Unless you want to offend the waiter, then don’t call out Garçon! ( gahr-sohN!) meaning Boy! Same goes for calling airport and train station staff porteur ( pohr-tuhr) meaning “porter”.Īttendants absolutely hate being referred to by these terms, which are considered condescending. So, it’s the end of an evening out with your friends and you want to say Good night! Even though Bonne nuit! ( bohhn nwee) does mean “Good night”, unless you mean to make a point of the fact that you are going straight to bed it’s better so use Au revoir! ( ohr-vwahr) meaning Goodbye! or Bonsoir! ( bohN-swahr) for Good evening!. If someone says this to you ensure you reply positively as turning the offer down would be considered insulting! 2. The response to this phrase will give you the green light on how you will address each other in the future. There is one way that you can detect if the other party is willing to switch to using the informal tense which either you or they can initiate with this simple phrase, Mais on peut se tutoyer! ( meh ohN puh suh tew-twah-yey!) meaning “But, we can use the familiar form with each other!”. If you use the familiar form in the wrong situations you’ll be perceived as uneducated in the worst cases, your listeners may even take it as an insult! colleagues, boss, teacher) and to strangers.įor example, when you meet a new business partner and want to say “How are you?” you say Comment allez-vous? ( koh-mahN-tah-ley-vooh?), not Comment vas-tu? ( kohmahN vah-tew?). There are a few exceptions on how tu and vous are used, but in general tu is used for talking to children and friends and vous is for talking to adults in a formal setting (eg.
However, in French, the word you use for you depends on the person being addressed (spoken/written to). In English, the word you can be used to address any person or number of people, whatever the age, social status etc of that person. In French, the words tu ( tew) and vous ( vew) both mean you. Don’t Use “Tu” When You Should Use “Vous” Here are some tips on how to avoid the worst pitfalls! When you’re done with these, you can start throwing in some phrases the French love saying. With that in mind, I’ve created a list of common French phrases which can slip up even the best of us.
When I first started, I made plenty of mistakes in French. This can either induce fits of laughter from those we are speaking too or make them flush in embarrassment. But, if we’re not careful we may end up making a faux pas. We assume, if not hope, that we are communicating exactly what we’ve intended. When we are starting out speaking a foreign language we often tend to translate things literally. Here are the top 10 French phrases you should NEVER say & what to use instead! From “Bonne nuit!” to “Je suis excité”, don’t make these mistakes in French.
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