FrenchWhen you are new to a language in a foreign land, a few polite phrases will take you a long way!
GREETING PEOPLE:
It's a good to address Madame for a woman, Monsieur for a man and Mademoiselle for a young woman. This generally used for referring people unknown to you. They will do the same with you.
| Hello | |
| Good morning | Bonjour ("bon" means good, "jour" day) |
| Good afternoon | |
| Good day | |
These are some examples that will help you to greet people
| ENGLISH | FRENCH |
| Hello John | Bonjour Jean |
| Good morning, Madam | Bonjour Madame |
| Goodbye Jean | Au revoir Jean |
| Good evening | Bonsoir |
| There you are, Sir | Voilà Monsieur. |
| Thank you very much | Merci beaucoup. |
| You’re welcome | De rien |
| I'm sorry, Sir | Pardon Monsieur. |
| Mr Dupont, please | Monsieur Dupont, s'il vous plaît. |
| Where are you going, Miss? : | Vous allez où Mademoiselle? |
| Hi, Watch'ya | Salut |
| Hi everybody! | Salut tout le monde! |
| See you soon | À bientôt |
| See you tomorrow | À demain |
BASIC CONVERSATION:
Here are some basic questions that will help you during your travel at France.
| ENGLISH | FRENCH |
| Do you speak English? | Parlez-vous anglais? |
| Can you help me please? | Aidez moi, s’il vous plait? |
| How much is it? | Combien ca coûte? |
| Sorry | Desolé/Pardon |
| I don’t understand | Je ne comprends pas |
| Excuse Me | Excusez-moi |
| She has two hours | Elle a deux heures |
| We have 100 Euro | Nous avons cent Euro |
| There are three boys | Il y a trois garçons |
| Six eggs please | Six oeufs s'il vous plait |
| What time is it, please? | Quelle heure est-il, s'il vous plait? |
| Please, where isthe telephone? |
S'il te plait, où est le téléphone? |
INTRODUCING YOURSELF:
It is polite to shake hands in France when you introduce yourself to unknown people and friends.
| ENGLISH | FRENCH |
| I'm Jean | Je suis Jean |
| I am French | Je suis française |
| I'm from the United States | Je suis des Etats Unis |
| Glad To Meet You | Enchanté |
ASKING FOR DIRECTIONS:
| ENGLISH | FRENCH |
| Where can I find a taxi? | Où pourrais-je trouver un taxi |
| Where should I get off? | Où est-ce que je dois descendre? |
| What bus goes to the ...? | Quel bus va aux Eiffel Tower |
| Where is the ... train station. | Où est la gare …? |
| I am looking for... | Je cherch ... |
| Where can I find... | Où se trouve ... |
| How do I get to.? | Comment est-ce que je dois aller pur arriver à .? |
| Is it near/far?: | Est-ce près/loin? |
| Turn left: | Tournez à gauche/droite |
| Behind: | derriére |
| In front of: | devant |
When you can not understand something clearly, these following phrases will help you ask for clarification!
| ENGLISH | FRENCH |
| Could you speak more slowly please? | Pourriez-vous parler plus lentement? |
| Could you repeat that, please? | Pourriez-vous repeter, s'il vous plait? |
| Could you write that down for me, please? | Pourriez-vous l'ecrire, s'il vous plait? |
HOTEL BOOKING:
Image a scenario where you arrive at a hotel and would like to book a room at the reception.
Do you have a room for tonight, with breakfast?
- Avez-vous une chambre de libre, pour cette nuit, avec petit dejeuner?
How much is it please?
- C'est combien s'il vous plait?
OK, can you take my luggage up?
- D'accord, pouvez-vous monter mes bagages?
At what time do you serve breakfast?
- A partir de quelle heure servez-vous le petit-dejeuner?
FOOD:
When you enter the restaurant either greet Bonjour or Bonsoir according to the time of day. This will get the waiter on your side.
Once you are seated, you can ask: The menu card please: "La carte s’il vous plait."
A plat du jour consists of a meal including entrée, main meal, a desert and wine at a very low price. Most restaurants particularly at lunch time have this meal and this certainly makes ordering simpler for a new comer in the city.
Ask the waiter if there is a plat du jour : "est ce qu'il y a un plat du jour."
When you have finished you meal and want the bill : "L'addition si vous plait."
These are some words one should know when he out for food at France
| ENGLISH | FRENCH |
| Breakfast: | le petit déjeuner |
| Lunch: | le déjeuner |
| Dinner: | le diner |
| Vegetable: | le legume |
| Fish: | poisson |
| Meat: | viande |
| Poultry: | volaille |
| Beer: | bière |
| Wine: | Vin |
| I don't eat meat: | Je ne mange pas de viande |
TAKING A TAXI:
The following type of conversation will help you travel whilst you are at France.
| ENGLISH | FRENCH |
| Taxi please! | Taxi, s'il vous plait! |
| To Charles de Gaule, my plane leaves in two hours! | A Charles de Gaule,j'ai un avion dans deux heures! |
| There you are, 350 francs Madame | Et voila, 350 francs Madame |
| That is very expensive! | C'est très cher! |
| That's Paris! | C'est Paris! |
Each time you request and ask questions, use please and thank when you are in French. You will become aware that it is important to say please and thank you, so make sure you know how to say it. Use ‘s’il vous plait’ at the end of your question and thank you after the person has answered your question.
