# guys (for female)



## Guerric

Bonjour à tous,

J'aurais besoin d'une petite clarification.

Si je dis "hello guys" à un groupe composé d'hommes et de femmes, est-ce plus familier que si je le dis à un groupe composé d'hommes uniquement ?

Je dis "hello guys" à mes collègues masculins, mais j'hésite toujours à le dire si une femme est présente.

Merci d'avance de vos lumières anglophones.


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## jetset

Il y a un thread sur ce sujet, mais j'avoue que je ne comprends pas non plus toutes les subtilités de "you guys".
Attendons...


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## b1947420

Here is the link.
http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=1854542


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## Guerric

Merci pour le lien, mais ils ne précisent pas s'il y a une différence de registre de langue entre les deux emplois du mot.
Les deux sont "casual", mais j'aurais tendance à penser que "guys" désignant également une/des femme(s) serait un peu plus familier.
Ais-je tort?


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## Keith Bradford

In Britain, guys = men (always).  _Hello guys = Salut les gars.  Some guys... = Certains mecs..._

In America, things are different.


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## b1947420

Keith Bradford said:


> In Britain, guys = men (always). _Hello guys = Salut les gars. Some guys... = Certains mecs..._
> 
> In America, things are different.


 
Sorry Keith -- not where I live!

I have regularly heard this useage for men or men and women together or indeed children of either sex together and it is common on British television.


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## b1947420

Guerric said:


> Merci pour le lien, mais ils ne précisent pas s'il y a une différence de registre de langue entre les deux emplois du mot.
> Les deux sont "casual", mais j'aurais tendance à penser que "guys" désignant également une/des femme(s) serait un peu plus familier.
> Ais-je tort?


 
Non! Tu as bien raison.


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## Keith Bradford

b1947420 said:


> Sorry Keith -- not where I live!
> 
> I have regularly heard this useage for men or men and women together or indeed children of either sex together and it is common on British television.


 
Of course. There are a lot of American films on British television, hadn't you noticed?


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## Jessica.C

Pour moi «guys» se dit pour les deux sexes.
Ou sinon, pour un groupe que de femmes, on pourrait aussi dire «Hi, girls!» (Salut, les filles) ou «Hi, chicks!» ( ça je ne le conseille pas trop...). Ou sinon, comme j'ai souvent entendu au États-Unis «Hi, folks!» (salut la compagnie!).


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## Elle Paris

It didn't used to apply to us gals in the US 36 years ago but it does now.
I left for France 36 years ago to teach English there, and now, much of what I taught no longer holds water.
I ask people how they are - they say, "I'm good." At what?!
I hear on TV "If I would have known, I would not have went there." The "If I would have" part can be read in ads and heard in TV commercials.
A famous TV judge frequently asks, "When did you loan him the money?" The defendant says, "He didn't loan it to me, it was a gift!" I have yet to hear "I lent him the money, it was a loan not a gift!" What happened to the verb "to lend"?
Sorry guys, for going off on a tangent... I am just wondering how we can draw the line at what is or is not correct these days... It seems that the majority rules.


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## b1947420

Keith Bradford said:


> Of course. There are a lot of American films on British television, hadn't you noticed?


 
I said "*and* television"  your "always" statement is not correct.


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## akaAJ

My impression, from my hoary-bearded perspective, is that the familiarity index is age-related.  To my grandchildren it is comfortably unisex, but likely to be a "guy thing" for aging US jocks.  Young men or women may greet mixed groups of young acquaintances with "Hi guys, what's up", but would not accept that from a middle-aged man trying to look  "cool".  A middle-aged woman probably wouldn't try it, but, paradoxically, might get away with it;  I have heard a late-thirtyish female professor greet a mixed advanced Spanish class with a 20-year age spread with "Hola, chicos ! "

I think "Hello guys and gals" has disappeared with "Good evening, ladies and germs".


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## cathy94

Good question!
I'm Canadian and I'd say that 'Hi guys' is very familiar and can be used to address a group of both men and women. 
Kate


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## bh7

I've noticed that some young women (university students) will use "hi guys" as a greeting among themselves (no males present).  I'd consider it ill-advised to do likewise when meeting a group of women, no matter whether younger or my age.  I wouldn't have the same qualms, however, addressing a mixed group of friends (not strangers!) in this way.


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## Guerric

Bonsoir tout le monde et merci de vos réponses, c'est beaucoup plus clair maintenant. 

bh7: j'ai remarqué ça aussi dans quelques séries, ça m'a fait tout drôle au début.


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## Rami_111

The other day I heard a young women say "you guys" when addressing a group of all women.  It's casual and seems to be used more among peers.  I doubt she would have spoken so casually if her audience had included older women.


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## Maple75

All this is true. I'm still not sure that we've answered Guerric's question, though. I kind of think he might be right that there is a slight difference in register. If I was the lone woman in a group of men in a professional setting, and a man addressed the group with "Hi guys", might I not feel a little left out & excluded? It probably depends on the woman but I think he is right to hesitate, for that reason and also because maybe it is a bit more familiar than using it in a group of all men. There is a slight difference somehow, at least if Guerric is male (I'm just assuming that, sorry if I'm wrong...)

