What's the correct verb to use to describe the phenomenon of going from calling someone 'vous' to calling someone 'tu'?

Question

The kind of verb that can only exist in language such as French with different ways of referring to people in the second person, what is the verb (or verbs) that describe the phenomenon of switching to a 'more intimate' mode of address? I'm sure I've seen a phrase in the past that basically meant "let's start calling each other 'tu'", but there was a single verb for the second part of the sentence, such that if the verb was *xxx*, the sentence would read "let's xxx". What could that verb have been?

Answer 1

The verb is "tutoyer".

Let's say you, Gerry meet Pascal. You start using "vous" because you don't know each other. (Vous vous vouvoyez au debut). Then, you realize you are the same age, there is a great rapport between the two of you, and you decide to ask him "Est-ce que nous pouvons nous tutoyer? " or "Peut-on se tutoyer?" (a little more colloquial) Or even "Je peux vous tutoyer?" (Note that "se tutoyer" is a reflexive verb).

Hope this helps,

Sylvie