Is puer a regular verb?

Yes, its endings are those of any first-group -er verb and the stem never changes: je pue, nous puons, ils puent. The only spellings that catch people out are the imparfait nous puions and vous puiez, and the future je puerai, where the silent e of the infinitive survives in writing.

Which tenses of puer are actually used?

In practice, the present and the imparfait, usually in the third person: ça pue, ça puait. The passé composé a pué is possible when a smell had a clear beginning and end, and the future turns up in warnings. The literary tenses and the imperative are grammatically available but not used, because ordering something to stink makes no sense.

What is the difference between puer and sentir mauvais?

They describe the same thing at different strengths. Sentir mauvais is neutral and can be said to anyone. Puer is familiar and judgemental, closer to “it stinks”. Both can name the source, but the constructions differ: ça pue le poisson versus ça sent le poisson, where sentir alone is neutral about whether the smell is good or bad.

Can puer be used figuratively?

Yes, and often. Ça pue l'arnaque means “this reeks of a scam”, and ça pue le fric means something is flaunting money. The pattern is puer plus a noun with no preposition, and it always signals suspicion or distaste. This use is very colloquial and belongs to speech, not writing.

How do you pronounce puer?

The infinitive is two syllables, roughly “pü-AY”, starting with the u of tu. The present pue is a single syllable, “pü”, and it sounds exactly like the plural puent — the -ent ending is silent. Ça pue is therefore pronounced “sa pü”, with no trace of the written e.

Puer Conjugation: All Tenses of the French Verb “puer”

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

Puer means “to stink”. Grammatically it is an ordinary -er verb, but in practice it lives almost entirely in the present and the imparfait, in the third person, and in blunt spoken French: ça pue.

At a glance
Infinitive	puer
English	to stink
Verb group	1st group (-er)
Auxiliary	avoir
Past participle	pué
Present participle	puant

Familiar and openly rude

Puer is not vulgar, but it is blunt and familiar, and it criticises. Used about a person, their home or their cooking, it will land as an insult. Among friends ça pue is completely normal; with anyone else, use sentir mauvais or sentir fort, which state the same fact without the judgement.

Conjugation tables

Indicatif

Présent (Present)
je	pue	I stink
tu	pues	you stink
il/elle/on	pue	he/she stinks
nous	puons	we stink
vous	puez	you stink
ils/elles	puent	they stink

Imparfait (Imperfect)
je	puais	I stank
tu	puais	you stank
il/elle/on	puait	he/she stank
nous	puions	we stank
vous	puiez	you stank
ils/elles	puaient	they stank

Passé composé (Perfect)
j'	ai pué	I have stunk
tu	as pué	you have stunk
il/elle/on	a pué	he/she has stunk
nous	avons pué	we have stunk
vous	avez pué	you have stunk
ils/elles	ont pué	they have stunk

Futur simple (Simple future)
je	puerai	I will stink
tu	pueras	you will stink
il/elle/on	puera	he/she will stink
nous	puerons	we will stink
vous	puerez	you will stink
ils/elles	pueront	they will stink

Plus-que-parfait (Pluperfect)
j'	avais pué	I had stunk
tu	avais pué	you had stunk
il/elle/on	avait pué	he/she had stunk
nous	avions pué	we had stunk
vous	aviez pué	you had stunk
ils/elles	avaient pué	they had stunk

Futur antérieur (Future perfect)
j'	aurai pué	I will have stunk
tu	auras pué	you will have stunk
il/elle/on	aura pué	he/she will have stunk
nous	aurons pué	we will have stunk
vous	aurez pué	you will have stunk
ils/elles	auront pué	they will have stunk

Subjonctif

Subjonctif présent (Subjunctive)
je	pue	(that) I stink
tu	pues	(that) you stink
il/elle/on	pue	(that) he/she stink
nous	puions	(that) we stink
vous	puiez	(that) you stink
ils/elles	puent	(that) they stink

Subjonctif passé (Past subjunctive)
j'	aie pué	(that) I have stunk
tu	aies pué	(that) you have stunk
il/elle/on	ait pué	(that) he/she has stunk
nous	ayons pué	(that) we have stunk
vous	ayez pué	(that) you have stunk
ils/elles	aient pué	(that) they have stunk

Conditionnel

Conditionnel présent (Conditional)
je	puerais	I would stink
tu	puerais	you would stink
il/elle/on	puerait	he/she would stink
nous	puerions	we would stink
vous	pueriez	you would stink
ils/elles	pueraient	they would stink

Conditionnel passé (Past conditional)
j'	aurais pué	I would have stunk
tu	aurais pué	you would have stunk
il/elle/on	aurait pué	he/she would have stunk
nous	aurions pué	we would have stunk
vous	auriez pué	you would have stunk
ils/elles	auraient pué	they would have stunk

Impératif

Impératif présent (Imperative)
(tu)	pue	stink
(nous)	puons	let's stink
(vous)	puez	stink

Formes impersonnelles

Infinitives and participles
Infinitif	puer	to stink
Participe présent	puant	stinking
Participe passé	pué	stunk
Infinitif passé	avoir pué	to have stunk
Participe passé composé	ayant pué	having stunk

