Everyday French phrases I learned only AFTER moving to France

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Salut, tout le monde! In this video, I teamed up with Alex of @French in Plain Sight for a video all about common French phrases you'll hear in France but ones we didn't learn in school. We're talking about 6 French phrases we learned only after moving to France, so let us know below if you can relate and any other phrases that have left you scratching your head when you first heard them.
Be sure to check out our collab on Alex's channel where we talked about things we do that slow down our French progress: • Don't do these 3 thing...
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Salut! I'm Diane, the American behind the living abroad lifestyle blog Oui In France. My channel's focus is "Everyday French life and beyond," so let me know what you want to see! I make videos on French culture topics, food, travel, language, and give you my thoughts about what it's like as a foreigner in the Loire Valley. Thanks for being here and if you enjoy this sort of thing, please share with friends and subscribe!
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29 сен 2024

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Комментарии : 496

@OuiInFrance 4 года назад

Bonjour, tout le monde! Are there any other phrases that tripped you up like the ones we mentioned and that you only learned AFTER moving to France? Tell me in the comments! Also, be sure to check out our collab on Alex's channel where we talked about things we do that slow down our French progress: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-UqVPP2KSnQQ.html Merci!

@vincTarbes 3 года назад

C'est pour Alex !!! "Avez vous trouvez votre bonheur ?" n'est pas une phrase si commune, ça dépend du caractère de la personne (du vendeur)... Mais même à Montpellier on l'entends, je suis sur !!! (I'm french, native of the "true" North (département 59) and who has lived all over France. It's used in all corner of France)...

@janicedavid-rice5837 3 года назад

I don’t know if you have done a blog on slang words (argot) but the first time I realised there was more to French than what was taught in school was when they kept saying « bagnole » instead of « voiture « (car).

@wudgee 3 года назад

@@janicedavid-rice5837 Thanks I’ve now noted bagnole, I always say voiture so good to know this one 😀

@severinelehmann5295 3 года назад

Je suis d accord avec les autres commentaires. "Avez vous trouvé votre bonheur" est une phrase très fréquente. I live in Lyon and i am frensh. This expression is a way to ask you if you have fond what you want, if you are happy of the products or if you help.

@francoisederocher 3 года назад

One of Emile Zola's most famous novels, about the first Department stores in Paris is called 'Au bonheur des Dames". The expression "trouver son bonheur", which my mother uses, might come from the connection with that big store where women could find everything they desired. Pure speculation, of course, but an interesting literary titbit.

@ManaPeerfr 2 года назад

I think it might be the other way around, the expression existing already at that time and the store chosing that name to imply ladies can find everything in it.

@barfuss2007 Год назад

very good point. The comments are better than the channel

@thierryf67 4 года назад

We usually don't shorten the formal form, it should seem unpolite. (ne vous inquétez pas) Only familiar or unformal forms can be shortened in my opinion.

@jacquesmunier1294 3 года назад

Quite right

@danieleb.4684 3 года назад

L’apéritif au restaurant, l’apéro à la maison!

@kirstenraccuia3952 4 года назад

Thank you for making this video! It's super informative. Please ignore the people complaining about your sound. I heard you just fine. It's crazy to pick apart your sound when this is something that you do for the love of it, and for free! Thanks again and keep the great videos coming!

@FrenchinPlainSight 4 года назад

Seconded! It's valid to mention the sound so the creator is aware, but choice of wording is important!

@mklasp3342 3 года назад

There is a fourth casual form for "t'inquiètes" that you can use only in a written conversation : this is "tkt".

@watersnake1462 3 года назад

Not just in written conversation, say "tkt" in sentence when you're talking to someone is fine too. It sure is a really unformal way to say it and it's mostly used by young poeple, but you can hear it.

@mklasp3342 3 года назад

@@watersnake1462 There is no way that you could here "tkt" in any spoken conversation cause this is not a word and this is unpronounciable (except if you say "T.K.T"... I think some teenagers could do so but I never heard this on my own). What you can here is "t'inquiètes" that has already been listed in the video or in the other comments. That is why I wrote that you can use "tkt" only in written conversation, as an abbreviation of the word "t'inquiètes". Were you really thinking about saying "T.K.T" ?

@watersnake1462 3 года назад

@@mklasp3342 I can assure you that yeah people do say "tkt" and obviously we pronunce it like "tékaté". We're probably not from the same generation so maybe you don't see how common it is, but yeah some written abbreviations are used in conversations like "mdr", "ptdr", and other that I don't have in mind right now.

