Every time I go abroad, I always try to learn a few basic words and phrases.
My pronunciation is often atrocious and I make lots of mistakes but it always makes my trips much nicer because people appreciate the effort and don’t see me as yet another tourist.
If you go to Paris and only speak English, locals will often feel that you don’t respect them and may treat you rudely.
They may also avoid you because they are afraid to speak English, a language they don’t necessarily know well.
That’s why it’s essential to learn a few basic French words and sentences before going to France.
This article won’t make you fluent (the French Together course may, though) but it will teach you all the words and phrases you need to know to be polite in French.
A few basicFrench greeting words you need to know
The words below are the most basic French greetings.
These are the words you must know before a trip to France because knowing them is an easy way to show people that you care about France and its culture.
How to say hello in French
Bonjour is the perfect everyday greeting. You can use it with anyone at any time.
Feel that it’s not formal enough? Add monsieur or madame to immediately sound more formal. This is particularly useful if you talk to someone older or to your boss.
If it’s a bit late, switch to bonsoir (good evening).
To discover other ways to say hello in French, check out this article.
How to say hi in French
The most common way to say hi in French is salut.
But while salut translates as hi, using it the way you would use hi is dangerous because the French language tends to be much more formal than the English language.
You wouldn’t say salut to a seller or someone you don’t know for example (unless you’re talking to a kid).
And saying bonjour to someone you know well isn’t a great idea either because bonjour often comes across as cold and distant if used in the wrong setting.
My recommendation? Use bonjour with people you don’t know and in formal settings, and salut with people you know well.
In case of doubt, use bonjour. It’s better to come across as a little cold than to be overly familiar.
How to say nice to meet you in French
After saying bonjour, bonsoir and salut, it’s sometimes a good idea to say enchanté(e).
This simple word is the French equivalent of nice to meet you and can do wonders provided you use it with sincerity.
You use enchantée if you’re a woman and enchanté if you’re a man. The extra e indicates the gender of the person writing.
This distinction doesn’t matter when you speak because enchanté and enchantée have the same pronunciation.
How to say goodbye in French
Already time to leave?
Au revoir is the word to use.
Think of it as the goodbye equivalent of bonjour. You can use it with anyone in any circumstance.
This said, salut (it means both hi and bye depending on the context) is a better choice when talking to friends, family, and people you know well.
How to say thank you and you’re welcome in French
Here is a word you probably already know. Merci simply means thank you and can be used in any situation even though you may want to use other words and phrases to add more nuance.
Want to say thank you very much? Merci beaucoup is the phrase for you.
After people thanked you, simply use de rien to say you’re welcome.
How to apologize and get someone’s attention in French
There are several ways to say sorry in French and knowing which to use isn’t easy which is why I wrote an entire article dedicated to the subject but here is a quick summary.
- Use excusez-moi (excuse me) to get someone’s attention.
- Use désolé(e) to say sorry.
- Use Pardon to apologize for bumping into someone or if you didn’t understand what someone just said and would like them to repeat.
How to say please in French
S’il vous plaît simply means please and is a phrase you can use in any situation.
As often though, there is an informal version: s’il te plaît.
How to say you don’t speak French
As a foreigner going to France, you won’t always understand what people say and that’s okay.
The phrases below will help you make the whole experience easier.
- Je ne comprends pas (I don’t understand)
- Parlez-vous anglais ? (do you speak English in French)
- Un peu (a little in French)
- Je parle un peu français (I speak a little French)
- Désolé(e), Je ne parle pas français (Sorry, I don’t speak French)
- Pourriez-vous parler plus lentement, s’il vous plaît ? (could you speak more slowly please?)
- Pourriez-vous répéter, s’il vous plaît ? (could you repeat please?)
- Comment dit-on _____ en français ? (how do you say….in French?)
- Je ne sais pas ( I don’t know)
How to ask for information
The basic French phrases below will help you get the information you need during your trip to France…and find out what the wifi password is :).
- Combien ça coûte? (how much does it cost?)
- Est-ce que vous pouvez m’aider? (can you help me?)
- Quel est le mot de passe du wifi ? (what’s the wifi password?)
- Où est/où sont ? (where is/are?)
And the phrases below will help you understand basic directions in French.
- À droite (on the right)
- À gauche (on the left)
- Tout droit (straight ahead)
- À côté de (next to)
- Près de (near)
- C’est loin (it’s far)
How to order food in French
Many French restaurants have an English menu but restaurants with an English menu are rarely the best place to go if you’re looking for authentic French cuisine which is why I wrote an entire post to help you order food in French restaurants.
If you don’t have time to read it, here are a few important phrases to know:
- La carte, s’il vous plaît (the menu please)
- L’addition s’il vous plaît (the bill please)
- Sur place ou à emporter ? (to eat here or to take out?)
- Je voudrais… (I would like…)
- Un… s’il vous plait (a…please)
How to make basic conversation and introduce yourself
Just met a Frenchman or woman you would like to get to know better?
Here are a few basic phrases you can use to start the conversation.
- Comment allez-vous ? (formal how are you?)
- Ça va ? (informal how are you)
- Très bien, merci (very good thanks)
- Je viens de… (I come from…)
- Je m’appelle (my name is…)
- Oui (yes)
- Non (no
And you? What are the basic French words and phrases you used the most on your last trip to France?
This actually helped. I used this to help study for my 11 grade oral test. Some of these though i didnt know how to pronounce.
bonjour! I am learning French for national 5 ( Scottish version of gsce’s) and I hope to become fluent in it. Am memorising these phrases for the next French conversation I have.
thanks for this article concise but very useful.
Le and la sound really similar to me I can pronounce the former fine but I have a hard time distinguishing the second. Written French I’m fine with. Not fluent but you know better than I was a few months ago
Check out Forvo and Rhinospike, you can practice listening to French with it
https://frenchtogether.com/
that was very nyc..
dat was pretty helpful! thx! 🙂
i dont really speak french and i find it really difficult to read french names and pronounce them..is there any way i can easily pronounce the names correctly without actually knowin French?
You could use tools like Forvo and Rhinospike.
https://frenchtogether.com/
learn how to make a low key french accent by learning basic french words, then the names will sound normal to you and be easier.
@kieloo:disqus whats about “good night” ?
Hi Marie :). “Good night” is “bonne nuit” in French.
Nice job 🙂 At the very beginning it was a bit hard for me to memorize which one I should use in the evening/morning etc. Also the fact that some greetings can be used as “bye” as well confused me. So the best way for me was to wait for the French to talk to me, and I just used the same greeting/bye he said to me 😀
What about “adieu” or “À bientôt”, do you use it often?
I am glad you like it :).
Yeah it can be hard at first to memorize all that, but it becomes easier as you get to know the language better. Imitating is one of the best way to learn a language, you just need to be sure of what you are repeating or you could get a bad surprise. Kids like to play jokes on foreigners :D.
“Adieu” isn’t used that much, cause it means good bye forever. So unless you are absolutely sure to never see the person again, it’s not the best to use.
“A bientôt” is used a lot among friends or people you know. It’s like “see you soon” in English.