# be an item



## Jean-Michel Carrère

Could someone suggest a translation for the phrase 'be an item', meaning form a couple, have a romantic and sexual relationship, as used in the sentence below :

They met at a party and from then on, they were an item.

Thank you.


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## LV4-26

Would "ils formaient un tout" or "ils ne faisaient plus qu'un" convey the same meaning ?

If it does, I'm sure they've already come to your mind and you've already rejected them. Anyway, "à tout hasard"...


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## Jean-Michel Carrère

Thanks !

I quite like and certainly appreciate your effort, but am still interested in other suggestions. I initially thought of 'ils furent inséparables', but I feel this overtranslates the English phrase, just like your suggestions may go too long a way towards total fusional love compared with 'they were an item' ? I wonder what the native speakers think.


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## Benjy

yeah.. being an item i would just translate as depuis ils sortaient ensemble.. ou quelque chose dans le meme genre


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## la grive solitaire

"To be an item"  has to do with the couple being a "hot topic" that everyone's talking about, like an item in a newspaper. It's very colloquial so a translation would have to be in that register.


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## Agnès E.

Et depuis on les voit toujours fourrés ensemble ?


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## LV4-26

Other suggestions along the lines of the "hot topic" angle.

_C'est devenu *le* couple_ (with the intonation stressing the word "le")
or _le couple du siècle_

I'm not really satisfied with these but, at least, this could put you all on the track of something better,as it sometimes happens.
Still thinking.


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## la grive solitaire

The linguistic level of "to be an item" is similar to that of "un couple qui vit plus duo que les bas" in this article:

http://www.mf-international.com/viewtopic.php?p=66608


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## LV4-26

_On ne les imaginait plus l'un sans l'autre ?_


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## Gil

et si la première idée n'était pas si mauvaise.

et depuis les tourtereaux semblent inséparables.


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## Jabote

Gil said:
			
		

> et si la première idée n'était pas si mauvaise.
> 
> et depuis les tourtereaux semblent inséparables.


 
l'expression est très jolie, mais trop poétique pour le colloquial "to be an item"... mais je ne trouve toujours pas comment traduire, à part "et depuis c'est *LE* couple", with a strong stress on "LE"


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## Quake 3

*'They say that Biker and Lucy are an 'item.' '*

If you have any further suggestions, please, add them, I'm quite interested in this thread...


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## catheng

On dit/ il parait  que B et L sont ensemble.


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## Quake 3

Yep but this is formal, neutral... as said above, the word item is pretty colloquial therefore the French translation should be colloquial as well.
Thanks for the post Catheng!


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## catheng

I feel it is colloquial. As a French speaker, if I had wanted not to be colloquial I would have said "B ET L sortent ensemble"

Hope it helps. But I'll try to find something else


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## nouvellerin

_Ils se sont mis en unité_

Ca peut se dire ? Ou bien je tente trop ? 

En plus, je veux ajouter que je ne suis pas d'accord avec ceux qui disent que "an item" se compose forcément de peoples, ou que le couple est célèbre. "An item" est un couple amoureux, point.


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## melu85

Nouvellerin, "se sont mis en unité" ne marche pas en français, dommage.
"ils sortent ensemble" "ils sont ensemble" passent bien pour rendre "to be an item". j'ai le sentiment que les autres propositions sont de la sur-traduction.


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## nouvellerin

Oui, dommage  n'étant pas francophone, le mot _unité _me plaisait...


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## Quake 3

As a French speaker, "_être ensemble_", "_être avec quelqu'un_" does not sound familiar to me! Perhaps I'm wrong... and I wouldn't use "_sortir ensemble_" with folks beyond 30-35 years old. _Sortir ensemble _in French sounds to me like a word used for young people. 
What I mean is chances are "sortir ensemble" is the proper translation to use, but why doesn't the original sentence read "be together" or simply "to be in love"? Why is the word item used?


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## catheng

indeed sortir ensemble is often used for young people.... You're right.


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## Grop

Quake 3 said:


> As a French speaker, "_être ensemble_", "_être avec quelqu'un_" does not sound familiar to me! Perhaps I'm wrong... and I wouldn't use "_sortir ensemble_" with folks beyond 30-35 years old. _Sortir ensemble _in French sounds to me like a word used for young people.



Hi Quake, I am familiar with these expressions. To me they suggest closer links than just "sortir ensemble" - which I wouldn't use for people who live together, for instance.


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## melu85

ok, vous n'allez pas aimer ma suggestion, pas assez familère, mais l'idée c'est "former un couple", pas plus.


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## Quake 3

Hi Grop! Well, you're certainely right, and I quite like Agnès E.'s "fourrés ensemble". I also know the phrase "main dans la main" but it's not colloquial enough. Thanks Grop!!

