Learn French: Le client s'entend dire non par le banquier. - The client is told no by the banker.

Le client s'entend dire non par le banquier.

The client is told no by the banker.

Breakdown of Le client s'entend dire non par le banquier.

non

le client

the client / the customer

par

by, through / out of (motive)

dire

to say, to tell

Questions & Answers about Le client s'entend dire non par le banquier.

Why do we use s'entend dire instead of a normal passive like est dit?

In French, verbs that take an indirect object, like dire à quelqu'un (to say to someone), cannot be turned into a standard passive voice where that person becomes the subject. You cannot say Le client est dit. To get around this, French uses s'entendre (literally to hear oneself) plus an infinitive to express that someone is on the receiving end of a spoken action.

Since this lesson is about se voir and s'entendre, could I use se voit dire here?

You will sometimes hear se voir used with verbs of speech, but s'entendre is the much more natural and preferred choice when the action is verbal or auditory. You generally use s'entendre with verbs of communication like dire, demander, reprocher, or répondre.

Doesn't s'entendre usually mean to get along with someone?

It does! For example, Ils s'entendent bien means they get along well. However, when it is followed directly by an infinitive like dire, it reverts to its literal reflexive meaning of hearing oneself. So Le client s'entend dire non literally translates to the client hears himself being told no.

Why do we use par le banquier if this isn't a standard passive sentence?