How can you say in French 'we treated ourselves' as when you spend a bit more money than usual for something you don't need absolutely.
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Is it not more common as 'we treated ourselves to X'?– Mathieu BouvilleApr 4, 2019 at 6:29
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Yes that's what I'm looking for ... specifically ' we treated ourselves to a few nights in a luxury hotel'– CatherineApr 4, 2019 at 17:56
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3 Answers
There are several possibilities. Matter of fact ones are those;
- On s'est offert/permis/payé un extra.
More suggestive is this;
- On s'est fait (un petit) plaisir.
example
- On s'est fait plaisir et on est allé manger au restaurant tous les soirs.
The following definition from the OED should show that the verb "to treat" is the basic concept involved in this phrase, rather than it being an idiomatic expression in which the verb should occur;
¹[particular meaning:] TO PAY FOR SOMETHING ENJOYABLE treat sb/yourself (to sth) to pay for something that sb/you will enjoy and that you do not usually have or do.
- She treated him to lunch.
- Don't worry about the coast—I'll treat you.
- I'm going to treat myself to a new pair of shoes.
¹ square bracket comment is mine; the parentheses mean the complement is optional.
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This is in my opinion the correct answer 'en français métropolitain'– thomas.gApr 3, 2019 at 23:06
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En français québécois, surtout à l'oral, « on se paye la traite » (à ne pas confondre avec la tête) :
On s'est payés la traite avec quelques jours dans un hôtel de luxe.
On s'est payés la traite en passant quelques jours dans un hôtel de luxe.
On a accordé le participe passé au pluriel (payés) vu que le pronom personnel on vaut pour nous dans ce contexte (autrement on aurait employé le pronom personnel je). Au présent de l'indicatif, on préfère l'ancienne graphie de payer (je/tu/il paye) afin de pouvoir prononcer [pεj] : (tu te payes la traite).
Une autre réponse mentionnait un emploi de se gâter en français du Québec ; on le trouve aussi (on s'est gâtés).
"We treated ourselves to a few nights in a luxury hotel" -> "On s'est offert quelques nuits dans un hôtel de luxe." You can use 'payé' instead of 'offert' but it would insist more on money.
As LPH's example shows, you can also use "on s'est fait plaisir" but it works better by itself. (This was the cause for my initial comment: not all possibilities readily accept an object.)
