Learning French Journal #6 Talking to People (How Are You & Being Polite)

Hi everyone! I've been trying to teach myself French for a while and I thought it would be fun to create some blog posts as I go along to help myself study so I will be doing regular posts on French. In my last post I discussed meeting people. In this post I will be looking at having a basic discussion. Please note this is not a study guide, if I make any mistakes please let me know!

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How are you?

Formal
Comment allez-vous? (koh-mahN tah-ley-vooh?)

Informal
ça va? (sah vah?)

Comment ça va? (koh-mahN sah vah?

Some typical answers:

Bien, merci (byaN, mehr-see) - Fine, thank you

Très bien, merci (trey byaN, mehr-see) - Very well, thank you

Pas mal, merci (pah mahl mehr-see)- Not bad, thank you

Being polite:

Excusez-moi (eks-kew-zey-mwah) - Excuse me
Pardon (pahr-dohN)- Excuse me, sorry
Je suis désolé(e) (zhuh swee dey-zoh-ley)- I'm sorry
Merci- thank you
De rien (duh ryaN)- you're welcome/ it's nothing
Je vous en prie (zhuh vooh zahN pree)- you're welcome
Ce n'est pas grave! (suh ney pah grahv)- that's okay!
S'il vous plaît (seel vooh pley) - please

Je ne comprends pas (zhuhn kohN-prahN pah)- I don't understand
Je ne sais pas (zhuhn sey pah)- I don't know

Informal
Peux-tu parler plus lentement, s'il te plaît? (puh-tew pahr-ley plew lahNt-mahN, seel tuh pley?)- Can you speak more slowly, please?
Peux-tu répéter, s'il te plaît? (puh-tew rey-pey-tey seel tuh pley?) - Can you repeat that, please?

Formal
Pouvez- vous parler plus lentement, s'il vous plaît? (pooh-vey vooh pahr-ley plew lahNt-mahN, seel vooh pley?)- Can you speak more slowly, please?
Pouvez-vous répeter, s'il vous plaît? (pooh-vey vooh rey-pey-tey seel vooh pley?)- Can you repeat that please?

Liked this post? Check out my French learning page here or improve your proficiency with Babbel (affiliate link).