Join Discordfallait
/fa.lɛ/falloir
1. General
verbIndicative3rdImperfectSing3
was necessary
needed to
had to
Il fallait partir tôt pour éviter les bouchons.
It was necessary to leave early to avoid traffic jams.
Synonyms:il était nécessaire de, il fallait que
2. General
verbIndicative3rdImperfectSing3
(colloquial reproach) should have / ought to have (used elliptically to mean 'you should have…')
Fallait me le dire plus tôt !
You should have told me sooner!
Synonyms:tu aurais dû, il aurait fallu (que)