🪑❓

How to Say ‘Is this seat free?’ in French

La place est libre ?

lah plahss eh LEE-bruh

[lah plahss eh LEE-bruh]

💬 Usage Tip: This is a plain statement turned into a question just by raising your voice at the end. It works with lots of everyday questions: Vous êtes prêt ? "Are you ready?"

Phrase Breakdown

La place

lah plahss

The seat

'Place' here means a seat or spot. The 'a' is open, like in 'father'.

Example

La place à côté de vous.

The seat next to you.

Words in this phrase

[lah]

the

A definite article preceding a noun.

Example

La porte est ouverte.

The door is open.

place

[plahss]

seat / spot

A seat or space for a person, e.g. at a table or on a train.

Example

Il reste une place près de la fenêtre.

There's one seat left near the window.

est libre ?

eh LEE-bruh

is free?

'Libre' means free or available. Your voice rises at the end because it's a question.

Example

La table est libre ?

Is the table free?

Words in this phrase

est

[eh]

Third person singular present of be.

Example

C'est important.

It is important.

libre

[LEE-bruh]

free / available

Adjective meaning not busy, available.

Example

Je suis libre ce soir.

I'm free tonight.

Guides for French learners

The Most Common French Verbs: the 20 You'll Actually UseThe 20 most common French verbs, with the present-tense forms you need, real example sentences with native audio, and two shortcuts for past and future.Ordering in French: Cafés, Bakeries and Restaurants (with Menu Vocabulary)How to order in French at a café, a bakery and a restaurant: the phrases, the questions staff ask, and the menu and food vocabulary to understand the answers.

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