20 Essential French Phrases
Page last updated at:
19:02 BST, Sat, 03 September 2011
OK, let's imagine you're in the linguistic version of Bear Grylls' Born Survivor. Your mission, which you've reluctantly
accepted, is to touch down in the alien metropolis of Paris and have a passing interaction en français with the first local
you happen to chance upon.
The goal here is to strike up an initial rapport and establish a simple piece of information that might be useful to you at the time, like finding the nearest toilet or accommodation - ça c'est tout.
Start with our 20 phrases below... Bonne chance!
20 Essential Phrases | 20 Phrases Essentielles
| English | French | |
| Please | S'il vous plaît | |
| Thank you very much | Merci beaucoup | |
| You're welcome | De rien | |
| Excuse me | Pardon / Excusez-moi | |
| I would like | Je voudrais | |
| I need | J'ai besoin de | |
| Do you have... | Avez-vous | |
| My name is... | Je m'appelle | |
| What is your name? | Comment vous appellez-vous? Comment tu t'appelles? |
|
| How are you? | Comment allez-vous? / Ca va? | |
| Very good / Not bad | Trés bien / Pas mal | |
| Do you speak English? | Parlez-vous anglais? | |
| I speak a little French | Je parle un peu le français | |
| How do you say 'this word' in French? | Comment dit-on 'this word' en Français? | |
| I don't understand - more slowly please | Je ne comprends pas - plus lentement s'il vous plaît | |
| Please repeat | Répéat, s'il vous plaît | |
| What did you say? | Qu'est-ce que vous avez dit? | |
| I'm looking for a hostel | Je cherche une auberge de jeunesse | |
| I'm lost | Je suis perdu | |
| Where is the bathroom / W.C.? | Où sont les toilettes? | |
| What time is it? | Quelle heure est-il? |
