Baiser is one word where the noun and the verb have gone in completely different directions. Un baiser is an ordinary word for a kiss. The verb baiser, in modern French, is vulgar slang for sex, and the verb you want for kissing is embrasser.
| Infinitive | baiser |
|---|---|
| English | to kiss (dated); vulgar slang for sex in modern French |
| Verb group | 1st group (-er) |
| Auxiliary | avoir |
| Past participle | baisé |
| Present participle | baisant |
Do not use this verb to say “to kiss”
In modern French, the verb baiser is vulgar slang for having sex. It is not a polite or old-fashioned way of saying “to kiss,” and a French speaker will not hear it that way. The verb you want is embrasser: je l'ai embrassée sur la joue. The noun un baiser is a completely different matter and is entirely ordinary: it means a kiss, and you can say it to anyone. The verb did mean “to kiss” in older French, which is why you meet it in classical literature, and it survives with that sense in a few fixed ceremonial phrases such as baiser la main and baiser la croix. Outside those phrases, assume the modern meaning.
| je | baise | I kiss |
|---|---|---|
| tu | baises | you kiss |
| il/elle/on | baise | he/she kisses |
| nous | baisons | we kiss |
| vous | baisez | you kiss |
| ils/elles | baisent | they kiss |
| je | baisais | I used to kiss |
|---|---|---|
| tu | baisais | you used to kiss |
| il/elle/on | baisait | he/she used to kiss |
| nous | baisions | we used to kiss |
| vous | baisiez | you used to kiss |
| ils/elles | baisaient | they used to kiss |
| j' | ai baisé | I have kissed |
|---|---|---|
| tu | as baisé | you have kissed |
| il/elle/on | a baisé | he/she has kissed |
| nous | avons baisé | we have kissed |
| vous | avez baisé | you have kissed |
| ils/elles | ont baisé | they have kissed |
| je | baiserai | I will kiss |
|---|---|---|
| tu | baiseras | you will kiss |
| il/elle/on | baisera | he/she will kiss |
| nous | baiserons | we will kiss |
| vous | baiserez | you will kiss |
| ils/elles | baiseront | they will kiss |
| j' | avais baisé | I had kissed |
|---|---|---|
| tu | avais baisé | you had kissed |
| il/elle/on | avait baisé | he/she had kissed |
| nous | avions baisé | we had kissed |
| vous | aviez baisé | you had kissed |
| ils/elles | avaient baisé | they had kissed |
| j' | aurai baisé | I will have kissed |
|---|---|---|
| tu | auras baisé | you will have kissed |
| il/elle/on | aura baisé | he/she will have kissed |
| nous | aurons baisé | we will have kissed |
| vous | aurez baisé | you will have kissed |
| ils/elles | auront baisé | they will have kissed |
| je | baise | (that) I kiss |
|---|---|---|
| tu | baises | (that) you kiss |
| il/elle/on | baise | (that) he/she kiss |
| nous | baisions | (that) we kiss |
| vous | baisiez | (that) you kiss |
| ils/elles | baisent | (that) they kiss |
| j' | aie baisé | (that) I have kissed |
|---|---|---|
| tu | aies baisé | (that) you have kissed |
| il/elle/on | ait baisé | (that) he/she has kissed |
| nous | ayons baisé | (that) we have kissed |
| vous | ayez baisé | (that) you have kissed |
| ils/elles | aient baisé | (that) they have kissed |
| je | baiserais | I would kiss |
|---|---|---|
| tu | baiserais | you would kiss |
| il/elle/on | baiserait | he/she would kiss |
| nous | baiserions | we would kiss |
| vous | baiseriez | you would kiss |
| ils/elles | baiseraient | they would kiss |
| j' | aurais baisé | I would have kissed |
|---|---|---|
| tu | aurais baisé | you would have kissed |
| il/elle/on | aurait baisé | he/she would have kissed |
| nous | aurions baisé | we would have kissed |
| vous | auriez baisé | you would have kissed |
| ils/elles | auraient baisé | they would have kissed |
| (tu) | baise | kiss |
|---|---|---|
| (nous) | baisons | let's kiss |
