co-
The English prefix "co-" is used in French as co- to indicate that two or more people or things are doing something together.
As a prefix, co- is attached to a word to express that the action or state is shared between multiple entities. If you wish to express the idea of being "in the company of" someone, you would use the phrase En compagnie de.
Did you know?
- The word cohabitation in French can refer to a couple living together without marriage or a political arrangement where two opposing leaders share the presidency.
- While co- is a prefix, the French often use the term co-voiturage to describe the act of carpooling, which is a cornerstone of modern French urban and rural transit culture.
- The hyphen in co- is increasingly disappearing in modern French, creating a linguistic shift where words like copropriété are written as single units rather than prefixed terms.
Examples in context
- La Suisse a quatre langues co-officielles.Switzerland has four co-official languages.This sentence shows how co- is used to describe languages that are co-official.Tatoeba #10549327 by Rovo, translation #10545362 by shekitten
- Nous travaillons ensemble sur ce projet.We are working together on this project.
- Ils sont co-auteurs de ce livre.They are co-authors of this book.
- Elle travaille en co-gestion avec lui.She works in co-management with him.
Example conversation
Lucas and Chloé are discussing a new project at work.
- LucasVeux-tu être co-organisatrice de l'événement ?Do you want to be co-organizer of the event?
- ChloéOui, je serais ravie de t'aider, Lucas.Yes, I would be delighted to help you, Lucas.
- LucasSuper, on va former une bonne équipe.Great, we are going to make a good team.
- ChloéOn commence à planifier ça demain.Let's start planning it tomorrow.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
