Douter & se douter are completely different

Sometimes, by adding something to a word, it can totally change its meaning. This is the case for the verb “douter” that we are going to study in detail in this blog post. It is also a good moment to review reflexive verbs. By the end, you should be be able to see why you need to really pay attention to the structure of your sentence when the verb “douter” is involved.

Douter expresses doubt.

The French verb “douter” is the literal translation of “to doubt”. Therefore, we use it when we are not sure about something. This is also why the subjunctive mood is required: to express doubt. Said like that, it seems rather obvious now!

If you wish to review the subjunctive at all, you can read the following blog posts:

How to express obligation and necessity with IL FAUT QUE

How to express uncertainty with IL SE PEUT

Simple Subjunctive I want you to in French

Easy French Trigger Phrases for the subjunctive

Oui, this structure requires the subjunctive but the verb “douter” itself is a nice, regular one (phew!) like this:

• je doute
• tu doutes
• il / elle doute
• nous doutons
• vous doutez
• ils / elles doutent

Let’s see examples with complete sentences:

• Je doute bien que tu aies compris >>> I doubt you have understood.
• Je doute bien qu’il vienne >>> I don’t think he’s coming.

Se douter is for certainty.

Oui, we have the word “douter” in “se douter” but non, the meaning has nothing to do with doubt. On the contrary, ”se douter” signifies “to reckon”.  So we use it when we are pretty sure about something.

In a nutshell, it means totally the opposite of "douter".

What’s the difference between “douter” and “se douter”?

The first one is “normal” and the second one is a reflexive verb. In other words, in the case of a reflexive verb, you need a pronoun.

Let’s take a clear example so you can appreciate the difference:

• Elle réveille les enfants >>> She wakes up the children.
• Elle se réveille à 7h00 >>> She wakes up at 7.

As you can see, in the first sentence, the action happens to the children, while in the second sentence the action happens by her, to her.

Here are the reflexive pronouns (aka these short words before your verb) :

• je / j >>> me          (to me / myself)
• tu >>> te                (to you / yourself) singular
• il / elle / on >> se  (to him or her / to him or herself)
• nous >>> nous      (to us / to ourselves)
• vous >>> vous       (to you / yourself) plural or polite
• ils / elles >>> se     (to them / to themselves)

And with our verb of the day, we obtain:

• je me doute
• tu te doutes
• il / elle  se doute
• nous nous doutons
• vous vous doutez
• ils / elles se doutent 

Be careful because you still need the subjunctive mood with it.

Let’s take the same examples with “douter”.

• Je me doute bien que tu aies compris >>> I doubt you have understood.
• Je me doute bien qu’il vienne >>> I don’t think he’s coming.

Douter and se douter are opposite.

Basically, both verbs “douter” and “se douter” go with the subjunctive mode. However, their meaning is opposite. Indeed, “douter” means to doubt while “se douter” is the translation of “to reckon”.

Therefore, just check the context and what you actually want to say: either there is a reflexive pronoun to indicate we are sure or we just the verb to express uncertainty. 

So, how do you feel about this mini-lesson? Are you more in the “douter” or “se douter” camp?