French object pronouns can feel confusing at first because English often uses the same word where French uses several different ones.

Should you say le, la, les, lui, or leur?

The key is to first ask one question:

Is the person or thing receiving the action directly, or is there an à before it?

If there is no à, you usually need a direct object pronoun.

If the verb is followed by à + person, you usually need an indirect object pronoun.

For example:

Je vois Marie.
I see Marie.

Je la vois.
I see her.

But:

Je parle à Marie.
I speak to Marie.

Je lui parle.
I speak to her.

In this guide, you will learn the difference between direct and indirect object pronouns, how to choose between le, la, les, lui, and leur, and the most common mistakes French learners make.

Quick Answer: Le, La, Les, Lui or Leur?

Use le, la, or les for a direct object.

Use lui or leur for an indirect object referring to a person.

For example:

Je regarde Paul.
I am looking at Paul.

Je le regarde.
I am looking at him.

Je téléphone à Paul.
I call Paul.

Je lui téléphone.
I call him.

The important thing is not whether the person is male or female.

The important thing is how the verb works.

What Is a Direct Object?

A direct object receives the action of the verb without a preposition.

For example:

Je vois Marie.
I see Marie.

The verb is:

voir quelqu’un
to see someone

There is no à before Marie.

So Marie is the direct object.

To replace Marie, use:

Je la vois.
I see her.

Another example:

J’aime ce film.
I like this movie.

There is no preposition before ce film.

So:

Je **l’**aime.
I like it.

French Direct Object Pronouns

The main direct object pronouns are:

me
me

te
you

le
him / it

la
her / it

nous
us

vous
you

les
them

For this lesson, the most important ones are:

le, la, les

When to Use Le

Use le to replace a masculine singular noun or a male person.

For example:

Je vois Paul.
I see Paul.

Je le vois.
I see him.

Je prends le livre.
I take the book.

Je le prends.
I take it.

The noun livre is masculine, so French uses le.

When to Use La

Use la to replace a feminine singular noun or a female person.

For example:

Je connais Marie.
I know Marie.

Je la connais.
I know her.

J’achète la voiture.
I am buying the car.

Je la achète.

But because la comes before a vowel, it becomes:

Je l’achète.
I am buying it.

So both le and la become l’ before a vowel or silent h.

For example:

Je l’aime.
I love him / her / it.

Je l’écoute.
I listen to him / her / it.

When to Use Les

Use les to replace a plural noun or several people.

For example:

Je vois mes amis.
I see my friends.

Je les vois.
I see them.

J’achète les pommes.
I am buying the apples.

Je les achète.
I am buying them.

Unlike le and la, les does not change before a vowel.

What Is an Indirect Object?

An indirect object usually follows a verb that requires à.

For example:

Je parle à Marie.
I speak to Marie.

The verb is:

parler à quelqu’un
to speak to someone

Because there is à, Marie is an indirect object.

So you do not use la.

You use:

Je lui parle.
I speak to her.

Another example:

Je téléphone à Paul.
I call Paul.

Je lui téléphone.
I call him.

French Indirect Object Pronouns

The main indirect object pronouns are:

me
to me

te
to you

lui
to him / to her

nous
to us

vous
to you

leur
to them

The important difference is that lui works for both men and women.

For example:

Je parle à Paul.
Je lui parle.

I speak to him.

Je parle à Marie.
Je lui parle.

I speak to her.

There is no separate masculine and feminine version.

When to Use Lui

Use lui when you replace à + one person.

For example:

Je réponds à Sophie.
I answer Sophie.

Je lui réponds.
I answer her.

J’écris à mon frère.
I write to my brother.

Je lui écris.
I write to him.

Je donne le livre à Paul.
I give the book to Paul.

Je lui donne le livre.
I give him the book.

Remember:

lui = to him or to her

When to Use Leur

Use leur when you replace à + several people.

For example:

Je parle à mes parents.
I speak to my parents.

Je leur parle.
I speak to them.

J’écris à mes amis.
I write to my friends.

Je leur écris.
I write to them.

Je donne les documents aux étudiants.
I give the documents to the students.

Je leur donne les documents.
I give them the documents.

Remember:

leur = to them

The Most Important Question to Ask

Do not ask:

“Is this person male or female?”

