The verb diriger is probably the first word you learned for "to lead" in French. And it's a great one! But just like in English, where you can "head" a project, "guide" a tour, or "command" an army, French offers a rich variety of verbs to express the concept of leading.

Whether you're managing a team, spearheading a new initiative, or simply guiding friends through the city, using the right verb can make your French sound much more precise and natural.

Let's dive into nine different ways to say "to lead" and discover the perfect word for every situation!

1. The standard 'to lead' or 'to direct' – diriger

The standard French verb for 'to lead' or 'to direct' is diriger.

Diriger is a versatile verb that translates to 'to direct,' 'to lead,' 'to manage,' or 'to run.' Its core meaning revolves around providing guidance, being in charge, or steering something or someone in a specific direction.

Good news for learners: diriger is a regular -er verb. Its conjugation follows a predictable pattern, which makes it easier to master. For example, in the present tense: je dirige, tu diriges, il/elle dirige.

In a professional or organizational context, diriger is the go-to verb. You use it when talking about running a company, leading a department, or directing a project. Think of phrases like diriger une entreprise (to run a company) or diriger une équipe (to lead a team).

Diriger is also used for physical orientation. It can mean 'to steer' a vehicle or to point someone towards a location. The reflexive form, se diriger vers, is extremely common and means 'to head towards' or 'to make one's way to'.

The person who performs the action of diriger is called un directeur (masculine) or une directrice (feminine). This is the common French word for a director, manager, or school principal.

💡 * Elle dirige une grande entreprise internationale. (She runs a large international company.)

Le navire se dirige vers le port. (The ship is heading towards the port.)

Pouvez-vous me diriger vers la station de métro la plus proche ? (Can you direct me to the nearest metro station?)

C'est lui qui dirige le projet. (He's the one leading the project.)

Le chef d'orchestre dirige les musiciens avec passion. (The conductor directs the musicians with passion.)

To lead a project or an activity – mener

When you need a verb to describe leading a process, an activity, or a project in French, the go-to choice is mener. It’s a versatile and common verb for expressing the idea of conducting or carrying something out.

Mener translates to 'to lead', 'to conduct', or 'to carry out'. Its primary use is for guiding initiatives, processes, and abstract concepts, rather than physically leading a group of people from one place to another.

You use mener when you're talking about being in charge of the execution of a task. It implies guiding something from its inception to its conclusion. For instance, you mener une enquête (conduct an investigation) or mener une campagne (lead a campaign).

It’s important not to confuse mener with diriger (to manage, direct a company or team) or guider (to guide physically). While a manager might diriger their team, that same manager will mener a specific project to completion.

A quick note on conjugation: mener is a stem-changing verb. In the present tense, the stem men- changes to mèn- for the je, tu, il/elle/on, and ils/elles forms (e.g., je mène), but remains men- for nous and vous (e.g., nous menons).

💡 * Elle mène un projet de recherche très important.

La police a mené une enquête pour retrouver le coupable.

Il mène une vie simple à la campagne.

Nous allons mener une discussion sur l'avenir de l'entreprise.

To guide or show the way – guider

The French verb guider is a direct equivalent of the English 'to guide'. It is a regular -er verb used to describe the action of leading, directing, or showing the way to someone or something, in both a literal and a figurative sense.

In its most common literal use, guider refers to physically leading someone. A tour guide guides visitors through a city, a GPS guides a driver, or one might guide a friend through a dark room.

Figuratively, guider is used to mean providing advice, direction, or moral leadership. For instance, your principles can guider your decisions, or a mentor can guider a student's career path.

Being a regular -er verb, guider follows a predictable conjugation pattern, which is great for learners. In the present tense, it conjugates as: je guide, tu guides, il/elle/on guide, nous guidons, vous guidez, ils/elles guident.

The verb guider is closely related to the noun un guide (a guide, for a male or the general term) or une guide (a female guide), which refers to the person or thing that does the guiding.

