Telling doctor stomach hurts: Understanding your treatment and how to take your medicine

💬 Fois means "times" when counting how often, not "time" on a clock. Swap the unit: deux fois par semaine "twice a week".

💬 The s in les links to the vowel of après? No — it's the s of après that stays silent, so say (ah-preh lay ruh-pah).

🇫🇷 Asking this is expected, not fussy. French doctors and pharmacists are used to patients checking timing with meals.

💬 The s of repas is silent, so singular and plural sound the same. Only les tells you it's plural.

💬 French links a container and its contents with de, which becomes d' before a vowel: un verre de vin "a glass of wine", un verre d'eau.

💬 Pendant means "for" a set length of time that has an end. Compare depuis, which is for something still going on.

💬 The q of cinq is pronounced here (sank-zhoor), unlike in some other numbers where the last letter goes quiet.

💬 Léger literally means "light" in weight, and here it describes how you eat rather than what you eat, so it doesn't change form. The same idea works with other verbs: Parlez fort "Speak loudly".

💬 This is the polite form that goes with vous. With a friend you'd say s'il te plaît.

🇫🇷 In this setting, s'il vous plaît softens a doctor's instruction into polite advice rather than a command.

💬 Encore here means "still". It can also mean "again" or "more", so the context decides.

💬 Et si plus a statement makes a handy "what if" question: Et si ça ne marche pas ? "What if it doesn't work?". Si only shortens to s' before il.

💬 French has no "and" here. The verb of motion is followed directly by the other verb: Venez manger "Come and eat".

💬 Dans with a length of time means "in ... from now", not "within": dans trois jours "three days from now".

🇫🇷 In France you take the ordonnance to any pharmacy to get your medicine. Keep it, since the pharmacy and your health insurance both use it.

🇫🇷 Saying docteur on its own, without a surname, is a normal and respectful way to address a GP in France.