Saynète or scénette? This orthographic dilemma puzzles many French speakers. However, there is no need to hesitate: “saynète” is the correct term, “scénette” does not officially exist.
The saynète originates from Spanish Golden Age theater. These were short, humorous plays performed during the intermissions of longer theatrical productions. By extension, the word now refers to any short, humorous sketch.
The spelling “scénette” may seem logical, since a saynète is performed on stage (scène in French). However, it is not etymologically justified. Saynète comes from the Spanish “sainete“, itself derived from “saín“, meaning fat. Originally, it referred to a piece of fat given as a reward to falcons after the hunt, then by extension to anything pleasant, before designating these short plays.
Although sometimes used, the word “scénette” is not listed in any dictionary. It is an erroneous alteration of “saynète” that spread by analogy with “scène” (scene). But it has no separate existence of its own.
In summary: “saynète” is used to designate a humorous sketch or short comic play. The word “scénette” should be avoided despite the spelling temptation. To avoid any ambiguity, it is best to stick to the established spelling “saynète“.
- The spelling “scénette” is incorrect when referring to a short humorous theatrical piece.
- Some people mistakenly write “scénette” instead of “saynète“, but this spelling has no validity.
- While “scénette” may seem like a logical spelling, it is an erroneous alteration of the proper term “saynète“.
- Avoid using made-up words like “scénette” and stick to the correct spelling “saynète” for sketch comedy acts.
Examples
- La troupe de théâtre a interprété des saynètes hilarantes pendant les entractes de la pièce. – The theater company performed hilarious saynètes between the acts of the play.
- Les élèves ont écrit et joué des saynètes amusantes pour leur cours de français. – The students wrote and acted out funny saynètes for their French class
- Nous avons regardé une saynète à propos de deux serveurs maladroits qui nous a fait bien rire. – We watched a saynète about two clumsy waiters that had us laughing out loud.
- Elle est une apprentie comédienne qui espère un jour jouer dans des saynètes. – She is an aspiring comedic actress who hopes to perform in saynètes one day.
- Le producteur a refusé le script pour la “scénette“, expliquant que le bon terme est en fait “saynète“. – The producer rejected the script for the “scénette“, explaining that the right term is actually “saynète“.
