devinez

Devinez is the second-person plural present indicative form and the formal imperative form of the French verb deviner, meaning "to guess." In usage, it is commonly employed to tell a group to make a guess, or as a polite instruction in quizzes, games, and playful exchanges.

Etymology and meaning: Deviner comes from Old French deviner, ultimately from Latin divinare meaning "to foretell," from divinus "divine." In modern French, deviner generally means to determine something by guessing or inferring from clues, rather than to predict with certainty.

Conjugation and forms: The verb deviner is regular in its endings. Present tense forms include: je devine, tu devines, il/elle devine, nous devinons, vous devinez, ils/elles devinent. The imperative forms are devine (tu) and devinez (vous). The past participle is deviné, used with auxiliary avoir in compound tenses (j'ai deviné, nous avons deviné). The infinitive is deviner, and related forms include devineur (one who guesses) and devinette (a riddle).

Usage and nuances: Devinez is widely used in spoken and written French to invite guessing, as in "Devinez ce que c'est" or "Devinez qui est arrivé." It appears in educational contexts, games, and puzzles, and can appear in headlines or prompts to engage readers or players. The verb emphasizes inference from clues rather than certain knowledge, distinguishing it from verbs like prévoir (to foresee) or déduire (to deduce) in nuance.

Related terms: Devinette means a riddle or puzzle designed to be guessed. The related verb diviner exists with a stronger sense of divination or foreseeing, but deviner remains the everyday term for guessing.