12 French Phrases Every Tourist to France Needs to Know
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- čas přidán 15. 11. 2022
- If you are heading to Paris or Bordeaux or Strasbourg one of the best ways to enjoy France is to get to know the people. One way to get to know the people is to try and speak a little French. This video gives the best phrases that tourists should know when they visit France.
Filmed in Strasbourg and Paris, France
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More helpful French phrases for tourists:
- Pardon. (Same thing as "Excusez-moi" but can also mean "Sorry.")
- Combien? (How much? - useful for asking about prices)
- Au secours! (Help! - very useful in case of an emergency)
- Bonne journée! (Have a good day!)
"Va t'en." I said this to a homeless guy who was following me.
@@marmac83 That's a good phrase to remember too. 😉
Instead of _au secours_ I recommend using _à l'aide_ which means the same thing but is easier to pronounce.
Yeah I literally was in Paris for the first time last week. Honestly if you try speaking it that indicates your respect and they will be friendly and look to help you. I also enjoyed speaking as it felt like I was in France and while nervous at first my confidence grew. People complain about having to speak French but when you're a guest in another country you should look to respect it and for France speaking French is doing that.
Agree
Been to Paris a couple of times. I’d speak my feelings French words. Then I’d throw some LA Spanglish at them for some reason. And then they’d speak English to me. I think they just appreciate someone trying to speak French with them. Side note. People in Paris get a bad rap. In my limited experience they were very nice and went out of their way to help me enjoy their beautiful city.
Maybe they were annoyed at the LA Spanglish.
@@marmac83 I don’t know. Could be they were just annoyed at me. Period
As a french I totally approve this video! 👍
Hello
these few French words can also be used in Luxembourg, in part of Switzerland and Belgium, in Quebec and in African countries which have been French or Belgian colonies
Great Video. Thank you for posting.
This is so helpful thank you!
Just landed in Paris, France last night and I’ve been binge watching your videos. Love you Wolter!!!
Excellent and so helpful! 🙏
Really nice video!
Thank you sooo much. I can learn this before my trip to Paris in July!!
Informative video
Merci pour les informations nécessaires !
I love this- thank you for the tips!
👍
Thanks, Wolters.
Thanks for this video! As a French I think you’ll help a lot of tourists 😊
In my opinion it’s necessary to just be able to say “hello” or “do you speak english” in French, this will open you a lot more doors.
Also one thing I would recommend every native english speaking tourists, speaking more slowly with easy sentences. This will help you being understood and it’s really more polite to adapt your level with the person you’re talking to.
I can say there are many reasons why french wouldn’t be happy if you start a conversation in english:
1- we feel very insecure about our level in english 😅 years of school learning it and we still mock each other if we don’t have the perfect accent, so many people are very very shy to respond in english even if they can speak it
2- France and especially Paris is one of most visited place in the world, EVERYWHERE you go there will be tourist… It can sometimes get on your nerves especially in Paris where it’s not really practical to move from place to place and everyone is on the rush everyday… So keep in mind that if you ask someone something, a dozen people before you asked the exact same thing less politely than you… That put French (and especially Parisian) on the defensive
3- French are really proud of their culture, and if they see you don’t even make the effort to say just even “bonjour” they won’t take you seriously or think you don’t appreciate their culture
4- that goes with everything that I said before, When you’re asked the same questions everyday and people don’t make the effort, you kind of feel bad… Like you’re just part of the staff of some giant amusement parc… Some people treat us like robots or NPCs who are just part of the fun place they are in and are here to take pictures and tell them where to go…
For exemple: last time I was in the Palais de Tokyo enjoying a gallery with my brother and a woman just asked me directly in english “excuse me where are the bathrooms?” It’s a bit like she expected me to give a service in a language she assumed I was speaking, and a lot of english speakers would not be pleased if you don’t response because they would think you’re doing it on purpose… So I didn’t really have a choice, she didn’t even say thanks or hello…
I was in Croatia last month and there was a lot of Americans and they all seam to have the same exact attitude that get on the nerves of the Croatians… I learned my fair bit of Croatian in the plane and a lot of time when I said Hello they thought I was Croatian because the tourists won’t even make the effort to say hello in their language… Americans tend to have a bad reputation all other europe with this attitude, I found British people to make way more efforts
Thank you for going to so much trouble to explain things from the point of view of a French person.
I am from the UK and spending some time in the Indre. I find the language very difficult, but I do like the French way of life so i hope to persevere.
Merci.
@@connoroleary591 thank you very much for your comment 😊
The language is hard even for us, that’s also why we appreciate so much the effort foreigners would do to speak French, we know it’s hard
Usually french are very proud of foreigners specking french or really really impress
I’m french and Belgian and have a lot of family in Kent (I’m in love with the UK ❤️)
I wish you all the best in Indre ❤️😊
I'm an American that just got back from Croatia yesterday - I learned some of the phrases in Croatian and used them whenever I had the chance. Just so you know - I tried.
@@patrickwoods2213 that’s so cool!!!
Great teacher! 👏🏼
Your guys are awesome! Your kids are so grown up now. Wow.
Merci, Mark..
You did a really good job
Bojour Wolters ... Merci . thank you for a bit lesson french language
I'm glad you mentioned the part about greeting shop keepers. That came in handy when I was in Paris.