@mklasp3342 3 года назад

@@watersnake1462 Ok, bon alors flemme de continuer en anglais si on est tous les 2 francophones 😅 Moi j'ai 34 ans, donc je ne sais pas si c'est une question de génération ou bien de milieu (je viens d'un milieu très populaire mais je m'en suis un peu éloignée). En tout cas, je vois bien l'utilisation de "mdr" et "ptdr" retranscrits à l'oral dans le langage courant mais je confirme que je n'ai jamais entendu le fameux "tékaté" autour de moi, d'où le "blocage" que j'ai eu au 1er abord 😁

@watersnake1462 3 года назад

@@mklasp3342 Ouais c'est mieux en français du coup xD mais oui je pense que c'est générationnel, on a pas le même argot, c'est tout 😂

@troncy82 5 месяцев назад

"Avec ceci" has a better explanation than only a commercial habbit. When we ask something at a bakery, we usually process the order with one item category at a time. For instance, you start with the bread "Une tradition et un pain aux graines s'il vous plaît", "avec ceci" is a signal that your baker is ready to process further, then you might go to ask for pastries, vienoiseries... We just don't ask all the different items of different categories all at once and processing in such a way improves the flow between "présentoirs"

@Catlinel 3 года назад

Actually, "laissez tomber" is fairly similar to "laisse tomber". The expression itself is colloquial language, both with "tu" and "vous" so it could be a little akward or even rude to use it with someone with whom you're not really familiar because it might sound like a rebutal. The formal form would be more along the line of "Ce n'est pas grave".

@sophiepellerin5517 3 года назад

As a French Canadian, I found this video quite interesting!

@MrGearoid65 Год назад

'Avec ceci' is good sales talk, trying to upsell!

@lekiwix520 7 месяцев назад

“c’est pas terrible” actually makes sense when you know that “terrific” in french is also “terrible” we don’t have different words for terrible and terrific although there is synonyms. So in english the phrase “c’est pas terrible” would translate to “it isn’t terrific” which makes more sense.

@steelskeel 8 месяцев назад

"avec ceci?", is to make additional sell, "une vente additionnelle".

@tibomoltini2851 Год назад

1:42 merci c'est bon (and wave no with your hand) / in marseille you would say: (merci) ça va (and wave no with your hand)

@gingercurlygirl6943 Год назад

Thank you so much for this. I'm starting Upper Intermediate French at Uni in October and these expressions will come in very handy. I will make sure to follow Alex on his channel :)

@gautierjo 2 года назад

« Vous avez trouvé votre bonheur ? » est une expression commerciale très courante qui n'est absolument pas réservée aux femmes ou aux magasins de cosmétiques.

@slawero 2 года назад

I must have used very good textbooks because I learned all of those phrases from them. One of books was Communication progressif du francais published by CLE in green cover.

@joanbroadus3200 Год назад

What part of FRANCE do u live? I was raised in a very small place in the middle of FRANCE called Aubigny sur nere ..we have a slight country accent I’ve been told but not as heavy as down south. I highly recommend two movies they are like part 1 & part 2 Jean d’Florette and second is Manon des Sources (of the spring) excellent -has twists n turns and sadness n funny and mix of it all. I could talk about FRANCE and America and my life’s experiences all day…

@alexrad4046 Год назад

superb

@justnais2375 3 года назад

I have a little precision to make about the « laisse tomber » expression as a french people, it’s a really common expression but don’t use it on formal occasion as on work (you can if your work environment is really chill), if not, don’t ! It’s really friendly talk. You can use it on your bartender even if you never met him but not on your well known boss. In that case just use the expression « c’est pas grave » (that we also add a lot with the « laisse tomber ») and explain yourself why it’s not a boser

@ChatonQuiMiaule Год назад

"C'est pas grave" is familiar, it uses contractions. In a more formal context, one would say "Ce n'est pas grave." However, I would not use "Ce n''est pas grave" with a boss with whom I would not use "Laissez tomber". It literally means "This is not grave", which is a form of understatement for saying "This is unimportant". In general, bosses do not like being told that what they worry about is "unimportant".

@JustinCase99999 Год назад

"Worry" would be "Inquiète-toi", so "t'inquiète" can only mean "ne t'inquiète pas" ie "don't worry". Easy. 🙂 But yes you have to know the history of the phrase when it's been shortened over time.

@J0HN_D03 Год назад

*For me, "laisse tomber" is the equivalent of "te prends pas la tête". Another French expression* 😇😂

@barfuss2007 Год назад

laisse tomber les filles - France Gall 🙂

@J0HN_D03 Год назад

@@barfuss2007 😂😂😂 yes or "oublie" is better ! (forget)

@barfuss2007 Год назад

@@J0HN_D03 j´ai oubliée mon porte-monnaie à la maison... chaque jours, LOL

@J0HN_D03 Год назад

@@barfuss2007 😅 In French, we would say: "Tous les jours, j'oublie mon porte-monnaie à la maison" 😉👍🏻

@barfuss2007 Год назад

@@J0HN_D03 bien

@mklasp3342 3 года назад

And "laisse tomber" also means "give up".

