Meeting other parents at school: Arranging a playdate

💬 Standard polite greeting. Pronounced roughly bon-zhoor.

🇫🇷 At school gates in France, saying bonjour first is almost mandatory—it's the social magic word.

💬 Vous is formal or plural "you." In questions, intonation often does the work: Vous êtes… ?

🇫🇷 When meeting another parent for the first time, vous is the safe and polite choice.

💬 Papa is very common in everyday French, often more natural than père in casual speech.

🇫🇷 At school, parents often identify each other by their child: le papa de…, la maman de…

💬 De means "of." With a name starting with a consonant, it stays de: de Lucas.

🇫🇷 French parents regularly say de + child's name to clarify which family they mean.

💬 A very natural school-gate question. French often uses "the dad of Lucas" rather than possession like in English.

🇫🇷 This is a common friendly opener when parents recognize each other through their children.

💬 Simple and essential. Pronounced wee.

🇫🇷 Short answers are fine, but often followed by bonjour to sound warmer.

💬 Adding bonjour after oui softens and warms the reply.

🇫🇷 In France, even brief interactions often begin with a greeting before getting to the point.

💬 Tiny phrase, big usefulness. It politely returns the question.

🇫🇷 This helps the exchange feel balanced and friendly, not too direct.

💬 De becomes d' before a vowel: d'Emma. Handy little contraction!

🇫🇷 You'll hear this constantly with names starting with vowels: d'Emma, d'Arthur, d'Inès.