Ask:

Does the verb take à?

Compare:

Je vois Marie.
I see Marie.

The verb is:

voir quelqu’un

No à.

So:

Je la vois.

But:

Je parle à Marie.
I speak to Marie.

The verb is:

parler à quelqu’un

There is à.

So:

Je lui parle.

This is the difference that matters.

Le vs Lui

This is one of the most common points of confusion.

Compare:

Je regarde Paul.
I look at Paul.

Je le regarde.
I look at him.

But:

Je téléphone à Paul.
I call Paul.

Je lui téléphone.
I call him.

In English, both sentences contain him.

But French needs two different pronouns because the verbs work differently.

Regarder quelqu’un takes a direct object.

Téléphoner à quelqu’un takes an indirect object.

So:

le = him

lui = to him

But remember that lui can also mean “to her.”

La vs Lui

The same thing happens with feminine nouns and people.

Compare:

Je vois Sophie.
I see Sophie.

Je la vois.
I see her.

But:

Je parle à Sophie.
I speak to Sophie.

Je lui parle.
I speak to her.

In both English sentences, you use her.

In French:

la is direct.

lui is indirect.

Les vs Leur

For plural nouns and people:

Je vois mes amis.
I see my friends.

Je les vois.
I see them.

But:

Je parle à mes amis.
I speak to my friends.

Je leur parle.
I speak to them.

So:

les = them

leur = to them

Where Do Object Pronouns Go in French?

In most simple sentences, the object pronoun goes before the conjugated verb.

For example:

Je vois Paul.

Je le vois.

Je parle à Marie.

Je lui parle.

Nous regardons les photos.

Nous les regardons.

Elle téléphone à ses parents.

Elle leur téléphone.

This can feel strange at first because English usually puts the object after the verb.

French does the opposite.

Object Pronouns With the Passé Composé

With the passé composé, the pronoun still goes before the auxiliary verb.

For example:

J’ai vu Marie.
I saw Marie.

Je l’ai vue.
I saw her.

J’ai parlé à Paul.
I spoke to Paul.

Je lui ai parlé.
I spoke to him.

There is also an important grammar rule here.

With a direct object pronoun placed before the verb, the past participle may agree with the direct object.

For example:

J’ai vu Marie.

Je l’ai vue.

Because Marie is feminine, vu becomes vue.

Another example:

J’ai acheté les fleurs.

Je les ai achetées.

Because les fleurs is feminine plural, acheté becomes achetées.

But this does not happen with an indirect object pronoun.

J’ai parlé à Marie.

Je lui ai parlé.

You do not make parlé agree with Marie.

Common Mistake: Using Lui for Every Person

Because lui can mean “him” or “her,” learners sometimes use it every time they replace a person.

For example:

Je vois Marie.

❌ Je lui vois.

This is incorrect because voir does not use à.

The correct sentence is:

Je la vois.

But:

Je parle à Marie.

Je lui parle.

The verb determines which pronoun you need.

Common Mistake: Using Le or La With Parler

A learner might say:

❌ Je la parle.

if they mean:

I speak to her.

But parler à quelqu’un requires an indirect object.

So say:

Je lui parle.

However, you can say:

Je parle français.
I speak French.

Here, français is not a person introduced by à.

This is why learning the verb together with its structure is so useful.

Instead of learning only:

parler = to speak

learn:

parler à quelqu’un = to speak to someone

Common Mistake: Thinking Lui Is Masculine Only

The word lui can look masculine because it is also used elsewhere in French to mean “him.”

But as an indirect object pronoun, lui means both “to him” and “to her.”

Je téléphone à Paul.

Je lui téléphone.

Je téléphone à Julie.

Je lui téléphone.

The gender does not change the pronoun.

Common Verbs That Use Direct Objects

Here are some useful verbs that normally take a direct object:

voir quelqu’un
to see someone

regarder quelqu’un / quelque chose
to look at someone / something

aimer quelqu’un / quelque chose
to like or love someone / something

connaître quelqu’un
to know someone

écouter quelqu’un / quelque chose
to listen to someone / something

attendre quelqu’un
to wait for someone

For example:

J’attends Marie.
I am waiting for Marie.

Je l’attends.
I am waiting for her.

Notice something important here:

English says wait for someone, but French says attendre quelqu’un.