@mchess6141 3 года назад

true. you can also hear "laisse couler" with the same meaning. The verb "couler" can be use for liquids rivers etc and also boats : - l'eau coule par terre = water flows on the ground - le bateau coule = the boat sinks Paris 's motto is : beaten by the waves, but does not sink (fluctuat nec mergitur - in latine language) twitter.com/julie_rs/status/665547046603120640

@paulchapoy992 Год назад

T'inquiète is mainly used by the tongs and when I hear that, I can't help thinking I have serious reasons to worry about 😂 L'apero, an institution in France. It doesn't mean it has to be alcool but everybody think about alcool! Most of the time, it is Porto (from Portugal) or Muscat (from Rivesalte, France), but it can be Pastis (from Marseilles, Ricard brand) or Whisky (scotch from Scotland). In the bourgeois family, we would rather propose a cup of tea at 5pm (we drink it without milk in it, and we have diner at 7pm).The sirups are mainly drunk by children, the adults prefer alcool, lol ! The yongs will rather say Laisse béton than Laisse tomber ! (Verlan=slang in which you reverse the words, the yongs love it!)

@stephanevilboux1706 3 года назад

Bonjour. Je confirme que l'expression "Avez vous trouvé votre bonheur ?" est bien utilisée. Elle n'est pas réservée à Sephora. Cordialement.

@thedavidguy01 4 года назад

Thanks for the very useful, practical advice. I was in a boulangerie and the server said "Avec ceci ?" I figured out what she was asking and wanted to reply "Ça sera tout" (as you suggested) but my brain froze and I couldn't conjugate être, so I said "Ça serait tout." For some reason when I'm flustered I always end up using the conditional when I want the simple future. I suppose you could also say "ça va être tout".

@thedavidguy01 4 года назад

@@tfjdfhozs3s849 Oui, c'est plus poli. Habituellement, je parle bien le français, mais parfois, je suis bloqué.

@Laurent69ftm 3 года назад

No, you can't say ça va être tout. You have to use the real future tense in this case.

@slicksquared4336 3 года назад

What about "Ça fait tout, merci"

@Laurent69ftm 3 года назад

@@slicksquared4336 No, you can't say this either.

@sylviefournier1833 3 года назад

You would simple say: non merci c'est tout.

@jeanforest8060 Год назад

"Avez-vous trouvé votre bonheur?" ... Francophone d'Amérique, j'ai vécu quelque deux années en France, en mettant mes séjours bout à bout, sans jamais avoir entendu cette expression, jamais, nulle part... Et à mon avis la plupart des Français eux-mêmes ne la connaissent absolument pas. Par contre, si la jeune fille qui me pose cette question est particulièrement jolie... alors la réponse pourrait bien aller de soi!

@rmp7400 2 года назад

To this day, I recall the consoling counsel of the French Dominican priest who said to me "Ne t'inquiète pas"

@stephanevilboux1706 3 года назад

Bonjour. L'expression "T'inquiète" est très familière. Ne pas l'utiliser si vous ne tutoyez pas déjà votre interlocuteur. Cette expression utilise le tutoiement Et elle est impérative de part la conjugaison ET sa brièveté. C'est comme un ordre donné sans qu'il y ait notion de hiérarchie MAIS c'est aussi l'intention de rassurer un ami. Cordialement.

@wanner753 3 года назад

De la meme facon que pour "t'inquiete" qui est une contraction de "ne t'inquiete pas", on dit souvent "Laisse béton" ou "laisse bet" et non "laisse tomber" (verlan) Il faut que vous fassiez une video sur le verlan qui a l'air de ne pas du tout exister dans le monde anglo-saxon, et qui imprègne beaucoup la langue francaise (familliere et argot)

@etiennebrun8760 2 года назад

"t'inquiete" is written "tkt" on phones ;)

@indricotherium4802 2 года назад

Difficult to tell with 'T'inquiète' whether it's a contraction from 'inquiéter' or 's'inquiéter'. If the latter, it's presumably a contraction of 'Ne tu t'inquiète pas'. This is an imperative form so the indicative would be 'Tu ne t'inquiètes pas'. My dictionary also gives an example: ne t'inquiète pas pour elle.

@TheXJ12 Год назад

"Avec ceci" here in France ""he-a-doo-go" (here or to go) over there in the US...

@SG-sz5vh 3 года назад

In Quebec one hears « autres choses? » in the situation u are showcasing

@sgroadie6367 3 года назад

The Australians do ask, "any joy in your search?"

@nathaliebled9904 3 года назад

Hi, I know it’s been I while since you posted this but here is a funny one for you « il pleut comme une vache qui pisse » It literally means, it’s raining like a cow who pees. My family is French but I grew up in the US so when I heard that I was like whaaat. Shocked but funny it simply means it’s pouring & very informally 😂

@BZValoche 3 года назад

"Il pleut comme vache qui pisse" is the correct way ;-) It's the same as raining cats and dogs in the UK ^^

@katherinemarsh784 3 года назад

Je comprend desiriz l'apperitif. Comme amaretto et champagne. :)

@charlotteeardly7235 3 года назад

Laisse tomber is more familiar I think

@kaarenine4511 Год назад

In the bakery....have you ever tried this: you are really hungry or you have a large family to feed, or whatever reason...😃. So you tell your first choice.., avec ceci? And she's already behind the cash machine ready to type 2.96€ and with a wide open mouth to tell you the price. And you say '' euh,..... i'll have.......this.....'' She already took the cake and the paper to wrap it. And ........avec ceci? You take something else

@v8pilot Год назад

'Laisse tombé = 'drop it'.

