The most common way to say "guest" in French is invité (or invitée for a female guest). But what if you're talking about a hotel guest, a surprise visitor, or even an unwanted guest? The French language, with its characteristic precision, has a variety of words to describe the different kinds of guests you might encounter.

Whether you're planning on hosting French speakers or find yourself as a guest in a French-speaking country, knowing the right word will make your interactions much smoother and more authentic.

Let's dive into 9 different ways to say "guest" in French and learn when to use each one!

1. The Standard 'Guest' – Un invité / Une invitée

The most common and direct way to say 'guest' in French is with the words un invité (for a male guest) and une invitée (for a female guest).

Invité(e) comes directly from the verb inviter (to invite). It literally means 'an invited person,' which makes it very easy to remember. This term is versatile and can be used in almost any context, from a casual dinner party to a formal wedding.

Like many French nouns, invité must agree in gender and number with the person or people it describes:

• un invité: a male guest
• une invitée: a female guest
• des invités: multiple male guests or a mixed-gender group of guests
• des invitées: multiple female guests

You can use invité(e) whether you're talking about a guest in your home, a guest at an event, or even a guest on a TV show. It's the standard, all-purpose word for someone who has been formally or informally invited somewhere.

It's important not to confuse un invité with un client. While in English you might call a hotel patron a 'guest', in French, a paying customer at a hotel or restaurant is un client (or une cliente). Un invité is someone you have personally invited and are hosting.

A very common related phrase is l'invité(e) d'honneur, which means 'the guest of honor'. This is used to single out the most important person at an event.

💡 * Nous avons des invités pour le dîner ce soir.

• Chaque invitée recevra un petit cadeau.
• Qui est l'invité d'honneur à la cérémonie ?
• Je suis juste un invité ici, je ne connais pas les règles de la maison.
• La liste des invités est complète.

The 'dinner guest' – un convive / une convive

The 'dinner guest' – un convive / une convive

While un invité is the general French word for a guest, un convive (masculine) or une convive (feminine) is a more specific and elegant term. It refers exclusively to a person who is sharing a meal with others—a 'dinner guest' or 'fellow diner'.

The word's origin helps clarify its meaning. It comes from the Latin conviva, formed from con- ('together') and vivere ('to live'). This beautifully captures the idea of people 'living' or sharing a moment together around a table.

The term convive carries a slightly more formal or literary tone. You'll hear it in restaurants, at formal events like weddings, or read it in descriptions of banquets. It emphasizes the communal aspect of the dining experience.

This word is very frequently used in its plural form, les convives, to refer to all the guests at a meal collectively. For example, a host might say, 'J'espère que tous les convives se sentent à l'aise' (I hope all the guests feel comfortable).

Using convive taps into the cultural significance of meals in France. It elevates a guest from a simple attendee to an active participant in the shared ritual of dining, highlighting the social connection forged over food.

💡 * Le chef est passé à chaque table pour saluer les convives.

• Une atmosphère chaleureuse régnait parmi les convives.
• Elle était la seule convive à ne pas boire de vin.
• L'hôte s'assura que chaque convive avait tout ce dont il avait besoin.

The dual-meaning 'host' or 'guest' – un hôte / une hôtesse

One of the trickier words for French learners is un hôte, a term famous for being a contronym—a word with two opposite meanings. It can signify both 'host' and 'guest'.

In French, un hôte can refer to the person who receives and entertains someone (the host) or the person who is being received and entertained (the guest). The correct meaning is almost always determined by the context of the sentence.

The gendered forms are key to reducing confusion:

• un hôte: a male host OR a male guest.
• une hôtesse: a female host. (This word is also used for a flight attendant or receptionist).
• une hôte: a female guest.
• les hôtes: plural hosts or guests (masculine or mixed group).
• les hôtesses: plural female hosts.

Since un hôte can mean two opposite things, you must rely on the surrounding words to understand the role. Look for verbs that clarify the action: Is the person accueillir (welcoming) someone, or are they rester chez (staying with) someone?

Remember this: if the feminine form is hôtesse, the person is the host. If the feminine form is hôte, she is the guest. For the masculine form, look at the action in the sentence to decide.