Jessica C, "Hi chicks" would be very strange!! Somewhat offensive, but if said with a very strong accent it would get a laugh, anyway...;-) "Hi ladies" would work better.

"Gals" is so outdated, as you said akaAJ - my father in his seventies says it and I smile every time. So funny.

ElleParis, you're right that things change, but "if I would have" is still wrong!! It was wrong when Chicago sang "If she would have been faithful" in 1986, too. Ugh!


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## MJWatson

The problem with English is that we don't have a word which means "you" specifically plural, such as _vous _en francais. Instead, we come up with other weird ways to say it. In America it can be "you all" or "y'all but in Canada it's common to say "you guys" to a familiar group of people - male or female. Eg. "I need all you guys to come over here."


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## boaty

Here is a beauty for you MJWatson. Down in Oz I'm hearing "See you later" when bidding goodbye to a friend and "See youse later" when to a group. Is that an acceptable plural form of "you" - I think not. It really gets my goat.


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## Maple75

I have heard that here in Canada too! Only within a certain segment of the population, where I suppose it is considered "acceptable"....
I actually got it in written form in a note once, and it cracked me up - it was spelled "use"! I had to read it twice in order to understand. "We'll see use at the picnic" - huh?! 

(Since it's incorrect anyway, why not make up an equally incorrect way of spelling it?)

It's true that the awkwardness stems from the lack of a distinct second person plural. Hence the creative solutions. Hilarious.


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## Surfin' Bird

MJWatson said:


> The problem with English is that we don't have a word which means "you" specifically plural, such as _vous _en francais. Instead, we come up with other weird ways to say it. In America it can be "you all" or "y'all but in Canada it's common to say "you guys" to a familiar group of people - male or female. Eg. "I need all you guys to come over here."



Oui.

Même si, dans l'absolu, "guys" se traduit généralement par "mecs", il me semble qu'il faut souvent oublier sa signification de départ et le comprendre comme une simple marque du pluriel.
Une façon de montrer que l'on s'adresse à toutes les personnes présentes plutôt qu'à une seule.


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## joaopaolo

MJWatson said:


> The problem with English is that we don't have a word which means "you" specifically plural, such as _vous _en francais. Instead, we come up with other weird ways to say it. In America it can be "you all" or "y'all but in Canada it's common to say "you guys" to a familiar group of people - male or female. Eg. "I need all you guys to come over here."



Exactly. I teach in a school that is mainly women, and find myself often saying "you guys" to a group of women *because we have nothing else to use.* It is too bad that we don't have a "vous" in English, but "you" really doesn't work for a group.


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## Keith Bradford

joaopaolo said:


> I... find myself often saying "you guys" to a group of women *because we have nothing else to use*...


 
_*Ladies, girls, all, all of you, friends, people, everybody*_...?


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## Elle Paris

Thanks, I feel less like a dinosaur now! I was afraid that my "If I had known sooner, I would not have come." was relegated to the linguistic category that "gals" now fits in.

As to the plural of you, I have a tendancy to use "everyone/body,all/both of you, you both (but not 'you all' except in sentences such as 'you all know...'), you people, you nincompoops, you geniuses and such.


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## Melismelos

When I was in Australia, I've noticed that a lot of people were starting their sentence by saying "Do you guys (eat snails and frog legs...?)" even when talking to girls only.


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## akaAJ

Isn't "youse" fairly acceptable Irish colloquial for the plural of "you" (now transferred to Brooklyn New Jersey, and New Orleans, pushing toward "uncouth" from "colloquial").


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## Pedro y La Torre

akaAJ said:


> Isn't "youse" fairly acceptable Irish colloquial for the plural of "you" (now transferred to Brooklyn New Jersey, and New Orleans, pushing toward "uncouth" from "colloquial").



Indeed. Youse is very common around Dublin and to the North of Ireland. Ye is more popular down south.

For me, "hi guys" can be used for women, whereas something like "howya lads" would always refer uniquely to men.


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## sojourner84

This is truly a fascinating thread! 

I agree with Elle Paris. We need to carry the torch and promote better grammar.


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## Isarose14

Yeah! You can totally say "hey guys!" To any group of people. All girls, all guys, mixed... 
(From California)


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## funnyhat

A couple of nuances to note: 
It's important to note that while the second-person plural address "you guys" has become more inclusive regarding gender, the singular _guy _is strictly masculine.  An individual girl/woman would never be called a "guy."  

Also, if you are speaking_ about_ people (i.e. in the third person plural), "guys" refers only to men/boys.  For example, if someone were to say "Guys hate to wear the color pink," there is no confusion about gender there.


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## MJWatson

funnyhat said:


> A couple of nuances to note:
> It's important to note that while the second-person plural address "you guys" has become more inclusive regarding gender, the singular _guy _is strictly masculine.  An individual girl/woman would never be called a "guy."



You know what else I've noticed- in the past you would use the word "dude" to mean a guy, but not a female. Now, it's becoming more inclusive so you can use it towards a male or female. You can say "Dude, what was that about!", for example, even when talking to a girl.

I have used *ladies* before, when talking to groups of females of any age! (But, of course, that does not work in mixed company!)


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