@DoctorOboogie Год назад

Oh oui ma biche ! (le Gendarme de Saint -Tropez with Louis de Funès).

@j9dz2sf Год назад

"Worry!" would be translated "inquiète-toi !".. So "t'inquiète !" cannot be interpreted as "worry !".

@northerngannetproject3147 3 года назад

'Terrible' in french can be good or bad... just look at the face of the person to know... 🙂 or 😔

@mathieu3201 3 года назад

"Laisse tomber" is actually more likely to be rude than not. It is something that may give an impression of disdain toward the person you are speaking to. In the example with the waiter and the drink, it would likely come as "you don't even have that? Forget it, then". If you were trying to explain something, what could come across is "you are too stupid to understand". This expression is something that you should avoid if you don't understand how to make it not rude.

@rmp7400 2 года назад

First and only time I heard that phrase, our French professor utilized it - and it actually sounded a most elegant way to communicate the rather ugly Anglicisme: "don't sweat the small stuff"

@barfuss2007 Год назад

laisse tomber les filles - france gall (R.I.P.) 🙂 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-FWRCJhsz5t4.html

@yannrousseau5437 7 месяцев назад

Laisse béton, ça devient trop ardu.

@ly1.072 3 года назад

I think the "T'inquiète" works fine because in French we wouldn't say "t'inquiète" to say "Worry" we would go for "Inquiète-toi !" So in our brain "t'inquiète" really means nothing except a lazy way to say "Ne t'inquiète pas" since "T'inquiète" is grammaticaly incorrect to say "worry" or "You better worry".

@BZValoche 3 года назад

"Ne t'inquiètes* pas", ne pas oublier notre super conjugaison de la mort qui tue :-D

@magicrtrip5492 3 года назад

A l'impératif les verbes du premier groupe ne prennent pas de S

@barfuss2007 Год назад

DON´T worry

@sanapadsense1999 4 года назад

I am French and everything Diane says is true like "vous avez trouvé votre bonheur ?" or "vous désirez un apéritif ?" These expressions are very common.

@Val-T. 4 года назад

Agree, it's very common, I literally just asked my daughter who came back from the store couple of minutes ago "Tu as trouvé ton bonheur ?".

@fozzywxman 3 года назад

I've heard the phrase "Are you happy with everything?" (implied, you found) here in the States. Seems like a loose translation, as well.

@TheAlex8485 3 года назад

I am also French and I think this phrase is especially common in dress shops (more feminine place)

@nathanangelus 3 года назад

About the "tu/vous as/avez trouvé ton/votre bonheur" thing. Yeah, it's a bit old fashionned but still commonly used. Here is another example where to use it. You went to a store and you're coming home then your husband/wife asks you, wondering if you got what you wanted from the store, "Tu as trouvé ton bonheur ?". ^^

@franfoucrasart6471 2 года назад

Avec ceci doesn’t exactly mean “Is that all”… it literally means “with this” which is the contraction of the phrase “Will you take something else with this?” If you don’t want to buy anything else you will answer the common phrase “ Non merci, ce sera tout”. 😃

@Teri_Berk Год назад

As I was trying to make sense of "avec ceci", that explanation came to the resque! Thx.

@PatrickCazaux 2 года назад

A propos de "avez-vous trouvé votre bonheur ?", c'est effectivement une expression très commune, et je suis surpris qu'Alex ne l'ait jamais entendue. Je pense qu'il faut la comprendre comme une tentative à la fois non-intrusive, plus ou moins poétique et vaguement ironique (comme si le bonheur pouvait tenir à un eye-liner !) de savoir si le client se débrouille tout seul pour trouver ce qu'il est venu cherche ou s'il a besoin d'aide... D'une manière générale, les vendeurs ont tendance à éviter les questions directes comme "en quoi puis-je vous aider ?", "avez-vous trouvé ce que vous cherchiez ?", "avez vous besoin d'autre chose ?" et je ne sais pas vraiment pourquoi ? Peut-être pour ne pas s'impliquer vraiment personnellement (après tout, ce n'est qu'un job, pas un sacerdoce), ou par lassitude, ou pour cette habitude très française de ne pas pénétrer la bulle intime de chacun...

@asterixalesia5012 2 года назад

Totalement d'accord avec vous. "Trouver son bonheur" dans un magasin (par exemple) est une expression très courante et très basique. Je suis inquiet qu'un "prof de français" ne la connaisse pas.

@barfuss2007 Год назад

merçi Patrick, très bonnes informations pendant 30 secondes 🙂

@barfuss2007 Год назад

@@asterixalesia5012 serait Gergovia mieux? 🙂

@davidhalldurham 3 года назад

A phrase that puzzled me many years ago is "Fait pas chaud, hein?" when the weather's cold. Well, of course it fait pas chaud, dammit, it's freezin'!

@k.v.7681 3 года назад

We call it a "litote". Saying less to say more. "C'est pas très bon" (it's not very tasty) to mean "C'est dégeulasse" (it's disgusting") etc... the difference with a euphemism is that it is designed to reinforce an idea, rather than diminish it, and it is always written in the negative "Fait PAS très chaud" etc.

