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How to Say ‘Do you want a coffee?’ in French

Tu veux un café ?

tyoo vuh uhn kah-fay

[tyoo vuh uhn kah-fay]

🇫🇷 In France: 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.

Phrase Breakdown

Tu veux

tyoo vuh

Do you want

From 'vouloir'. Say 'too vuh', with rounded lips for both vowels. Your voice rises because it's a question.

Example

Tu veux venir ?

Do you want to come?

Words in this phrase

[tyoo]

you

An informal singular pronoun used to address one person.

Example

Tu travailles dans une start-up ou une grande entreprise ?

Do you work in a start-up or a large company?

veux

[vuh]

want

To have a desire to possess or do something.

Example

Je veux un bon de réduction, s'il vous plaît.

I want a coupon, please.

un café ?

uhn kah-fay

a coffee?

'Un' is a nasal vowel. Say 'un ka-FAY', with your voice rising at the end.

Example

Je prends un café.

I'll have a coffee.

Words in this phrase

[uhn]

Indefinite article used before a singular noun.

Example

Un petit garçon joue.

A little boy is playing.

café

[kah-fay]

coffee

A coffee; in networking, it often suggests an informal conversation over coffee.

Example

Un café après le salon permet de continuer l'échange.

A coffee after the fair allows the conversation to continue.

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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