💡 * Le bon hôte s'assure que ses invités sont à l'aise. (The good host makes sure his guests are comfortable.)

• J'étais l'hôte de mes amis à Paris pendant une semaine. (I was the guest of my friends in Paris for a week.)
• Notre hôtesse nous a accueillis avec un grand sourire. (Our hostess welcomed us with a big smile.)
• Elle est une hôte très agréable et respectueuse. (She is a very pleasant and respectful guest.)

The 'guest of honor' – un invité d'honneur / une invitée d'honneur

The French equivalent for 'guest of honor' directly translates to un invité d'honneur for a male guest and une invitée d'honneur for a female guest.

Let's break it down: Invité(e) means 'guest' (literally 'invited person'), and the prepositional phrase d'honneur means 'of honor'. The structure is logical and closely mirrors its English counterpart.

Remembering gender agreement is key. Use un invité for masculine and une invitée for feminine. For plural guests of honor, you would use des invités d'honneur (for all-male or mixed groups) or des invitées d'honneur (for all-female groups).

This term is typically reserved for formal or semi-formal events such as weddings, award ceremonies, banquets, and official functions to designate the principal guest.

💡 * Le premier ministre était l'invité d'honneur de la soirée. (The prime minister was the guest of honor of the evening.)

• L'actrice célèbre est notre invitée d'honneur ce soir. (The famous actress is our guest of honor tonight.)
• En tant qu'invitée d'honneur, elle a prononcé le premier discours. (As the guest of honor, she gave the first speech.)
• Les anciens combattants sont les invités d'honneur du défilé. (The veterans are the guests of honor at the parade.)

The 'visitor' (to a place) – un visiteur / une visiteuse

When referring to a person visiting a specific location like a museum, a tourist site, or a city, the correct French terms are un visiteur (masculine) and une visiteuse (feminine).

These nouns describe someone who is present at a place for tourism, cultural exploration, or professional reasons (like visiting an exhibition). It is the direct equivalent of 'visitor' in this formal or public context.

Remember to match the gender: use un visiteur for a male visitor and une visiteuse for a female visitor. For a group of mixed gender, the masculine plural des visiteurs is used.

Crucially, do not confuse visiteur/visiteuse with a guest in someone's home. A social guest you invite over is called un invité (masculine) or une invitée (feminine). Using visiteur for a house guest would sound very strange and impersonal.

💡 * Le musée du Louvre attire des millions de visiteurs chaque année.

• La visiteuse a demandé son chemin au gardien.
• Les visiteurs doivent éteindre leurs téléphones portables pendant la visite guidée.
• Un visiteur curieux a posé beaucoup de questions sur l'histoire du château.

The 'paying guest' (at a hotel or restaurant) – un client / une cliente

When referring to a paying guest in a commercial setting like a hotel, restaurant, or café, the correct French term is un client (for a male) or une cliente (for a female). This is the direct equivalent of 'customer' or 'client' in English.

A common mistake for English speakers is to use un invité or une invitée. This is a classic 'false friend' (faux ami). An invité(e) is a guest you have invited to your home or to an event for free, not someone paying for a service. Using invité in a hotel context would imply they are staying for free at the hotel's invitation.

The rule is simple: if money is being exchanged for a good or service, the person is a client/cliente. If you are hosting someone in your personal space without payment, they are an invité/invitée.

This distinction holds true across all service industries in France. Whether you're a patron at a bar, a shopper in a store, or a guest at a resort, you are always considered a client or cliente.

💡 * Le client de la chambre 301 a demandé le service d'étage. (The guest in room 301 asked for room service.)

• La serveuse s'occupe de la cliente à la table près de la fenêtre. (The waitress is taking care of the guest at the table near the window.)
• L'hôtel offre un verre de bienvenue à tous ses clients. (The hotel offers a welcome drink to all its guests.)
• Excusez-moi, je suis un client de l'hôtel, où se trouve la piscine ? (Excuse me, I'm a guest at the hotel, where is the pool?)