Melu85, about your suggestion, it's not that I don't like it but I have already used the term "former un couple" for the almost same cue from the game:

_'They say that Sarge and Slash are a couple.'_

I can't use it twice, alas.


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## Grop

En y repensant, "sortent ensemble" est sans doute approprié.

To make it sound more like a rumor, maybe: "Il parait qu'il se passe des choses entre X et Y".


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## Quake 3

OK, obviously, it seems that I want to make myself clearer about the cue, and I'm sorry for those who were not used to my "cues", I didn't want to make you be confused!
OK so as usual, the cue

*'They say that Biker and Lucy are an 'item.' '*

is taken from Quake III, this is a cue from the warriors of the game who type it as a response to the word "_love_" followed by the name of any warrior of the game. In the very same context, you can also come across on these other cues:

_'I doubt you know the meaning of love.'
'So, tell me about your pitiful love life.'
'Are you falling in love with me?'
'Love is a crock.'
''They' say that Sarge and Slash are a couple.'_

Thanks!


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## mungolina

This is an interesting one... I don't know of an equivalent phrase... my instinct would be to say 'ils font un couple', simply; maybe 'ils sont en couple'. It has a slightly less permanent feel to it, I think.

'ils ne se quittent plus' is something that would be widely used, and in journalistic gossip circles as well.

How about 'ca ne se sépare plus' - using ca instead of ils gives the familier aspect. Or 'ils sont copain-copine'.


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## mungolina

sorry, your last post came up as I was typing

On dit que Sarge et Slash sont ensemble
On dit que Sarge et Slash, ils ne se quittent plus
On dit que Sarge et Slash, ca fait un couple


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## Quake 3

Yes, you did great Mungolina! 
Actually I think it may sound a little awkward to say "ça ne se sépare plus", I understand why you suggested the idea but still, I believe it sounds too clumsy. I like the "ils ne se quittent plus", it's not that colloquial but I like it and it fits the context.
Thanks a lot!


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## otta

*'They say that Biker and Lucy are an 'item.' '*

On dit que Bicker et Lucy se sont mis ensemble

On raconte que Biker et Lucy ne forment plus qu'un 

Il parait que Biker et Lucy sont ensemble


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## Quake 3

LOL thanks Otta for the slight correction, I don't mind the names, what matters is how item is translated into French! 
Your extra suggestions happen to be quite oK, too! Well done, pal!


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## mungolina

Yup I like that last one


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## otta

looooooooooooooooooool 

Good luck


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## GamblingCamel

Good Morning Page Six Quake,

ITEM is enticing, slightly gossipy. I've always presumed it's derived from item of gossip.

You might say it after you discover two people are going out,
"Hey, I went to a party downtown the other night. You know what ? Jack and Jill are an item now."

Or in a very casual way. "Q3, did you know there are some items here on WRF? But my lips are sealed !"

It'd be great if you all could come up with a single French word.
ITEM works well ironically, because its core definition is so neutral, impersonal-- and yet it can be used, as with Biker and Lucy, to describe love and lust.



> ITEM: a distinct part in an enumeration, account, or series. ARTICLE.


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## Nicomon

Mon effort un peu capilotracté :

_Il parait que Biker et Lucy roulent en tandem_

Biker... bicycle... two = tandem. And it (sort of) sounds like item.


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## Cath.S.

melu85 said:


> ok, vous n'allez pas aimer ma suggestion, pas assez familère, mais l'idée c'est "former un couple", pas plus.


J'allais suggérer
_depuis, ils sont *en* couple._
__

_P.s._
Mais j'ai lu ton objection, Quake...


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## Quake 3

LOL! But I agree Egueule, it's very tempting to say en couple... if we hadn't the other cue, I would have definitely chosen your suggestion. Btw, glad to see you back in one of my threads!
I do like your suggestion Nicomon, although perhaps the meaning of "_rouler en tandem_" is not quite the same as "_être en couple_". I understand "_rouler en tandem_" like "_faire la paire_", "_être complice_" but it does not convey love to me... but using _tandem_ with _Biker_ is just a great idea! I keep it in mind! Way to go!


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## Nicomon

Quake 3 said:


> I understand "_rouler en tandem_" like "_faire la paire_", "_être complice_" but it does not convey love to me... but using _tandem_ with _Biker_ is just a great idea! I keep it in mind! Way to go!


 
I understand it the same way you do. But I think you can be both in love and accomplices. Tandem  also means association.  Sont en tandem/forment un tandem? 
As found googling :


> Je suis solo et je veux maintenant *rouler en tandem*, je cherche donc une femme qui aime l'aventure à deux.
> *Rouler en tandem* : un test ludique pour savoir si vous êtes faits l’un pour l’autre.


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