Everyday conversations: Greetings and polite everyday phrases

💬 Literally "of nothing", as in "it was nothing".

🇫🇷 Use this to get someone's attention before you ask them something, for example a passerby or a waiter. Starting with it, or with Bonjour, makes the request land politely.

🇫🇷 Pardon is what you say when you bump into someone or need to squeeze past them. Said with a rising tone, it also means "Sorry, what did you say?"

💬 It doesn't sound the way it's written. Say it roughly as (muh-syuh).

🇫🇷 In France this is the normal polite way to address any adult woman, not a stiff or old-fashioned title the way "madam" can be in English.

🇫🇷 Adding monsieur or madame after a greeting is standard politeness with shopkeepers and strangers. A bare Bonjour can feel a little curt.

💬 À plus a time makes a goodbye. Try À demain or À ce soir "See you tonight".

🇫🇷 Shop staff say this as you leave, and you can say it back or reply Vous aussi "You too".

💬 Bonsoir is a hello, but Bonne soirée is a goodbye that wishes someone a good rest of the evening.

🇫🇷 Only say this when someone is actually going to bed. When you're leaving someone in the evening, say Bonne soirée instead.

💬 Literally "it goes well". There is no "I" in it, and the same words can be asked as a question: Ça va bien ?

💬 The z sound joins the two words, so they run together as (ah-lay-voo).

💬 Tag Et vous ? onto any answer to bounce the question back, e.g. Très bien, merci. Et vous ?

💬 After et you need toi, not tu. Tu only works right before a verb, so on its own it's toi, as in Moi aussi "Me too".

💬 Literally "I call myself". M' is a shortened me that only appears joined to the next word, never on its own.

💬 In casual speech the question word can stay at the front with normal word order. Here tu t'appelles is just "you call yourself" said with a questioning tone.

💬 A woman writes it Enchantée, with an extra e. Both versions are pronounced exactly the same.

💬 "Not" wraps around the verb, as in ne ... pas. Swap in another verb the same way: Je ne sais pas "I don't know".

💬 To ask the question, flip the order to pouvez-vous instead of vous pouvez. Add any action after it: Pouvez-vous m'aider ? "Can you help me?"

💬 The final e of parle is silent, so it sounds like (parl).

🇫🇷 Lead with Bonjour and an attempt in French before asking this. People are much warmer when you try first.

💬 Language names start with a small letter in French, as in français and anglais.