se déguiser
To dress up in French is to se déguiser.
The term se déguiser is specifically used when you are dressing up as a character or wearing a costume. It is not used for the act of simply wearing elegant or formal clothing.
Meaning: to put on special or fancy clothes (verb)
Which one should you use?
If you want to say you are dressing up in the sense of wearing fancy or elegant clothes for an event or a party without a costume, use s'habiller élégamment instead. Use se déguiser only when a costume or a character is involved.
How does it change in a sentence?
When you want to specify the character that someone is dressing up as, use the preposition en after the verb, as in se déguiser en.
Did you know?
- In France, the act of se déguiser is a core part of Carnaval celebrations, where costumes are traditionally used to temporarily erase social hierarchies and identities.
- The word déguiser is a direct ancestor of the English word 'guise', which now refers to a manner or appearance rather than a physical costume.
- The verb déguiser can also be used for things that aren't clothes, such as using a 'guise' of words to hide the truth, which is similar to the English expression 'under the guise of'.
Examples in context
- Elle aime se déguiser en infirmière.She likes to dress up as a nurse.This sentence shows how to use se déguiser to express dressing up as a specific character.Tatoeba #1682485 by sacredceltic, translation #1682323 by Spamster
- Il aime se déguiser en officier de police.He likes to dress up as a police officer.This sentence demonstrates the use of se déguiser when someone is dressing up as a character.Tatoeba #1682490 by sacredceltic, translation #1682320 by Spamster
- Pour la soirée de gala, il faut que je me mette sur mon 31.For the gala evening, I need to dress up formally.
- Pour le mariage, il faut s'habiller chic.For the wedding, you should dress up formally.
- Pour le bal costumé, il faut revêtir un costume original.For the costume ball, you should dress up in an original costume.
- Ce soir, on va se rendre beaux pour la soirée.Tonight, we are going to dress up for the party.
- On s'apprête avant de sortir ce soir.We are dressing up before going out tonight.
- Ce soir, on va se mettre sur notre 31 pour la soirée entre amis.Tonight, we are going to dress up for the party with friends.
- Les enfants adorent se déguiser pour Halloween.Children love to dress up for Halloween.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Manon and Lucas are discussing a costume party.
- ManonVeux-tu te déguiser avec moi ?Do you want to dress up with me?
- LucasOui, je veux bien. En quoi ?Yes, I'd like to. As what?
- ManonOn peut se déguiser en pirates !We can dress up as pirates!
- LucasC'est une super idée, Manon.That is a great idea, Manon.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
