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How to Say ‘How do you say...?’ in French

Comment dit-on... ?

kuh-mahn dee tohn

[kuh-mahn dee tohn]

💬 Usage Tip: The -t- between dit and on is there only to keep two vowel sounds from crashing together. It doesn't change the meaning.

Phrase Breakdown

Comment

[kuh-mahn]

How

Used to inquire about the state of something.

Example

Comment était ta réunion aujourd'hui ?

How was your meeting today?

dit

[dee]

says

Third-person form of 'dire', to say; inverted here to ask a question.

Example

Il dit bonjour.

He says hello.

-on

[tohn]

one / people

Impersonal pronoun meaning 'one' or 'people in general'; a 't' is added before it for sound.

Example

On mange à midi.

People eat at noon.

Guides for French learners

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.Hello in French: Greetings, Good Evening and How to Answer "How Are You?"How to say hello in French, when to switch to good evening, how to ask how are you and what to answer, with tu vs vous and native audio.

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