Users can create a company profile in my web application. I'm not sure how to properly translate the term company to French. I've been mixing société and entreprise, but would like to be consistent and only use one term. Which term is the most generic and encompasses most company forms?
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3 Answers
Most companies in France are 'sociétés anonymes' or 'sociétés anonymes a responsabilité limitée', so using 'société' is never wrong.
'Entreprises' produce goods or services and would not be used for such trades as lawyer practices or medical groups.
So it depends what your target market is.
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I like your reference to the target market. The target market are creative agencies or development firms, so I guess "entreprise" is more accurate.– bartDec 25, 2016 at 19:55
I think the best way to translate a company in french would be to use une entreprise. This term is the most general one to describe a company in France.
Also, une société is a bit more specific than une entreprise. The first one is a juridical act in which two or more people accept in a contract to affect to a company some tools or skills in order to share the final profit or the resulting economy. It can also be used to describe the moral person created by this contract.
Une entreprise is just an economic and social notion which is encompassing most of the companies type.
But to be honest, you would be totally correct if you use any of those terms.
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@SergeBallesta Votre affirmation me surprend énormément, une société de personne au singulier, d'où tirez-vous ça, incluant cette définition à l'effet qu'elle ne serait composée que d'une seule personne ? Merci.– user3177Dec 26, 2016 at 19:55
While entreprise and société are often used interchangeably despite not sharing the same definitions, it is not possible to provide a simple "best" translation.
Depending on how "company" is used in your web application, the translation might be société, entreprise or something else like employeur, raison sociale, and possibly other terms.