@davidhalldurham 3 года назад

@@k.v.7681 How nice of you to take the time to answer. Thank you so much! I had never heard the word litote till now.

@JustinCase99999 3 года назад

@@davidhalldurham litotes in english. Lie tow tease.

@kaymgee08 3 года назад

Reminds me of 'it ain't 'arf cold' which I often heard when I first learnt English in primary school seventy years ago. I thought it was 'It's narf cold' and always wondered what this word narf was!

@jeanisdancing 2 года назад

@@kaymgee08 My goodness, where did you learn English?

@Free2Shine 3 года назад

Well done! I am French and you gave me a really good laugh. "Avez-vous trouvé votre bonheur?" Why are they asking me about my happiness? 😂🤣

@barfuss2007 Год назад

its not "happiness" but pleasure. Are you pleased?

@mayfielcl Год назад

@@barfuss2007 no pleasure is plaisir

@MichelSLAGMULDER Год назад

it's very intresting to see our casual expressions that seem so strange for foreigners

@yannrousseau5437 7 месяцев назад

Notre belle langue peut être très figurative parfois. Donc très '' tricky '' pour les apprenants

@tougue 3 года назад

I confirm, "avez-vous/as-tu trouvé votre/ton bonheur" is a super common idiom in French (and Swiss-French)

@herrahz5894 3 года назад

Never heard anybody saying that

@Irulan10 3 года назад

@@herrahz5894 Well it's kind of fading away. Which is sad. Parce que c'est bien joli :)

@sckanersfofolle 3 года назад

This is quite a standard customer service sentence in bigger shops, in my experience like clothing stores (Lafayette, Etam...) Not always used and fading away for sure but still quite standard IMO.

@jeanisdancing 2 года назад

@@herrahz5894 I hear it all the time. Sometimes I remark that finding happiness is generally that simple. :)

@TheCMLion 4 года назад

I love it when my favorite vloggers get together for videos! So much fun!

@rushdialrashed9627 3 года назад

Very true.

@harrisbuzz 3 года назад

When I studied in France the most useful word I learned was “truc”. In French classes in the U.S. we were, of course, taught that the French word for “thing” was “chose”, but I rarely heard it used. “Truc” was common.

@tinkeratlecta8620 3 года назад

Tes you' re right . But in fact we use truc every time we don't fond the right word .

@mklasp3342 3 года назад

That's right. I think that "something I don't know how to tell" should be the accurate definition for "truc"

@annecolomb980 3 года назад

haha! my mother is always seeking for the "truc" of the "machin" who get in the "bidule". Very usefull words indeed.EDIT, Machin and Truc with a capital letter are fine for people too, "i invited Machin/Truc at the party".

@BZValoche 3 года назад

@@annecolomb980 the ultimate combo is machin truc bidule chouette

@hopeanne543 3 года назад

Is 'truc' considered too informal to use on more official or school documents?

@AnnieAndre 4 года назад

These are great tips for French language learners who want to speak everyday French.. Ps, the audio was fine for me...

@dudragon49 3 года назад

"Avez-vous trouvé votre bonheur?" could and should be translated as "did you find what (those things that) makes you happy?".

@rushdialrashed9627 3 года назад

That sounds like a vibrator !

@dufonrafal 3 года назад

yes, actually very common, I get it a lot in stores, but then I might just look lost xD

@nicholasgardiner9601 3 года назад

Have you (formally) found your good hour. Have you found what you sought? Have you found the object of your desire? Have you found your heart's desire? Did you get what you wanted? All languages are full of their own idiomatic constructions or ones they have adopted from other languages. In France you could have a 7 or 8 course meal, and very particularly arranged or choreographed. Aperitif, wet your whistle the drink before the drinks. Similarly appetizer the introduction the starters small finger foods before the other courses. The ap- prefix indicates before. Monsieur Stevenson taught us three years of honors French as well as coaching freshmen, JV, and varsity Futbol, En Anglais (Soccer). Accent, pronunciation, geography, vocabulary, grammar, composition (writing). I loved geography and vocabulary almost social studies and reading. Our Prof. Marveled at one of my efforts where in a half page or so I had strenuously avoided conjugating any verbs, at least not correctly. He loved to teach and thought we should get it because we were so smart. We never wanted to disappoint him even though he was teaching a foreign language. If only we had started at age 4 or 5 while the window of opportunity was still wide open.

@donp.f.2864 3 года назад

Thank you so much for explaining the "avec ceci" thing! I lived in France for about 5 1/2 years, and for the first week or two (like you, at the bakery) when they would ask me that, I could never understand what they were even asking! Thanks for mentioning this -- I'm glad to know I'm not the only anglophone who ran into this problem!

@mchess6141 3 года назад

Hi ! you can also hear " ce sera tout ? " ( ... ce qu'il vous fallait) which means " Is that all ? ( ... you needed)

@mborok 2 года назад

I’ve been to France several times, speak decent French, don’t remember ever hearing this.

