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French starter phrases so you can ask more than ‘where is the library?’ on your travels

Paris at night, France Photo: Contiki

The language of romance and love, French is widely regarded as being quite pretty. If you agree with this statement, then a trip to France to hear it in real life may be in order. And, what’s even better than traipsing around the Jardin du Luxembourg hearing flutters of French, is being able to speak it back! 

So, if you’re heading to France, maybe for the upcoming Olympics or to cruise around the French Riviera, here are a few French phrases we think will come in handy.

Some notes on French

French is a Latin-based Romance language, so if you already have foundations in languages like Spanish or Italian, you should be able to pick up French phrases quite easily. But keep in mind that not every word that sounds the same means the same, so beware of homophones.

If you have ever taken any French lessons before, particularly at school, you will have been taught the pronouns je and vous. Je is ‘I’, so you’ll be using this one a lot. Vous is used as ‘you’, but it’s quite formal and younger people tend to use it less. Instead, you can use tu. That being said, if you are addressing a stranger, someone of authority, or perhaps an elderly person, using vous may be your best course of action.

You may be stressed about French’s notorious accents on different letters, but they really aren’t as complicated as you might think. Generally they only come into play while writing as well, so you don’t have to worry too much. But here’s a quick guide anyway:

French is one of those languages that’s very prone to using silent letters, especially at the end of words. If you come across a word ending in the letters d, s, t, x, or z, chances are you won’t be pronouncing it. If a word starts with the letter h then the h is always silent.

travellers doing yoga at the Chateau

Image source:Contiki

Conjugation

Where languages like English have it easy because of the lack of conjugation, languages like French decided to be fancy and have it. Conjugation is, if you didn’t know, the variation of verbs based on the speaker or subject of a sentence. For example, verbs relating to the first person singular, ‘je’ (I), will be different to verbs relating to the first person plural, ‘nous’ (us/we). 

So, let’s conjugate the verb voyager (to travel) for all the pronouns:

Voyage conjugation

Now you have one French phrase under your belt!

Helpful French phrases

Okay, now we have the foundations down, let’s get into some helpful French phrases that’ll come in handy on travels to the Hexagon.

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Day-to-day

Effort to learn and speak the language of the country you’re visiting is always appreciated. Even though small errors and a slight accent may give you away as a tourist, locals will be pleased you’re trying and will be more than happy to help. So, here are a few nifty phrases for day-to-day interactions.

Day-to-day

Group of travellers in Paris

Image source:Contiki

Greetings

If you’re staying at a hostel or want to chat with some locals, these are some other ways to greet people and form some deeper bonds.

Greetings

Travel phrases and directions

Travel and directions

Ordering food

Ordering food

Provence, France

Image source:Contiki

Slang

Learning a language before travelling is all well and good, but a lot of people nowadays use slang. If you’re travelling to France and staying in a hostel and planning on meeting fellow travellers and locals, it may be good to pick up a few slang terms so communicating becomes a little less confusing. So, here are the French phrases I’ve deemed most important to have in your pocket!

1. Laisse tomber

Laisse tomber

Literally translating to “let it drop”, laisse tomber basically means “let it go”, “forget it”, or “nevermind”. You’d use this if you were explaining something and the other person wasn’t understanding, for example.

2. Une clope, du feu

Une clope, du feu

Une clope is slang for a cigarette, and du feu translates to fire, but means a lighter. So, if someone comes up to you on the streets of Paris and asks you “t’as une clope” or “t’as du feu”, you know to either pull them out of your pocket or direct them to the nearest Tabac. And, while we’re here, a Tabac is a kind of store where you can buy things like cigarettes as well as newspapers, magazines, and snacks like chocolate bars, etc.

3. Ouf

Ouf

In France, we have a specific genre of slang called “verlan” which consists of swapping around a word’s syllables to form a new word. In this case, ouf is verlan for the word fou, which means crazy. So, if someone says their night out was ouf that means they had a great time. Alternatively, ouf can also be used to describe someone’s appearance: “elle est ouf” means “she’s hot!”.

travellers relaxing by French Chateau

Image source:Contiki

4. Mec / Meuf

Mec / Meuf

Mec and meuf are commonly used French phrases amongst friends. Mec is the French equivalent of dude or bro, and meuf is verlan for femme (woman) and means girl. If you really want to blend in with the surfing crowd in Marseille, be sure to slot these into your vocabulary.

5. Sans déc

Sans déc

Sans déc means “no way” or “you’re kidding”, and it’s used to either express disbelief at your friend’s crazy Contiki anecdote or you can say it to bolster your story’s credibility. Déc is short for the word déconner which translates to kidding (though the word is a lot stronger in French).

6. Teuf / Boîte

Teuf / Boîte

Teuf is another example of verlan. The actual word is fête, which means party, but why use the actual word when you can make up a new one? And boîte, which literally translates to box, is short for boîte de nuit, which means nightclub. So, if anyone approaches you asking if you’d like to go to une teuf or une boîte, they’re asking if you want to party.

7. Paname / Parigo

Paname / Parigo

France’s capital city has a few nicknames, one of them being Paname. Parisians also have nicknames, like Parigo. So, if you ever decide to change your life up and move to the capital city, you’ll be a Parigo in Paname.

Paris, France

Image source:Contiki

8. Pas de souci

Pas de souci

This simply means “no worries”, and it can be used in lieu of you’re welcome, or just to say “no worries” if, for example, your favourite boulangerie runs out of croissants for the day and you’re not too pressed about it (after all, there are a million croissants in France).

9. Bof / Naze / Nul

Bof / Naze / Nul

These are all different words to express the same thing: that something is bad or mediocre. If your travel buddy goes to the cinema and sees a film they deemed boring, they’d say: “le film était naze”, and then you’ll know not to waste your euros on it.

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10. Blé / Fric / Pognon / Thune

Blé / Fric / Pognon / Thune

These all describe money. Fric and thune are generally used more than blé and pognon, but if you use any of these while speaking to a French person, they’ll get what you mean.

Cassis, French Riviera

Image source:Nick Roberts

Some interesting facts about the French language

Did you know that French is the international language of cooking, fashion, theatre, the visual arts, architecture, and dance? For example, in ballet, the steps are all named in French, even if you’re learning in an anglophone country. Or, in cooking, terms like sous-vide and flambé which denote particular cooking techniques come from the French. 

There are 24 French dialects as well, for example Creole which is spoken in Louisiana, Québec French in Canada, Haitian French, and African French. These variations are either due to French communities emigrating elsewhere in the world, or are remnants of France’s extensive colonial empire. 

So, while you may know English as the most spoken language around the world, French also has quite a prominent presence!

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