💡 * Le guide nous a guidés à travers la vieille ville. (The guide led us through the old town.)

Laisse ton intuition te guider. (Let your intuition guide you.)

Le GPS peut vous guider, mais attention au trafic. (The GPS can guide you, but watch out for traffic.)

Ses parents l'ont toujours guidé dans ses choix de carrière. (His parents have always guided him in his career choices.)

To lead with authority or command – commander

The verb commander directly translates to "to command," "to lead," or "to be in charge of." It implies a position of authority and the act of giving orders.

In its primary sense, commander is used in hierarchical contexts, such as the military or a formal organization. It describes giving a direct order that is expected to be followed. For example, a captain commands a ship (un capitaine commande un navire).

A very common and essential use of commander is in a commercial context, where it means "to order." This is the verb you use when ordering food in a restaurant, a coffee at a café, or a product online.

The related noun is une commande, which means "an order." This noun works for both contexts: it can be a military command or a customer's order for a product or meal.

💡 * Le général a commandé à ses troupes de charger. (The general commanded his troops to charge.)

Qu'est-ce que vous voulez commander à boire ? (What do you want to order to drink?)

J'ai commandé une nouvelle robe sur internet. (I ordered a new dress on the internet.)

C'est elle qui commande ici. (She's the one in charge here.)

The formal 'to be at the head of' – être à la tête de

The expression être à la tête de literally translates to 'to be at the head of.' It is a common and formal way to describe leadership or being in charge.

This phrase means to lead, to manage, or to be in charge of something, such as a company, a project, a country, or an organization. It implies a position of ultimate authority and responsibility.

This is a formal expression. You will typically hear or read it in professional settings, news reports, business contexts, and political discussions. It is less common in casual, everyday conversation.

The structure is simple: conjugate the verb être (to be) for the subject, followed by à la tête de and the noun representing the entity being led. For example: Il est à la tête de l'entreprise.

Use être à la tête de when you want to formally state that someone is leading or heading an organization. It adds a level of sophistication compared to more direct verbs like diriger (to direct) or gérer (to manage).

💡 * Depuis sa création, elle est à la tête de l'entreprise. (Since its creation, she has been at the head of the company.)

Qui sera à la tête du nouveau projet ? (Who will be leading the new project?)

Il a été à la tête du gouvernement pendant cinq ans. (He was the head of the government for five years.)

Ils sont à la tête d'une association caritative très connue. (They are in charge of a very well-known charity.)

To lead a meeting or preside over – présider

The French verb présider is the most precise term for 'to preside over' or 'to chair.' It signifies leading a formal gathering with official authority.

You'll encounter présider in formal contexts like business, politics, and legal settings. It's used for actions such as chairing a meeting (présider une réunion), presiding over a jury (présider un jury), or heading a ceremony (présider une cérémonie). It implies an official, designated role.

Présider is a regular -er verb, which makes its conjugation straightforward. It's a transitive verb, so it's followed directly by the noun representing the event or group being led. For instance, elle préside le comité (she presides over the committee).

This verb is directly linked to the person in charge: le président (the male president/chairman) or la présidente (the female president/chairwoman). This connection makes it easy to remember: Le président préside la séance (The president presides over the session).

💡 * Qui va présider la réunion de cet après-midi ?

Le juge le plus expérimenté préside le tribunal.

C'est un honneur de présider cette conférence internationale.

La directrice présidera le conseil d'administration demain.

To conduct or lead a process – conduire

While conduire is most commonly known for its meaning 'to drive' a vehicle, it also carries the important, more formal meaning of 'to conduct,' 'to lead,' or 'to manage' a process, project, or formal activity.

This usage is frequent in professional, academic, or formal contexts. You can conduire une réunion (lead a meeting), conduire une étude (conduct a study), or conduire un projet (manage a project). It implies guiding and overseeing an entire process.

