public
/py.blik/masculine
The English word 'audience' can be translated into French as public, auditoire or assistance.
Meaning: group of people seeing a performance (noun)
Ways to say it
| French | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| public | /py.blik/ | masculine |
| assistance | /a.sis.tɑ̃s/ | feminine |
| auditoire | /o.di.twaʁ/ | masculine |
Which one should you use?
public is more general for spectators of a show or performance. auditoire is typically used for a group listening to a lecture, a speech or a presentation.
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun 'assistance' is feminine and requires feminine adjectives. The noun 'auditoire' is masculine and requires masculine adjectives.
How do you pronounce it?
/py.blik/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use 'assistance' to mean 'audience', but in French, 'assistance' refers to the people present at an event (attendance) or the act of helping.
Did you know?
- Unlike the English word 'audience', which can mean a formal meeting with a leader, the French words public or auditoire never describe a private meeting with a king or pope.
- The word auditoire shares a linguistic root with the English word 'auditorium'. Both derive from the Latin 'audire', which means 'to hear'.
- If you want to describe a group of people helping a person in distress, you would use the word assistance. In a modern context, this word is also frequently used in computing to describe technical support.
Examples in context
- Le public appréciera !The audience will like it!This sentence shows how to express that the audience will enjoy something using public.Tatoeba #2850556 by nimfeo, translation #11951554 by zogwarg
- Le public ici est bon.The audience here is good.This sentence is useful for describing the quality of a specific audience using public.Tatoeba #7527613 by Micsmithel, translation #12452013 by sundown
- La pièce a plu au public.The play pleased the audience.This sentence shows how to say a play pleased the audience using public.Tatoeba #11926244 by lbdx, translation #6162123 by badgerfan
- L'événement a attiré un large public de plus de mille personnes.The event attracted a large audience of over a thousand people.
- L'orateur a captivé l'auditoire avec sa présentation.The speaker captivated the audience with his presentation.
- 107 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Hugo and Emma are watching a street performer.
- HugoRegarde, le public commence à s'installer.Look, the audience is starting to settle in.
- EmmaOui, il y a beaucoup de monde aujourd'hui.Yes, there are a lot of people today.
- HugoLe public semble très impatient de commencer.The audience seems very impatient to start.
- EmmaC'est vrai, tout le monde attend le spectacle.That's true, everyone is waiting for the show.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “audience” translations and entries public, assistance, auditoire, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries assistance, auditoire, public, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