@deadtonk5527 3 года назад

"Avec ceci ?" ( whit this ?) " C'est tout ce qu'il vous fallait" ( is that all you needed ?) and so on are meant for the customers to take a time to remember if they indeed got everything they need because the cashiers don't push a product after they say it. I am a forgetful person and it actually saved me countless time ^^

@jeanisdancing 2 года назад

Plus it might inspire an extra purchase or tow. "Come to thin of it I might enjoy this or find that useful."

@yannrousseau5437 7 месяцев назад

If the saleswoman is charming, that allows you to answer yes, your phone number 😉

@altaripa8130 2 года назад

Another strange sentence we have in french is "Qu'est-ce que c'est que ça ?". It means what's that or what is that thing, but if you try to translate it would be something like "what is that it is that that" 🤔 😂

@marydemesy8146 3 года назад

Bravo, très drôle et tellement vrai… after 75 years in France, it’s a good thing to get back to basics… (I’m British) Keep up the good work

@biloz2988 3 года назад

These two miss the whole thing about how French evolved. French used to be very formal just like the British English but then just as American English was an evolutionary form of that, French spoken by new generations distanced itself from formality. For an American who’s familiar with having the spoken language being very close to the written language, it is difficult to conceptualize that evolution. We need to realize that spoken French in markets and among people familiar with each other is totally different from the written one which is mostly formal

@LauraMorland 2 года назад

Well, I'm sure that Diane and Alex are aware that the French language has evolved over time. Yet that's not the point of this video. I'd be willing to bet that people in boulangeries were saying *"avec ceci"* at least 50 years ago, and that waiters were asking *"Qu'est-ce que vous voudriez comme apéritif?" *75 years ago! So "evolution" (or "language drift" to use the proper linguistic term) is not at issue here -- these are simply phrases that are not taught in schools, at least not in schools abroad.

@lechatel 2 года назад

British English constantly evolves. We don't need the Americans to do it for us. lol

@stevegandalf4739 3 года назад

"Avec ceci?" -- in Germany in bakeries and similar small food shops they ask you "Sonst noch etwas?" - literally "otherwise still something?" -- they do this all the time.

@IAmFat1968 4 месяца назад

Or "und übrigens?"

@stevegandalf4739 4 месяца назад

@@IAmFat1968 I've not heard that one, but I haven't been in Germany since 2015, and before that I was there in the 1990s. Haven't been to Austria since 1992. But I was there only 2-3 weeks max each time.

@muspelheim2 3 года назад

" Laisse tomber " is familiar do not say that to your boss ou waitrerss is very rude it mean they are incompétent .

@tinkeratlecta8620 3 года назад

You can't say it to your boss but it 's not rude to a waitress of you say "laissez tomber" For instance your kid asks for sth ansd they dont"have it and je asks for sth else and they don't have it and you say "Laissez tomber il va prendre un verre d'eau" and the waitress is perfectly happy and ok and can serve others customers . Excuse my english.

@draugami 3 года назад

In English, we say, "No pressure." Similiar to t'inquiete. But the response is one of feeling pressure.

@LauraMorland 2 года назад

Well, as an American living in France, I would say that the two expressions have different meanings. (It could be different in the U.K.) T'inquiète means *don't worry about it.* It's in the imperative mood, whereas "no pressure" (as it's been used in my hearing in the U.S.), is information you've given to someone *after* you've given them a command. In fact, it's often used ironically -- you' d say "No pressure!" to someone on whom you *are* (or someone else is) putting pressure. You're saying that there is "no pressure," when in fact there is a lot.

@yannrousseau5437 7 месяцев назад

@@LauraMorland😂 quelqu'un en qui je n'ai pas confiance qui me dit t'inquiète... Je m'inquiète fortement 😉

@LauraMorland 7 месяцев назад

@@yannrousseau5437 😆

@carlosmendez3955 2 года назад

I've been in France for about 2 weeks now, and this is the most understood I felt for a while, she had the exact same thoughts I'm baking right now

@SomeFrenchGuy78 3 года назад

Nice video, thanks to both of you for explaining our strange language. ;)

@Maiasatara 4 года назад

I would love to hear more French idioms. American examples - Hit the nail on the head, get off my back, takes two to tango, etc. Your examples here had a direct relation to the true meaning of the words even if off a bit. As for the aperitif example - I have heard you mention it twice now and frankly I’m not seeing how it’s any different than being in a restaurant in the US. If it’s optional and doesn’t have to be either a specific drink or even alcoholic it sounds EXACTLY like sitting down at a US restaurant and hearing, “Can I start you off with something to drink?” I fully understand that’s something to sip while I’m looking at the menu and can be anything from water to juice to wine to a martini. Also that I will order other drinks during my meal. But then along with saying it could be anything you suggest things like Kir Royale or Campari it a cordial which are EXACTLY what I would imagine if an aperitif was actually its own category of beverages. So, if there is no separate menu section listing “aperitifs” it’s exactly the same as every other restaurant. As a foodie I guess I enjoy the tours of markets, stores, bakeries, etc but all your content is fun. I should be watching people in Spain (since I’m much closer to speaking decent Spanish but I love France, so, lol.) If you have a chance to present some idioms that would be great!