| (vous) | baisez | kiss |
| Infinitif | baiser | to kiss |
|---|---|---|
| Participe présent | baisant | kissing |
| Participe passé | baisé | kissed |
| Infinitif passé | avoir baisé | to have kissed |
| Participe passé composé | ayant baisé | having kissed |
| je | baisai | I kissed |
|---|---|---|
| tu | baisas | you kissed |
| il/elle/on | baisa | he/she kissed |
| nous | baisâmes | we kissed |
| vous | baisâtes | you kissed |
| ils/elles | baisèrent | they kissed |
| j' | eus baisé | I had kissed |
|---|---|---|
| tu | eus baisé | you had kissed |
| il/elle/on | eut baisé | he/she had kissed |
| nous | eûmes baisé | we had kissed |
| vous | eûtes baisé | you had kissed |
| ils/elles | eurent baisé | they had kissed |
| je | baisasse | (that) I kissed |
|---|---|---|
| tu | baisasses | (that) you kissed |
| il/elle/on | baisât | (that) he/she kissed |
| nous | baisassions | (that) we kissed |
| vous | baisassiez | (that) you kissed |
| ils/elles | baisassent | (that) they kissed |
| j' | eusse baisé | (that) I had kissed |
|---|---|---|
| tu | eusses baisé | (that) you had kissed |
| il/elle/on | eût baisé | (that) he/she had kissed |
| nous | eussions baisé | (that) we had kissed |
| vous | eussiez baisé | (that) you had kissed |
| ils/elles | eussent baisé | (that) they had kissed |
If you arrived here from a dictionary that glosses baiser as “to kiss,” that gloss is several centuries out of date for the verb. It was the normal word for kissing in the French of Molière and Racine, and it still means that inside a small set of ceremonial expressions, but in everyday modern French the verb has only one reading and it is a coarse one. The noun was never affected: un baiser, envoyer un baiser and le baiser de Judas are all neutral. Learners genuinely get caught by this, usually while trying to say something affectionate, so it is worth ten seconds of attention now.
Morphologically there is nothing difficult here at all, and that is part of the trap: the table looks as harmless as any other -er verb. Baiser is a fully regular first-group verb built on the stem bais-, giving je baise, nous baisons, ils baisent in the present, j'ai baisé in the passé composé, and je baiserai in the future. The subjunctive singular is identical to the present, and the imparfait gives nous baisions. One spelling point matters more than any of this: baisser, with two s, is a separate and entirely ordinary verb meaning to lower. Baisser le son, baisser les yeux, se baisser. A single missing s takes you from turning the volume down to something you did not intend to say.
Using baiser to mean “to kiss” someone
✗ Je l'ai baisée sur la joue.
✓ Je l'ai embrassée sur la joue. — I kissed her on the cheek.
This is the mistake the page exists for. Modern French hears the verb baiser as coarse slang for sex, so the first sentence does not read as affectionate, it reads as crude. Embrasser is the neutral, everyday verb for kissing anyone: family, friends, a partner.
Assuming the noun and the verb are interchangeable
✗ Il m'a baisé pour me dire au revoir.
✓ Il m'a donné un baiser pour me dire au revoir. — He gave me a kiss goodbye.
Un baiser, the noun, is perfectly ordinary and safe in any company. The verb built on the same root is not. When you want the noun, keep it a noun: donner un baiser, envoyer un baiser, un baiser sur le front.
Dropping an s and writing baiser for baisser
✗ Tu peux baiser le son, s'il te plaît ?
✓ Tu peux baisser le son, s'il te plaît ? — Can you turn the sound down, please?
Baisser, with two s, means to lower, and it is the verb in baisser le volume, baisser les yeux and se baisser. The two verbs are unrelated, so a single dropped letter turns a routine request into something vulgar. If you mean lower, check that you have written two s.