There is no à.

So French uses a direct object.

Common Verbs That Use Indirect Objects

Here are some common verbs that use à + person:

parler à quelqu’un
to speak to someone

téléphoner à quelqu’un
to call someone

répondre à quelqu’un
to answer someone

écrire à quelqu’un
to write to someone

donner quelque chose à quelqu’un
to give something to someone

demander quelque chose à quelqu’un
to ask someone for something

For example:

Je réponds à mon professeur.

Je lui réponds.

J’écris à mes parents.

Je leur écris.

Learning verbs with à will make choosing between le/la/les and lui/leur much easier.

What French Speakers Actually Say

Object pronouns are used constantly in everyday French.

You will hear sentences like:

Je le sais.
I know it.

Je la connais.
I know her.

Je les vois souvent.
I see them often.

Je lui parle demain.
I’ll speak to him/her tomorrow.

Je leur ai dit.
I told them.

Je vais lui demander.
I’m going to ask him/her.

French speakers usually avoid repeating the same noun again and again.

For example:

Tu connais Julie ?

Oui, je la connais.
Yes, I know her.

Not:

Oui, je connais Julie.

The second sentence is grammatically fine, but repeating the name can sound unnecessary when everyone already knows who you are talking about.

Le, La, Les, Lui or Leur? Try These Examples

Choose the correct pronoun.

1. Je vois Paul tous les jours.

Je ___ vois tous les jours.

Answer:

Je le vois tous les jours.

There is no à, so Paul is a direct object.

2. Je téléphone à Marie.

Je ___ téléphone.

Answer:

Je lui téléphone.

Téléphoner uses à + person.

3. Je regarde les enfants.

Je ___ regarde.

Answer:

Je les regarde.

The direct object is plural.

4. Je parle à mes parents.

Je ___ parle.

Answer:

Je leur parle.

The sentence contains à + several people.

5. Je connais Sophie.

Je ___ connais.

Answer:

Je la connais.

Connaître takes a direct object.

6. J’écris à Paul et Marie.

Je ___ écris.

Answer:

Je leur écris.

You are writing to several people, so use leur.

A Simple Way to Remember the Difference

Start with the original sentence.

If you have:

verb + person or thing

with no à, use a direct object pronoun:

le, la, les

Je vois Paul.
Je le vois.

Je connais Marie.
Je la connais.

Je regarde mes amis.
Je les regarde.

If you have:

verb + à + person

use:

lui or leur

Je parle à Paul.
Je lui parle.

Je parle à Marie.
Je lui parle.

Je parle à mes amis.
Je leur parle.

That one distinction will solve most of the confusion.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between le and lui?

Le is a direct object pronoun.

Je vois Paul.
Je le vois.

Lui is an indirect object pronoun.

Je parle à Paul.
Je lui parle.

The verb determines which one you need.

Does lui mean him or her?

Both.

As an indirect object pronoun, lui can mean:

to him

or

to her

Je lui parle.
I speak to him/her.

What is the difference between les and leur?

Les replaces a direct plural object.

Je vois mes amis.
Je les vois.

Leur replaces à + several people.

Je parle à mes amis.
Je leur parle.

Do object pronouns go before or after the verb?

In most sentences, French object pronouns go before the conjugated verb.

Je le vois.

Je lui parle.

Je les connais.

Je leur écris.

Why is “I wait for him” je l’attends and not je lui attends?

Because French does not use the same structure as English.

The verb is:

attendre quelqu’un

not:

attendre à quelqu’un

So the object is direct.

Je l’attends.
I am waiting for him/her.

This is a good reminder that you should learn how the French verb works, not simply translate the English sentence word for word.

Remember This

Use le, la, and les when the object is direct.

Je vois Paul.
Je le vois.

Je connais Marie.
Je la connais.

Je regarde mes amis.
Je les regarde.

Use lui and leur with à + person.

Je parle à Paul.
Je lui parle.

Je parle à Marie.
Je lui parle.

Je parle à mes parents.
Je leur parle.

The most useful question to ask is:

Does the verb use à before the person?

If the answer is no, you probably need le, la, or les.

If the answer is yes, you probably need lui or leur.

Once you start learning verbs together with their structure, French object pronouns become much easier to choose.