société
/sɔ.sje.te/
The French word for society is société.
société is a noun used to refer to the people of one’s country or community as a whole.
Meaning: people of one’s country or community as a whole (noun)
Which one should you use?
In French, société can mean both 'society' (the community) and 'a company' or 'a corporation' in a business context.
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun société is feminine, so it is preceded by the feminine article la. The plural form of société is sociétés.
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation is /sɔ.sje.te/. It has 3 syllables.
Did you know?
- French uses société to describe a 'dinner party' or 'social gathering' in older or very formal contexts, such as être en société.
- In a formal business context, you will see the abbreviation S.A. for société anonyme, which is the French equivalent of a 'public limited company' or 'corporation'.
- The Latin root socius means 'companion' or 'ally', which is why the French word carries a subtle historical sense of people being joined together in a bond.
Examples in context
- La société est folle.Society is insane.This sentence shows how to describe the state of society using société.Tatoeba #12881486 by Rovo, translation #12881234 by rul
- La société est divisée.Society is divided.Tatoeba #1813332 by Rovo, translation #4731139 by Kerbear832
- La société est complexe.Society is complex.Tatoeba #2768645 by Micsmithel, translation #9723635 by ariarin
- Les transformations économiques ont un impact profond sur la société.Economic changes have a profound impact on society.
- La communauté scientifique travaille sans relâche pour faire avancer la société.The scientific community works tirelessly to advance society.
- La collectivité doit s'engager dans un dialogue constructif pour résoudre les problèmes de société.Society must engage in constructive dialogue to solve societal issues.
- Qu'est-ce que tu penses de la société d'aujourd'hui?What do you think about today's society?
- 107 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Léa and Lucas are discussing social changes.
- LéaJe pense que la société change très vite.I think society is changing very fast.
- LucasC'est vrai, Lucas est d'accord avec toi.That's true, Lucas agrees with you.
- LéaMais est-ce que la société devient meilleure ?But is society becoming better?
- LucasC'est une question difficile, Léa.That is a difficult question, Léa.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry société, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries société, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