Conduire is an irregular verb. Its passé composé is formed with the auxiliary verb avoir and the past participle conduit. For example, 'Il a conduit l'enquête' means 'He led the investigation.'

💡 * Le chef de projet va conduire la réunion de demain. (The project manager will lead tomorrow's meeting.)

L'université a conduit une étude sur les effets du changement climatique. (The university conducted a study on the effects of climate change.)

Elle conduit ses affaires avec une grande expertise. (She conducts her business with great expertise.)

Qui a conduit l'entretien d'embauche ? (Who conducted the job interview?)

To take the lead in a race or competition – prendre la tête

The French expression prendre la tête literally translates to "to take the head." In a competitive context, it idiomatically means "to take the lead."

This phrase is most commonly used in sports and competitions, such as a race, a championship, or even in polls. It describes the action of moving into the first position.

The verb prendre is irregular and must be conjugated correctly according to the subject. The structure is typically [Subject] + prendre (conjugated) + la tête. You can specify what the subject is taking the lead of by adding de + [the competition] (e.g., de la course, du championnat).

A related and useful expression is être en tête, which means "to be in the lead." While prendre la tête is the action of gaining the lead, être en tête describes the state of holding the lead.

💡 * Le coureur a accéléré pour prendre la tête dans le dernier kilomètre.

Avec ce but, l'équipe a pris la tête du match.

Elle a pris la tête du classement général après sa victoire d'hier.

C'est difficile de prendre la tête quand la compétition est si serrée.

1. The Verb for Managing: Gérer

The French verb gérer is a versatile and essential verb that primarily translates to 'to manage' or 'to handle'. It's used in a wide range of contexts, from professional business management to handling personal situations and emotions.

In a professional context, gérer is the go-to verb for managing projects, finances, teams, or an entire company. It implies organization, control, and responsibility. For example, a manager, or chef de projet, gère son équipe (manages their team).

Beyond the workplace, gérer is frequently used to describe handling personal matters. This can include managing one's time (gérer son temps), budget (gérer son budget), or even emotions like stress (gérer le stress).

Informally, gérer is often used to simply mean 'to deal with it' or 'to have it under control'. If a friend faces a minor problem and you say, 'T'inquiète, je gère', it's a reassuring way to say, 'Don't worry, I'll handle it' or 'I've got this'.

💡 * Elle gère une équipe de dix personnes dans son entreprise.

Il apprend à mieux gérer son argent ce mois-ci.

C'est une situation compliquée, mais je pense que nous pouvons la gérer.

Comment est-ce que tu gères le stress avant un grand événement ?

Are there other ways to say 'to lead' in French?

Our list features the most common verbs for 'to lead' in French, but the language is rich with nuance. You'll discover many other terms specific to contexts like business, military, politics, or even guiding a tour.

To find more specialized terms, you can do an online search for “synonymes de diriger” or “comment dire 'to lead' en” followed by a specific context, like “politique” or “affaires”.

When you encounter a new verb that seems to mean 'to lead', pay close attention to the example sentences. Understanding the context is crucial for using it correctly, as a verb like mener is not always interchangeable with gérer.

Pay attention when you read French news articles or watch interviews with public figures. Notice which verbs are used to describe the actions of CEOs, presidents, or team captains. This is a fantastic way to learn the subtle differences.

If you want to explore the nuances and find more synonyms for leadership, the Larousse dictionary entry for a verb like diriger or mener is an excellent resource for detailed definitions and examples.

I hope this article has helped you lead the way in your French studies. To finish, here is a powerful quote from French writer and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: Si tu veux construire un bateau, ne rassemble pas tes hommes et femmes pour leur donner des ordres, pour expliquer chaque détail, pour leur dire où trouver chaque chose... Si tu veux construire un bateau, fais naître dans le coeur de tes hommes et femmes le désir de la mer. (If you want to build a ship, don't drum up the men and women to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.)

'9 ways to say "to lead" in French'