verbs need a preposition. Téléphoner à and répondre à take an indirect object where English phone and answer take a direct one, so the pronoun is lui even though the English has no to.

Je lui ai répondu tout de suite.

I answered him straight away.

Learn the verb with its à.

Lui Ignores Gender, Leur Ignores It Too

There is a single form for one person and a single form for several. This is the opposite of the direct object pronouns, where le and la are distinct, and it makes the indirect set easier once you have identified it.

Sa mère lui manque, et ses frères lui manquent aussi.

He misses his mother, and he misses his brothers too.

One person → lui. Several → leur.

Leur as a Pronoun Never Takes an S

The object pronoun leur is invariable. The identical-looking possessive adjective does agree, giving leur maison but leurs enfants, and the two are easy to confuse in writing.

Je leur ai rendu leurs clés.

I gave them their keys back.

leur + verb, leurs + plural noun.

No Participle Agreement

A preceding direct object makes the past participle agree; a preceding indirect object does not. Je les ai vues takes an -es, but je leur ai parlé stays bare however many people leur stands for.

Je leur ai parlé hier soir.

I spoke to them last night.

Indirect object → no agreement.

Commands Push Them Behind the Verb

In an affirmative command lui and leur follow the verb with a hyphen. Add ne… pas and they return to their normal place in front of it.

Réponds-lui, mais ne leur écris pas.

Answer him, but don't write to them.

Affirmative order → after the verb.

Common Mistakes with Lui and Leur as Indirect Objects

Incorrect: Je le parle tous les jours. — I talk to him every day.

Correct: Je lui parle tous les jours. — I talk to him every day.

Parler reaches the person through à, so the pronoun has to be the indirect one. Le would make the person the thing being spoken, not the person spoken to.

Incorrect: Je leurs ai envoyé un message. — I sent them a message.

Correct: Je leur ai envoyé un message. — I sent them a message.

As an object pronoun leur is invariable. The -s belongs only to the possessive adjective, which sits in front of a plural noun: leurs messages.

Incorrect: Je lui pense tous les jours. — I think about him every day.

Correct: Je pense à lui tous les jours. — I think about him every day.

Penser à belongs to the small group of verbs that keep the preposition and take a stressed pronoun. The same applies to tenir à and s'intéresser à.

Incorrect: Je leur ai parlés ce matin. — I spoke to them this morning.

Correct: Je leur ai parlé ce matin. — I spoke to them this morning.

Past participles agree with a preceding direct object only. Leur is indirect, so the participle stays in its base form no matter how many people are involved.

When À Stays and Lui Becomes Stressed

A small group of verbs refuses the indirect object pronoun and keeps à followed by a stressed pronoun. Knowing which is the difference between sounding fluent and sounding almost right.

Verbs of thought and attachment

Penser à, songer à, s'intéresser à, faire attention à, tenir à and se fier à keep the preposition and take the stressed forms moi, toi, lui, elle, nous, vous, eux, elles.

Je pense souvent à elle.: I often think about her.
Il tient beaucoup à eux.: He's very attached to them.
Fais attention à lui.: Watch out for him.
Elle s'intéresse à eux depuis longtemps.: She's been interested in them for a long time.

Je lui pense is not French. The test is that these verbs describe an attitude rather than a transfer.

Lui as a stressed pronoun

The same three letters serve as the stressed pronoun meaning him. There it appears after a preposition or on its own, and it is masculine only, with elle as its feminine counterpart.

Je sors avec lui ce soir.: I'm going out with him tonight.
C'est lui qui a payé.: He's the one who paid.
Chez lui, on mange à vingt heures.: At his place, dinner is at eight.
Lui, il ne comprend rien.: He doesn't understand a thing.

Position tells you which lui you have: in front of a verb it is the indirect object, after a preposition it is the stressed pronoun.

Leur, leurs and l'heure

Three similar-sounding forms have to be kept apart in writing: the invariable object pronoun leur, the possessive adjective leur or leurs, and the noun l'heure.

Je leur ai dit l'heure du départ.: I told them the departure time.
Leurs enfants sont adorables.: Their children are lovely.
Leur maison est à vendre.: Their house is for sale.

The pronoun sits next to a verb, the possessive next to a noun. If an -s appears, it must be agreeing with a plural noun.

Lui and Leur as Indirect Objects FAQs

What does leur mean in French?: As an object pronoun it means to them and replaces à plus a plural person: je leur ai dit la vérité, I told them the truth. Spelt leurs, it is a possessive adjective meaning their, agreeing with the noun that follows: leurs voisins.
What's the difference between lui and le?: Le is a direct object and stands for a masculine noun with no preposition: je le vois, I see him. Lui is an indirect object and stands for à plus a person of either gender: je lui parle, I'm talking to him or to her. The verb decides which one you need.
Does lui mean him or her?: Both, when it sits in front of a verb as an indirect object: je lui écris can be I'm writing to him or to her. As a stressed pronoun after a preposition it is masculine only, and the feminine equivalent is elle: avec lui, avec elle.
Why is it je pense à lui and not je lui pense?: A handful of verbs describing attitude rather than transfer keep the preposition à and take a stressed pronoun: penser à, tenir à, s'intéresser à, faire attention à. With them the indirect object pronoun is simply not available.
Where do lui and leur go with two pronouns?: After le, la and les in every structure except an affirmative command: je le lui ai donné, elle la leur a montrée. In a command the order flips to verb, direct object, indirect object: donne-le-lui.