The 'attendee' (at an event) – un participant / une participante

When referring to an 'attendee' or 'participant' at an event like a conference, meeting, or workshop, the correct French terms are un participant and une participante.

Derived from the verb participer (to participate), these nouns specifically denote someone who is actively taking part in or present at an organized event. It is the most common and formal way to refer to an attendee.

It is crucial to match the gender with the person you are referring to. Use un participant for a male and une participante for a female. The plural forms are des participants (for a group of males or a mixed-gender group) and des participantes (for an all-female group).

💡 *Chaque participant doit s'inscrire avant le 10 mai. (Each participant must register before May 10th.)
*Une participante a levé la main pour poser une question. (A female attendee raised her hand to ask a question.)
*La liste des participants au séminaire sera envoyée par e-mail. (The list of seminar attendees will be sent by email.)

The 'boarder' or 'lodger' – un pensionnaire / une pensionnaire

The 'boarder' or 'lodger' – un pensionnaire / une pensionnaire

A pensionnaire is someone who boards or lodges somewhere, meaning they receive accommodation and meals (pension complète) in exchange for payment. The term is derived from pension, which can mean 'guesthouse', 'board', or 'pension' in the retirement sense.

The most common use of pensionnaire is to describe a student at a boarding school (un internat). This student lives at the school during the term, as opposed to an externe, who is a day student.

Beyond schools, the term can also refer to a resident in a guesthouse (une pension de famille), a retirement home, or even an animal living in a zoo or kennel, as they are all technically 'boarded' at the facility.

💡 * Mon fils est pensionnaire dans un collège en Suisse. (My son is a boarder at a school in Switzerland.)

• La vieille dame loue une chambre à un pensionnaire pour arrondir ses fins de mois. (The old lady rents a room to a lodger to make ends meet.)
• Le zoo accueille un nouveau pensionnaire : un jeune panda. (The zoo is welcoming a new resident: a young panda.)

1. The Unexpected Guest: Un Visiteur à l'improviste

The French phrase for an 'unexpected guest' is un visiteur à l'improviste. Let's break it down: un visiteur translates directly to 'a visitor,' and the key part, à l'improviste, means 'unexpectedly,' 'unforeseen,' or 'without warning.' It perfectly captures the spontaneous nature of the arrival.

This phrase is used to describe someone who arrives at your home or another location without any prior announcement. Whether this is a pleasant surprise or a minor inconvenience depends entirely on the situation, but the phrase itself is neutral. It simply states the unplanned nature of the visit.

To describe the action of visiting unexpectedly, you can use the verb phrases arriver à l'improviste (to arrive unexpectedly) or passer à l'improviste (to drop by unexpectedly). These are very common in everyday French conversation.

💡 * Hier soir, nous avons eu un visiteur à l'improviste ; c'était mon oncle de Paris.

• J'adore quand mes amis passent à l'improviste le week-end.
• Désolé pour le désordre, je ne m'attendais pas à des visiteurs à l'improviste.
• Elle est arrivée à l'improviste juste à l'heure du dîner.

Are there other ways to say 'guest' in French?

Are there other ways to say “guest” in French?

Our list covers the most essential and widely used terms for “guest” in French. But like any rich language, French has more to offer, including more formal words, specific industry jargon (like in hospitality), and regional expressions you might encounter.

You can deepen your knowledge by searching online for terms like “synonyme pour invité” or “comment on dit guest en français québécois” to discover regional or context-specific vocabulary.

When you find a new word, always check its definition and look for example sentences. This will help you understand the subtle differences in connotation—for instance, whether a term is more suited for a house guest versus a guest on a talk show.

Pay attention when you watch French movies or TV shows, especially scenes involving parties, dinners, or hotels. Listening to native speakers is one of the best ways to learn which word for “guest” fits a particular situation.

For a deeper dive into related vocabulary, such as words for “host,” “to welcome,” or different types of guests, exploring the Larousse or WordReference entries for invité and hôte can be very insightful.

We hope this article has been a helpful addition to your French studies. Let’s end with a wonderful French proverb that perfectly captures the spirit of welcoming others: À la maison d'un ami, la table est bientôt mise. (At a friend's house, the table is soon set.)