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How to Say ‘How many vacation days are there per year?’ in French

Il y a combien de jours de congés par an ?

eel ee ah kohm-BYAN duh zhoor duh kohn-ZHAY pahr ahn

[eel ee ah kohm-BYAN duh zhoor duh kohn-ZHAY pahr ahn]

Phrase Breakdown

Il y a combien

eel ee ah kohm-BYAN

How many are there

Starts the question. Say 'eel-ya kohm-BYAN' smoothly.

Example

Il y a combien de bureaux ?

How many offices are there?

Words in this phrase

Il

[eel]

it (impersonal)

Impersonal subject used with verbs like 'rester' meaning 'there is left'.

Example

Il reste du pain.

There is some bread left.

y

[ee]

there

In or at that place.

Example

Y a-t-il une solution?

Is there a solution?

a

[ah]

has (in 'il y a' = there is)

Part of 'il y a', meaning there is/are.

Example

Il y a une terrasse.

There is a terrace.

combien

[kohm-BYAN]

how many

Question word asking about a quantity or number.

Example

Vous êtes combien ce soir ?

How many of you are there tonight?

de jours de congés

duh zhoor duh kohn-ZHAY

days off

The thing being counted. The 's' of 'jours' is silent.

Example

Je prends trois jours de congés.

I'm taking three days off.

Words in this phrase

de

[duh]

of

Expressing the relationship between part and a whole.

Example

Un verre de lait.

A glass of milk.

jours

[zhoor]

days

Plural of 'jour', day.

Example

Je reste deux jours.

I'm staying two days.

de

[duh]

of

Expressing the relationship between part and a whole.

Example

Un verre de lait.

A glass of milk.

congés

[kohn-ZHAY]

days off / leave

Time off work; in the plural it means holidays or vacation.

Example

Je prends mes congés en août.

I take my time off in August.

par an ?

pahr ahn

per year

Link the 'r' to 'an': 'pa-RAHN'. Raise your voice at the end.

Example

Je voyage deux fois par an.

I travel twice a year.

Words in this phrase

par

[pahr]

per

Used for rates: per person, per day.

Example

Dix euros par jour.

Ten euros per day.

an

[ahn]

year

Masculine noun for a year, used with numbers and 'par'.

Example

Il gagne trente mille euros par an.

He earns thirty thousand euros a year.

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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