@FrenchinPlainSight 4 года назад

Idioms are fun! I dont talk about them much because they aren't the most useful unless you already have the basics down and then some, but Diane might be up for talking about them!

@Rachel-rs7jn 4 года назад

I think the big difference is that if you're going to have an apéritif in France, it's understood that it could last awhile. It's not just a drink to have while looking at your menu - you might not actually look at it again and order your meal for a good 20 minutes.

@xavierpages2854 3 года назад

Here are some : "Mettre la puce à l'oreille", litterally "put a flea on the ear". Means getting suspicious, getting alerted about something. Funny thing is that very long ago, it was about sexual excitement. "Une fine mouche", "a nice or small flea". Someone very sly and smart. "Au fur et à mesure" "bit by bit" . Comes from old (centuries old...) ways of selling things on markets. "Au temps pour moi" "the fault is mine, I was wrong". Comes from military orders, which have two ot more "temps" ("Forward" "March" being two "temps").

@Tom42600 2 года назад

@@xavierpages2854 And about "The fault is mine, I was wrong", in french, you can write it in 2 different ways "Au temps pour moi", and the other one (which I personnaly always used) "Autant pour moi". And both are correct ... That's french for you x)

@xavierpages2854 2 года назад

@@Tom42600 Yep, both are considered right, but the original form was "au temps". But since it does not make much sense outside of its original context, most French people (me included) generally use "autant".

@MudChips 4 года назад

This is so great. Thank you both for putting this together. I’ve followed you both for a while and love picking up these innuendos/idioms in French. I will get there again someday.

@OuiInFrance 4 года назад

Our pleasure!

@ostrovnyklinok6165 3 года назад

Actually bingewatching your channel, maybe i'm just really drunk but I can't stop laughing realizing the uniqueness of French's complexity xD (Cuz i'm French) I like that lighthearted conversation.

@allisonwashington6816 2 года назад

A caution with « laisse tomber » : this can be very dismissive and rude in a context of disagreement or misunderstanding/miscommunication. Like, fighting words rude.

@Mirror1973 4 года назад

Love this! Love finding new things to learn. It definitely changes depending what your mother tongue is; for example it was easier for me to understand “T’enquiete” because my mother tongue is Spanish and we have the word “inquieto” and I immediately associated the word and yes it is a similar meaning and usage ☺️ fascinating how languages work

@FrenchinPlainSight 4 года назад

Awesome! I look forward to using inquieto in my Spanish soon!

@Mirror1973 4 года назад

French in Plain Sight yes! So, if you were to say the same phrase; you would say: No te inquietes or No te preocupes; either or 😉 I need to follow your RU-vid as well! A Bientôt

@FrenchinPlainSight 4 года назад

@@Mirror1973 gracias :)

@shinyshinythings Год назад

Spanish isn’t my native language but I’ve gotten used to hearing and using the phrase “no te preocupes” in all kinds of situations living in Spain, so that’s what the French phrase with “t’inquiete” reminded me of. (I haven’t heard “no te inquietes” yet.)

@christianibarbia9380 Год назад

@@shinyshinythings you are right ! I should use in spanish that word "inquieto" to say "restless"... "no te preocupes" is the perfect formulae to say "do not worry".. so " t'inquiètes"... when saying that, it means you are talking to a relative or someone who is close to you... because the " t' " is the abbreviation of "ne t'inquiètes pas"

@jfultz9955 3 года назад

Mine was "Avez-vous l'heure?" rather than that classic of high school French - "Quelle heure a-t-il?

@BZValoche 3 года назад

"Quelle heure est-il*" And we would rather say "vous avez l'heure ?" which is incorrect, just to make things more difficult for non native speakers :-P

@percyvalle921 3 года назад

That guy knows what he's talking about ! 👍

@missionsabotage 3 года назад

"laisse tomber" can be impolite. In the example given, in a store it will sound like "you're no use, i'm wasting my time here", I would rather say "'tant pis, ce n'est pas grave"

@romualdb5815 Год назад

Be very careful with “laisse tomber”. It may be understood as something rude depending on the situation.

@richNfit4life 3 года назад

Laisser tomber-> also can translate - never mind.

@kaymgee08 3 года назад

In English I often hear 'Any joy?' meaning did you get anywhere, or were you successful?

@joannets3835 4 года назад

- Sephora is a french company but I have them in Canada too. - T'inquiètes is more "I/we got this" / " it's all under control" (it's when you have to start to worry, go to panic mode) - "Un coca" is for: coca-cola, Pepsi. Other European countries use "cola". - if you tell the waiter you're driving, he will automatically switch to non-alcoholic options. Bylaw, they might held legally responsible if you have an accident. - "laisse tomber" is "forget it" / " nevermind". Don't say that to your boss, ever... Unless, you want to get fired. Diane, your microphone isn't great.

@JustinCase99999 3 года назад

T'inquiète, sans s. C'est un impératif.