Literary tenses

Passé simple (Simple past)
je	puai	I stank
tu	puas	you stank
il/elle/on	pua	he/she stank
nous	puâmes	we stank
vous	puâtes	you stank
ils/elles	puèrent	they stank

Passé antérieur (Past anterior)
j'	eus pué	I had stunk
tu	eus pué	you had stunk
il/elle/on	eut pué	he/she had stunk
nous	eûmes pué	we had stunk
vous	eûtes pué	you had stunk
ils/elles	eurent pué	they had stunk

Subjonctif imparfait (Imperfect subjunctive)
je	puasse	(that) I stank
tu	puasses	(that) you stank
il/elle/on	puât	(that) he/she stank
nous	puassions	(that) we stank
vous	puassiez	(that) you stank
ils/elles	puassent	(that) they stank

Subjonctif plus-que-parfait (Pluperfect subjunctive)
j'	eusse pué	(that) I had stunk
tu	eusses pué	(that) you had stunk
il/elle/on	eût pué	(that) he/she had stunk
nous	eussions pué	(that) we had stunk
vous	eussiez pué	(that) you had stunk
ils/elles	eussent pué	(that) they had stunk

How Puer behaves

You will hear puer long before you need to write it — ça pue is one of the first pieces of real spoken French people pick up. It is stronger than sentir mauvais, closer to English “it stinks” than to “it smells bad”, and it carries a note of complaint. The conjugation table is complete because the endings are regular, but a page that pretends every form is in daily use would be misleading, so it is worth being clear about which ones actually are.

The endings are the standard -er set with no stem change at all: je pue, tu pues, il pue, nous puons, vous puez, ils puent. Because the stem ends in a vowel, several forms pile vowels up: the imparfait nous puions and vous puiez keep the i of the ending, and the future keeps the silent e of the infinitive in writing, giving je puerai and il puera. The past participle is pué with avoir, but compound tenses are rare in practice — a smell is usually described as it is, in the present or the imparfait. The imperative forms exist on paper and are essentially never used, since you do not order anyone to stink.

Puer in context

Présent: Ce fromage pue, mais il est délicieux.
This cheese stinks, but it's delicious.
Imparfait: Ses baskets puaient tellement qu'on les a mises sur le balcon.
His trainers stank so badly that we put them out on the balcony.
Passé composé: Le frigo a pué pendant trois jours après la panne.
The fridge stank for three days after it broke down.
Futur simple: Si tu laisses le poisson dehors, il puera.
If you leave the fish outside, it'll stink.
Subjonctif présent: Ouvre la fenêtre avant que ça pue dans tout l'appartement.
Open the window before the whole flat starts to stink.

Common mistakes with puer

Adding mauvais to puer

✗ Ça pue mauvais ici.

✓ Ça pue ici. — It stinks in here.

Puer already contains the idea of a bad smell, so mauvais is redundant. The construction with mauvais belongs to sentir: ça sent mauvais. What you can add to puer is the source of the smell, as a direct object: ça pue la cigarette, ça pue le poisson.

Writing a pu instead of a pué

✗ Le frigo a pu pendant trois jours.

✓ Le frigo a pué pendant trois jours. — The fridge stank for three days.

A pu is the passé composé of pouvoir, “was able to”, so the sentence changes meaning completely rather than just looking wrong. The participle of puer is pué, with the -é ending of every regular -er verb.

Using puer politely

✗ Excusez-moi, madame, votre chien pue.

✓ Excusez-moi, madame, votre chien sent un peu fort. — Excuse me, your dog smells a bit strong.

Puer is familiar and openly critical. Said to a stranger, or about a person, it is an insult rather than an observation. In any situation where you would soften things in English, French reaches for sentir mauvais, sentir fort, or avoir une odeur.

Expressions with puer

ça pue: it stinks
puer la cigarette: to reek of cigarettes
puer des pieds: to have smelly feet

Frequently asked questions

Is puer a regular verb?: Yes, its endings are those of any first-group -er verb and the stem never changes: je pue, nous puons, ils puent. The only spellings that catch people out are the imparfait nous puions and vous puiez, and the future je puerai, where the silent e of the infinitive survives in writing.
Which tenses of puer are actually used?: In practice, the present and the imparfait, usually in the third person: ça pue, ça puait. The passé composé a pué is possible when a smell had a clear beginning and end, and the future turns up in warnings. The literary tenses and the imperative are grammatically available but not used, because ordering something to stink makes no sense.
What is the difference between puer and sentir mauvais?: They describe the same thing at different strengths. Sentir mauvais is neutral and can be said to anyone. Puer is familiar and judgemental, closer to “it stinks”. Both can name the source, but the constructions differ: ça pue le poisson versus ça sent le poisson, where sentir alone is neutral about whether the smell is good or bad.
Can puer be used figuratively?: Yes, and often. Ça pue l'arnaque means “this reeks of a scam”, and ça pue le fric means something is flaunting money. The pattern is puer plus a noun with no preposition, and it always signals suspicion or distaste. This use is very colloquial and belongs to speech, not writing.
How do you pronounce puer?: The infinitive is two syllables, roughly “pü-AY”, starting with the u of tu. The present pue is a single syllable, “pü”, and it sounds exactly like the plural puent — the -ent ending is silent. Ça pue is therefore pronounced “sa pü”, with no trace of the written e.