Common French Phrases You'll Use Every Day (with Native Audio)

These are the common French phrases you'll hear and use every day, in shops, with neighbours, with friends and colleagues. They're grouped by what you use them for, each with a meaning, a note on when French people actually say it, and native audio on every phrase with a ▶ button. Learn the first three sections and you can get through most everyday exchanges; the last two help you understand what people say back.

Greetings and goodbyes

• Bonjour ! Hello. The polite default with anyone, all day until evening. In France you say it before anything else, including when you walk into a shop.
• Salut hi (and bye). Casual: for friends, classmates and relaxed colleagues, not your safest choice with strangers.
• Ça va ? How are you? It both asks and answers: reply Ça va bien (I'm fine) and you're done.
• Ça va bien, merci. I'm doing well, thanks.
• Et vous ? And you? The polite way to hand the question back. With friends it's Et toi ?
• Bonne journée ! Have a good day. Said when leaving, not arriving.
• À bientôt. See you soon. Friendly and open-ended: you expect to see them again, but nothing's planned.

French lesson · 37 phrases with audioBasic greetings: Greeting your neighborPractise this conversation →

The polite essentials

• S'il vous plaît please. The polite form for staff and strangers.
• Merci: thank you.
• De rien: you're welcome. In more formal service situations you'll also hear je vous en prie.
• Avec plaisir. My pleasure. Warmer than de rien, and very common.
• Excusez-moi: excuse me, to get someone's attention or get past.
• Désolé: sorry. A woman writes désolée; it sounds the same.
• Ce n'est pas grave. It's no big deal. The kind reply when someone apologises for something small. Grave means serious here, not "grave".

Common French phrases for everyday situations

• Je ne sais pas I don't know. In speech you'll often hear je sais pas.
• J'ai une question I have a question. French "has" a question, just as it "has" a problem: j'ai un problème.
• Pouvez-vous m'aider ? Can you help me? A polite pattern you can reuse: Pouvez-vous répéter ?
• J'ai besoin d'aide I need help. Avoir besoin de works with anything: j'ai besoin d'eau (I need water).
• Où sont les toilettes ? Where is the restroom? French uses the plural les toilettes.
• Avez-vous du wifi? Do you have wifi?
• Je suis en retard. I'm late. Literally "I'm in lateness".
• J'ai fait une erreur I made a mistake.
• Je suis malade I'm sick. The normal everyday phrase for being unwell.

French lesson · 31 phrases with audioBasic expressions: ExpressionsPractise this conversation →

Reacting like a French speaker

Short reactions make you sound far more natural than full sentences:

• Incroyable ! Amazing! / Unbelievable!
• J'adore ça I love this. Ça ("this/that") does a lot of work in spoken French.
• Je n'aime pas ça I don't like this.
• Délicieux ! Delicious!
• Bof meh. The quintessential French shrug, for anything that's just OK. It was the first word that made spoken French feel real to me: I heard it three times in one afternoon, from a shopkeeper, a friend and a man at the next table, before I finally asked what it meant.
• Ça craint that sucks.
• C'est chaud that's tough / that's tricky. In slang chaud means difficult or intense, not just hot.
• Aïe ! Ouch!

Common French expressions you'll hear

These come up constantly in everyday conversation, and learners often don't recognise them at first:

• C'est la vie: that's life. Used by French people too, with a shrug.
• Pas de souci / pas de problème: no worries, no problem.
• Ça marche: that works / OK, sounds good. Very common for agreeing to plans.
• Bon appétit: enjoy your meal. Said before eating, even to strangers at the next table.
• À tout à l'heure: see you later (today).
• Ah bon ? Oh really? Mild surprise or interest, not doubt.
• On y va ? Shall we go?

Casual French: slang you'll hear from friends

You don't need to use these, but you'll hear them. Keep them for friends, not work or strangers. I picked up most of this list from my girlfriend's friends, usually right after they laughed at how formal I sounded:

• Ça roule ? How's it going? A casual check-in with friends.
• T'inquiète don't worry. Short for ne t'inquiète pas.
• Vas-y go ahead / come on. Hugely common, from encouragement to "go on then".
• Truc thing, stuff. The word for anything you can't name: passe-moi ce truc.
• Mec guy, dude.
• Kiffer to really like: je kiffe ce son (I love this song).
• Ouf crazy, amazing. It's fou backwards; un truc de ouf is "something crazy".
• Zarbi weird. It's bizarre flipped around.
• Tu déchires ! You're awesome!

French lesson · 21 phrases with audioCasual street slang: Common slangPractise this conversation →

The 15 most useful French phrases

Put the phrases to work

A list gets you recognising phrases; using them in a real exchange is what makes them stick. See them in whole conversations in French conversation for beginners, or grouped by travel situation in French phrases for tourists. The lessons below let you practise them out loud with native audio, in the situations where you'll need them.