28 July 2012

How to sound like you have been speaking French all your life

Here are some phrases I learned that became very helpful on my travels.

Tiens (pronounced TEE-an) - here it is
I kept hearing this over and over and came up with what I thought it meant. I was right. I asked Adelaide and she said it's like "here it is." So there ya go.

On y va! (pronounced own-EE-vah) - let's go!
J'arrive! (pronounced zyha-REEVE) - I'm coming!
Don't keep them waiting.

Je n'ai plus faim (pronounced zhuh-nay-ploo-FAm) - I am not hungry anymore
Okay, so the food in France is excellent but keep this one in mind or else they will keep on feeding you and you will get fat like Matt did. :)

Pardon (pronounced par-DOHn) - pardon me
In Paris, they used this a lot more than excusez-moi. So, you should too so that you don't sound like a foreigner, always a plus.

Ca ne marche pas (pronounced sah-nhuh-marsh-pah) - It does not work
Helpful when you are at a hotel and your keys don't work. Make sure to actually say your entire room number. Don't say four-four-one, they don't get it. Say four-hundred-forty-one and they will understand.

Quel etage (pronounced kell-AY-tahge) - which floor
Helpful if you want to impress some French people in the elevator. It's very polite, but you kinda have to understand the responses for it to actually help you.

Bonne journee (pronounced bun-zhoor-NAY) - have a nice day
Bonne soiree (pronounced bun-swarrr-AY) - have a nice night
These two are used when you say goodbye. I used them when exiting the elevator at the hotel.

Je sais pas (pronounced zhuh-say-pah) - I don't know
The proper way to say it would be je ne sais pas but no one really says that. Use this if someone asks you something and you really just don't know.

J'aime pas (pronounced zhem-pah) - I don't like
Use this when they are trying to feed you something that you don't like. Just sound polite and they will understand.

Comment on dit (pronounced como-tohn-dee) - how do you say
Useful when you don't know how to say something in either language.

Tu n'as pas les cours? (pronounced two-nah-pah-lay-coor) - you don't have school?
Don't pronounce the last part with an "S" or you will get a confused ten-year-old staring at you funny. That means "you don't have shopping?"

Qu'est que c'est? (pronounced kess-kuh-say) -  what is this?
Use this when you aren't sure about what you are about to eat.

C'est pas grave (pronounced say-pah-grahv) -  it doesn't matter/it isn't serious
Use this when you just wanna drop the subject because it doesn't matter.

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