How to Conjugate the French Irregular 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.

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'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'