perdants
The English phrase "losers" is translated into French as perdants.
When you want to say "some losers" in a general sense, you would use the phrase des perdants.
What does it mean word for word?
The word perdants is derived from the verb perdre (to lose) combined with the suffix -ant, which forms a present participle or agent noun.
How does it change in a sentence?
The singular form is perdant for a male and perdante for a female.
Did you know?
- To describe someone who is a 'failure' in life rather than just a loser of a match, French uses the word raté, which literally means 'missed'.
- If you want to sound truly contemporary or urban, many young French speakers skip the French word entirely and simply use the English loanword 'loser'.
- In a courtroom or a formal betting dispute, perdant is a technical term used to identify the party that loses the legal case or the wager.
Examples in context
- Il n'y a pas de perdants.There are no losers.This sentence shows how to express that there are no losers.Tatoeba #7839637 by sacredceltic, translation #5753970 by CM
- Les gagnants racontent des blagues et les perdants disent : « Donne ! »The winners tell jokes, and the losers say, "Deal the cards."This sentence contrasts winners and losers in a card game context using perdants.Tatoeba #2136767 by sacredceltic, translation #2136361 by halfb1t
- Cesse de te tenir avec des perdants.Stop hanging out with losers.This sentence uses perdants to advise against associating with certain people.Tatoeba #3466131 by RiouxMax, translation #3466121 by Hybrid
- Malheureusement, certains candidats ont été considérés comme des ratés lors du processus de sélection.Unfortunately, some candidates were deemed losers during the selection process.
- Ces joueurs sont vraiment minables, ils ne marquent jamais.These players are real losers, they never score.
- Tu ne veux pas être habillé comme ça, tu as l'air ringard!You don't want to be dressed like that, you look like a loser!
- Ces gars-là sont vraiment des paumés en affaires.These guys are real losers in business.
Example conversation
Lucas and Chloé are discussing the results of a board game.
- LucasOn a encore perdu, on est des perdants !We lost again, we are losers!
- ChloéCe n'est pas grave, Lucas.It's not a big deal, Lucas.
- LucasMais on a l'air de vrais perdants.But we look like real losers.
- ChloéOn a quand même bien rigolé.We still had a good laugh.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
