This is the 3337th most frequent French word.
être
"Être" means "to be."
The word 'être' is conjugated as 'suis', the first person singular present tense form, and indicates a state of being or identity.
Je suis étudiant.
I am a student.
The word 'être' is conjugated as 'étions', the first person plural past tense form, and refers to a mood or condition in the past.
Nous étions heureux hier.
We were happy yesterday.
The word 'être' is used in the infinitive form to express the general concept of being or existing, combined with the auxiliary 'doit' to imply obligation or probability.