tutoies

Tutoies is not a standard term in major dictionaries and does not have a widely recognized independent meaning. It is most often encountered as a potential misspelling or informal shorthand related to tutoiement, the French linguistic and social practice of addressing someone with the familiar form tu rather than the formal vous.

In standard French grammar, tutoyer is the verb meaning “to address someone using tu.” Its present tense second-person singular form is tu tutoies, written as two words. The fusion into a single word like tutoies is not considered correct in formal writing, though such concatenation may appear in informal notes or by mistake. As a result, tutoies is usually interpreted as a mistaken orthography, a typographical shortcut, or a nonstandard representation rather than a defined lexical item.

Linguistically, tutoiement (and its counterpart vouvoiement) concerns social distance, power relations, and formality. It varies by region, age group, workplace norms, and personal preference. In many contexts, switching between tutoiement and vouvoiement signals shifts in familiarity or respect. The practice is a common subject of sociolinguistic study, illustrating how language encodes social meaning beyond grammar alone.

Notes for readers: when referring to the act or form, use tutoiement or the verb tutoyer with appropriately spaced forms. If you encounter tutoies in text, it is likely a misspelling or a nonstandard usage rather than a recognized term with its own definition. See also tutoiement, tutoyer, vouvoiement, sociolinguistics.