voyez

Voyez is a conjugated form of the French verb voir, meaning “to see.” It is used in two main ways: as the present tense form for the second-person plural subject vous (vous voyez = you see) and as the present imperative for addressing a group or one person politely (Voyez ! = See! or Look!).

Etymology and forms: voir comes from Latin videre, and voy- is the stem that furnishes the present tense endings in modern French. The spelling voy- appears in both the indicative present form vous voyez and the imperative Voyez. The pronunciation is roughly /vwa.je/.

Usage: In ordinary statements, vous voyez is used to indicate perception or understanding by the group you are addressing. Examples include Vous voyez le problème? (Do you see the problem?) or Vous voyez ce que je veux dire? (Do you see what I mean?). In imperative use, Voyez ceci! or Voyez comme il est clair montre a command or admonition to observe or consider something. The form is also common in questions with inversion: Voyez-vous ceci? (Do you see this?) In literary or historical registers, Voyez may appear as an exclamatory summons.

Relationship to voir: Voyez is one of several essential forms of the verb voir. The base meaning remains “to see,” but it is also used metaphorically for understanding, comprehension, or awareness, as in voir clair, voir le jour, or voir les choses sous un autre angle.

See also: voir; voir au passé composé with vu.