invités
The English word 'guests' is translated into French as invités.
invités refers to people who are invited to visit someone's home or to attend a social event. It is important to distinguish this from clients, which is used for paying customers at a hotel or restaurant, whereas invités refers specifically to social guests.
What does it mean word for word?
The term invités is the past participle of the verb 'inviter' (to invite) used as a noun, so it literally means 'the invited ones'.
Which one should you use?
While English speakers might use 'guests' for both people attending a party and people staying at a hotel, French makes a distinction: use invités for social guests and clients for those paying for services at a hotel or restaurant.
How does it change in a sentence?
The form changes based on the gender of the group. While invités is the standard masculine plural, you should use invitées if the group of guests consists only of women.
Did you know?
- When talking about weddings or large celebrations, French speakers might use the term hôtes to describe the hosts, but be careful, as hôtes can also mean 'guests' depending on the context of the sentence. This linguistic 'flip' can cause confusion for those used to English distinction.
- The word inviter is used colloquially in France to mean 'to pay for someone'. If you invitez a friend to a movie, it often implies that you are paying for their ticket, not just asking them to come.
- If you are hosting a formal dinner, you might refer to your 'guests' as convives. This term is more elegant and specifically denotes people who are sharing a meal together, whereas invités is a more general term for anyone invited.
Examples in context
- Soyez mes invités !Be my guests!This sentence is useful for practicing the use of invités in an imperative context.Tatoeba #938667 by sacredceltic, translation #938680 by sacredceltic
- Ziri a des invités.Ziri has guests.This sentence shows how to use invités to indicate possession.Tatoeba #10910231 by Amastan, translation #10222301 by Amastan
- Ils sont nos invités.They are our guests.This sentence demonstrates how to use invités with a third-person plural subject.Tatoeba #4600332 by sacredceltic, translation #1531056 by erikspen
- Bonjour à tous les invités. Merci d'être présents aujourd'hui.Hello to all the guests. Thank you for being here today.
- Laissez-moi vous présenter nos hôtes distingués de ce soir.Allow me to introduce our distinguished guests tonight.
- Bienvenue à tous les invités ! Faites comme chez vous.Welcome to all the guests! Make yourself at home.
- 99 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Emma and Hugo are preparing for a dinner party.
- EmmaCombien d'invités arrivent ce soir ?How many guests are arriving tonight?
- HugoIl y a six invités au total.There are six guests in total.
- EmmaEst-ce que les invités mangent du poisson ?Do the guests eat fish?
- HugoOui, Hugo a tout prévu pour eux.Yes, Hugo has planned everything for them.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
