dites

Dites is a French verb form derived from dire, meaning to say or to tell. It serves two main grammatical functions: as the second-person plural present indicative form (vous dites) and as the formal imperative form (the command form addressed to vous).

As a present indicative, dites corresponds to "you say" or "you are saying" when speaking to more than one person or when using the formal vous form. In this usage, it appears in ordinary statements such as "Vous dites que vous êtes prêt" (You say you are ready). As a formal imperative, dites is used to issue commands or requests to tell someone to say or reveal something, as in "Dites la vérité" (Tell the truth) or "Dites-le-nous" (Tell us about it).

Dites is one of the conjugated forms of dire, which has an irregular present tense: je dis, tu dis, il dit, nous disons, vous dites, ils disent. The past participle is dit. Etymologically, the form comes from Latin dicere, passing through Old French dire.

In usage, dites is common in formal or written French and in dialogue where the vous form is appropriate. In informal speech to a single person, the tu form dis is used instead. The word itself is not a standalone noun; it is strictly a verb form.

See also: dire, French verbs, French conjugation, a reference to conjugation patterns for irregular verbs.