🙋📈💰

How to Say ‘I'd like a raise’ in French

J'aimerais une augmentation

zhay em-ray ewn ohg-mahn-tah-SYOHN

[zhay em-ray ewn ohg-mahn-tah-SYOHN]

💬 Usage Tip: J'aimerais is a soft "I'd like". Je veux "I want" would sound demanding to your boss.

Phrase Breakdown

J'aimerais

zhay em-ray

I would like

A polite conditional form of 'aimer'. Say 'zhem-RAY', dropping the middle 'e'.

Example

J'aimerais un café, s'il vous plaît.

I would like a coffee, please.

Words in this phrase

[zhay]

Pronoun used by the speaker to refer to himself or herself.

Example

J'aime les bonbons.

I like candies.

aimerais

[em-ray]

would like

Conditional form of 'aimer'; a polite way to express a wish or interest.

Example

J'aimerais rencontrer votre équipe après la conférence.

I would like to meet your team after the conference.

une augmentation

ewn ohg-mahn-tah-SYOHN

a raise

Here it means a pay raise. Link the words: 'oo-nog-man-ta-SYON'.

Example

Il a demandé une augmentation.

He asked for a raise.

Words in this phrase

une

[ewn]

Indefinite article, feminine singular.

Example

Elle veut une pomme.

She wants an apple.

augmentation

[ohg-mahn-tah-SYOHN]

raise / increase

Feminine noun; at work it means a pay rise.

Example

Une augmentation de salaire, c'est rare.

A salary increase is rare.

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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