Small talk with coworkers: Complaining about the weather or commute

💬 Weather in French always starts with il, meaning "it," not "he." The same goes for il neige "it's snowing" and il fait froid "it's cold."

💬 With depuis, French uses the present tense where English says "has been": il pleut depuis ce matin means "it's been raining since this morning." It's the same with j'attends depuis une heure "I've been waiting for an hour."

💬 Say the final s in plus here (plooss). Without it, plus often means "no more."

💬 The gt in vingt is silent, so it sounds like (van).

💬 Retard is a noun meaning "delay," so being late is literally "of delay." You'll also hear je suis en retard "I'm late."

🇫🇷 Delays on trains and the metro are a favourite office complaint. Saying how many minutes late you were is a standard way to start the grumbling.

💬 Encore also means "more" or "still," not only "again." For example, encore un café means "another coffee."

💬 Tous les jours means "every day," literally "all the days." Here the s of tous stays silent (too).

💬 The little en means "of it" and is what makes this "fed up with it." To name the thing, drop en and add de: j'en ai marre becomes j'ai marre de la pluie "I'm sick of the rain."

🇫🇷 This is informal but completely fine with coworkers. It would sound too casual with your boss's boss or a client.

💬 Toi is the friendly "you." With someone you address more formally, bounce the question back with Et vous ? instead.

💬 Putting comment "how" at the end is everyday spoken French. Formal French would say Comment es-tu venu ?

🇫🇷 Using tu with a colleague is normal in many French offices, but follow their lead. Some workplaces, especially older or more formal ones, stick with vous.

💬 You can ride a bike or go on foot with à: à vélo, à pied "on foot." Vehicles you sit inside take en: en voiture "by car," en métro "by metro."

💬 Arriver uses suis, not ai, to say what happened. The same is true of je suis venu "I came" and je suis parti "I left."

💬 Tout in front of a describing word means "completely," as in tout seul "all alone."

🇫🇷 The French really do say this, mostly for sympathy or mild dismay. It isn't flirty or cartoonish the way English speakers sometimes use it.

🇫🇷 Offering a coffee from the machine is a classic friendly gesture in French offices, and the coffee break is a key social moment at work.

💬 Te changes to match the person: pour me réchauffer "to warm me up," pour vous réchauffer "to warm you up" (polite form).

🇫🇷 This is the standard warm way to accept an invitation in French. It sounds friendly and natural, not stiff the way "with pleasure" can in English.

🇫🇷 This is the standard warm way to accept or thank someone for a small favour. It works with anyone, at any level of formality.

🇫🇷 The French say this constantly when parting, for a tough day, an exam, or just a long afternoon. It's friendly encouragement, not a sign that something is wrong.

💬 Journée means the whole day as you live it through. Jour is the day as a date or a count, as in tous les jours "every day."

💬 Allez here doesn't mean "go" at all. It's a filler like "well then" or "right" that signals you're wrapping up the chat.

💬 With someone you call vous, say vous aussi instead.