💳🖥️❌

How to Say ‘My card machine isn't working’ in French

Mon terminal ne marche pas

mohn tair-mee-NAHL nuh marsh pah

[mohn tair-mee-NAHL nuh marsh pah]

💬 Usage Tip: Marcher literally means "to walk" but is the everyday way to say a machine works. Ça ne marche pas "it doesn't work" fits almost any broken thing.

Phrase Breakdown

Mon terminal

mohn tair-mee-NAHL

My card machine

'Terminal' is the card payment machine. Say 'tèr-mi-nal', with a nasal 'mon'.

Example

Mon terminal est chargé.

My card machine is charged.

Words in this phrase

Mon

[mohn]

Possessive adjective, first person singular.

Example

Mon livre est ici.

My book is here.

terminal

[tair-mee-NAHL]

card terminal

The payment machine used to pay by card.

Example

Le terminal accepte le sans contact.

The terminal accepts contactless.

ne marche pas

nuh marsh pah

isn't working

'Marcher' means 'to work' for machines. In fast speech 'ne' often sounds like 'n'marche pas'.

Example

La machine ne marche pas.

The machine isn't working.

Words in this phrase

[nuh]

(negation) not

Negation particle used with another negative word (ne… rien). In speech, it can be dropped, but it’s standard in writing.

Example

Ne me raconte rien sur l’anime, je veux garder la surprise.

Don’t tell me anything about the anime, I want to keep the surprise.

marche

[marsh]

works

To function or operate as expected.

Example

L'appareil télécommande, ça marche souvent sans problème.

The remote control device often works without issues.

pas

[pah]

not

Used with 'ne' to form a negative.

Example

Je ne comprends pas.

I do not understand.

Guides for French learners

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.Hello in French: Greetings, Good Evening and How to Answer "How Are You?"How to say hello in French, when to switch to good evening, how to ask how are you and what to answer, with tu vs vous and native audio.

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