Making friends at office party: Opening with someone you dont know

🇫🇷 [Bonsoir] is the normal greeting once the workday is winding down or at an evening event. At an office party, it sounds more natural than [bonjour] when you first walk up to someone.

💬 [Je m'appelle] literally means something like "I call myself," but it is the standard way to say your name. In speech, [je] often sounds like (zhuh), so [Je m'appelle Claire] comes out smoothly as (zhuh mah-pell Claire).

💬 [Moi, c'est Claire] is a very common spoken way to introduce yourself after someone else has said their name. You can reuse the pattern with your own name: [Moi, c'est Julien].

💬 [Moi, c'est Claire] is more conversational than [Je m'appelle Claire]. You will hear it a lot in relaxed introductions.

🇫🇷 Use [Enchantée] if you are a woman; men say [Enchanté]. In real office small talk, it is friendly and normal right after names are exchanged, but saying it twice in the same conversation would sound stiff.

🇫🇷 Use [Enchanté] if you are a man; women say [Enchantée]. In real office small talk, it is friendly and normal right after names are exchanged, but saying it twice in the same conversation would sound stiff.

💬 French often asks questions with just statement word order and a rising voice: [Vous travaillez ici ?] No extra word like English [do] is needed.

💬 [Depuis] is used for something that started in the past and is still true now: [depuis deux ans], [depuis lundi]. Do not swap it with [pour] here.