Texting & dating apps: Sending a first message on a dating app

💬 French keeps la "the" when talking about things you love in general, where English drops it. J'adore le café means "I love coffee".

💬 To say "me too", use moi, never je. The same goes for "me neither", which is moi non plus.

💬 Nationalities are written with a small letter and need no "a" before them. A woman would write anglaise, with an extra e that makes the s sound out (ahn-glez).

💬 Use à before any city name to say where you live or are going. For example, J'habite à Paris means "I live in Paris".

💬 Gentil looks like "gentle", but it means "kind" or "nice". C'est gentil is the standard way to accept a compliment or a favour.

💬 In everyday French, on usually means "we" and takes the same verb form as il. Raising your voice at the end turns it into a suggestion, as in On y va ? "Shall we go?"

🇫🇷 Suggesting a coffee is the usual low-pressure first date in France. It's short and easy to say yes to.

💬 French days of the week take a small letter. Writing samedi alone means "this coming Saturday"; to mean "every Saturday" you say le samedi.

💬 Ça va gains te "you" to mean "does that suit you?" With someone you'd address formally, it becomes Ça vous va ?

💬 French gives times on a 24-hour clock, so 3 pm is quinze heures "fifteen hours". In writing you'll often see it shortened to 15h.

💬 D' is de joined to the next word, so it can't stand alone. In texts you'll often see this word shortened to dac or ok.

💬 Put à in front of a day or time to say "see you then". For example, à demain means "see you tomorrow" and à plus means "see you later".

💬 Soirée is the evening as a span of time you spend, which is why it's used for wishes like this one. In the same way, bonne journée means "have a good day".