Everywhere I go in the world I learn these phrases in the local language: Do you speak English? Thank you. Please.
wow I like your videos, haven't seen one in ages. Hope you're well :)
Perfect channel bro. Good luck.
Jesus loves you!
John 3:16
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
😃Merci !
5:18 Wolter gives us a great pick up line.
Love the older clip; such a baby 👶 face.
Your right French isn't as popular in school anymore. I took 4 years of French in highschool and took it in college for my language credits but it's been years since I've used it and when we last visited I wasn't as fluent as I used to be but everyone was great and almost every one spoke decent English.
Did you notice that it came easier as you were exposed to the language more and more. Travel is like being in a language class 24/7.
@@joanlynch5271 OH FOR SURE! Things started coming back to me as I was in the country.
Excellent :-)
Cool❤
Hello
Thank you very much for this video
It is really helpful and uses simple words that translate easily in english
And yeah if you dont say "bonjour" (hello) and "s'il vous plaît" (please) you will be regarded as not polite. 😊
I studied four years of French in high school and my pronunciation was good since I'm fluent in another European language. Things must be different in Paris than when I was there in 1990. If I tried to speak French to someone in a store, bakery, etc. they would reply back to me in English.
he's saying: Je _vu_ = I seen
and _vent_ = wind. 😂
In the evening you say "bonsoir" instead of "bonjour", while "merci" can also be interpreted as "non merci" or no thank you
vous savez quoi? tu es mon type, ours potelé.. 🐻🐾
One thing. In cities where there are often many tourists, a waiter who's professional will ALWAYS bring English written menu.
Around a decade ago, tips were still wide spread. But because officials wanted to tax that part and non customer staff wanted a share despite a way better base salary, it was decided all bills would mention "service included 10%".
Now I haven't been in a restaurant in a long time but I'm quite surprised it's now 15% (one year ago, in fact, considering the video date).
Another thing to point out is that French (in general) complain that tourist don't make any effort to at least try speaking French. And they are in the top of rude people visiting another country without making the effort to learn basic words.
Overall, good advice. It's a liitle effort to learn a few basic words. It helps when you ask for your way, but except for businesses with only old people, people whose work gravitates around tourism (restaurants, hotels and other) are very open minded and aren't offended easily unless you're really rude.
Older workers are less forgiving and understanding.
As for passerby young people will be eager to talk in the language they have learned. Because not many had the chance and means to study or travel abroad.
Generally speaking, those who speak a foreign language will speak English. But depending on the region, it will be a majority of German, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese or Italian.
So yeah, in the end, it's still better to start by a greeting in French.
And the sky is blue
So that French I learned from the Moulin Rouge song isn’t appropriate? 😂
"Where can I get California wine"?😆
C'est du gâteau.. c'est fastoche.. 🇫🇷
3:57 is this tartifette or however you spell it?
Who's the young guy who appeared at the very end of the video?
Heh. I remember being in the market in Nice once and overhearing a young American couple. They were looking over these bags of flavoured salt, and one was labeled 'pour les viandes rouges'. Which one of them confidently said meant that it's for putting in red wine, and promptly bought it.
Oh nooo 😂
👏👏👏👍👏👏👏
If I may... Instead of "l'addition, s'il vous plaît" if you want your bill, you can say "Je peux vous régler ?" (Can I pay?)
I’d add in: well done. As in how I’d like my steak or burger.
The only thing I remember from French lessons at school is “avez vous un sandwich au jambon sil vous plait”.
Which is useless to me because I’m vegetarian.
1:49 Il y a une faute là. Anglais.
Pour le mot avec un "e"?
@@joolieboolie64 Oui.
You can run together the “je ne” in “Je ne sais pas français,” to “Jene sais pas français.”
If you replied “salut” instead of “bonjour” would that be ok? In Italian “salute” is a little more like “hello,” not the same as “ciao”
A tous, présents et à venir, Salut.
@@grouloulle that doesn’t answer my question
@@seanslawson98 It's not the same level of politeness so it usually doesn't work well.
I read somewhere if you try to speak French, they will be keener to help. If you try to engage in other languages, they will try to speak English. But don’t ever start out speaking English! 😂
Bonjour: Good Day
Merci: Thank You
S’il Vous Plait: Please
Oui: Yes
Non: No
Je Ne Parle Pas Francais: I don’t speak French
Parlez Vous Anglaise?: Do you speak English?
Excusez-Moi: Excuse me
Je Veux: I want
Je Voudrais: I would like
Excusez-Moi, Je Voudrais Manger Ici: Excuse me, I would like to eat here
Ou est: Where is?
Ou Sont Les Toilettes?: Where is the bathroom/toilets?
Vin: Wine
Vin Blanc: White wine
Vin Rouge: Red wine
Specialite Locale: Local Speciality
L’addition S’il Vous Plait: The bill please
Au Revoir: Goodbye
You do need to try your best with pronunciation. Don’t pronounce “je veux” as “j’ai vous.” That means “I have you.”
"Je vous ai" would actually be more grammatically correct.
My experience is that most French people don't like people butchering their language. They find it beautiful and if someone can't pronounce things correctly, it's about as bad as someone throwing soup on a lovely painting. I think they would mostly prefer you just speak English, and then just enough to take care of business.
Dang it your a two weeks too late.
OMG, how are you mispronouncing French so badly?
The best? Celebrating massively in the Catacombs of France, the giant Cemetery underneath the City
Enjoy it with Hairy legged women with mustaches and berets