@christianjambou8208 4 года назад

As a frenchman reading "A year in Provence " by Peter Maile made me realise the importance of hand gesture when speaking. I think that would be an interesting video.

@patrickg8775 3 года назад

This book comes from 1989 ! Now, France has changing a lot ! (32 years!) and not always in a good way !

@LauraMorland 2 года назад

@@patrickg8775 Honestly, you're saying that there are fewer hand gestures used now in France than were commonly used 32 years ago? Of course, Peter Mayle (with a "y") was living, as his book says, in Provence, and therefore interacting with a more traditional culture.

@barfuss2007 Год назад

Better region Côte d´Azur because this was in former times a part of Italy. And the Italians have a lot of special hand gestures. If they press the indes finger turning in one cheek they have no toothaches, that means "that tastes very good" 🙂

@TELLViSiON 3 года назад

11:59 I commonly see "expats" saying it is difficult to make friends with french peoples, so if someone told you "t'inquiètes" you have yourself a french friend or at least a friendly person towards you as that person uses the "tutoiement" and a more familiar expression which means this indicidual is at ease with you.. + that person doesn't want you to worry, what a nice thought , right?

@Jackretro Год назад

t'nquiètes ne se dit pas !!!!! Pour dire à quelqu'un de ne pas s'inquiéter, (une négation) , il y a une règle en langue française: on doit utilser le NE devant le verbe et/ou le PAS à la suite du verbe !!!!!! On peut aussi ne pas utiliser le NE , dans ce cas, on devraiobligatoirement utiliser le PAS.

@Jackretro Год назад

saying "T'inquiètes" would be like saying in english "Worry" same rule for a negation, you have to use don't or do not in front of the verb !

@merima333 2 года назад

C'est curieux parce que la 1ère phase en apprenant une langue est comprendre d'abord et ensuite vient la phase la plus difficile est parler, composer une phrase. Vous c'est le contraire 😂😂😂ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-9DxDet1xt_c.html

@Frilouz79 3 года назад

"terrible" both stands for "terrible" and "terrific". The normal meaning is : terrible, dreadful. In the 50's and 60's, it was used by young people in the sense of "great, amazing". This usage has been somewhat lost, and the new generations no longer use it in this meaning, but the expression "pas terrible" = "not very good", has remained.

@Free2Shine 3 года назад

I actually didn't know that. I'm French and I've never heard the word "terrible" used to mean "terrific".

@patrickg8775 3 года назад

It's true ! The French language was better in the 50's, 60's , 70's, than today. Now, they using a bad French especially the new generations. It doesn't matter for them.

@lestutosfrenglish 2 года назад

About the "'t'inquiète" part, it's not about worry at all most of the time. It's a way of saying it's fine. Like you lifted something for someone and they ask like "are you sure?" you answer "t'inquiète" as in it's okay yes!

@LauraMorland 2 года назад

It can also be used to mean "mind your own business" -- such as when I reminded a fellow volunteer that she needed to put her mask on properly (it was only covering her lower lip + her chin!), she replied, *"T'inquiète ! Je suis vaccinée !"* (Which begs the point.)

@demoulelouis2757 3 года назад

Le kir c’est pas fais avec du sirop c’est avec de la crème de cassis c’est un sirop avec de l’alcool c’est pas pareil 😇

@galier2 3 года назад

"t'inquiète" is obviously not meaning "worry!" because in french "s'inquiéter" is a pronominal verb, which means that it always requires a pronoun to indicate who worries. This would mean that you would have to say "inquiète-toi!" (worry yourself). "T'inquiète" is grammatically so broken that it can only be an abreviation. So, to remember: French people do not "worry", they "worry themeselves". Je m'inquiète = I worry myself. Pronominal verbs, that's the grammtical construct that is common in French (and even more so in Italian or Spanish) but is unusual in English.

@angelhelp 2 года назад

Much to my delight, I understood the literal and the implied meaning of each of these!

@r.s.brousseau9249 4 года назад

Salut Diane, Great video. I really like these types of collaborations. One thing I've been asked often is "C'est pour offrir?" when either at a flower shop or bakery. Another time I was slightly taken aback when I was having a book gift-wrapped at FNAC. After wrapping the book, as the lady was putting a ribbon on it, she asked me "vous voulez une fleur?". I quickly realized she wanted to know if I wanted a bow on it.

@OuiInFrance 4 года назад

Ah yes, great add, that's another one you hear a lot, asking if it's to "offrir" (give as a gift). Sometimes I say yes just to get a pretty ribbon. ;-) For the FNAC one, I would have understood it as a decorative flower. I've only heard a bow referred to as a noeud. I will keep my ears peeled for that. Thanks for watching!

@FrenchinPlainSight 4 года назад

Offrir almost always (perhaps always) means to give for free. Inviter means to pay for something for someone. Je t'invite = it's on me. Proposer means to offer, suggest, propose :)

@albertaowusu3536 2 года назад

That sounds like 'is it a gift'?

@LauraMorland 2 года назад

@@FrenchinPlainSight But in this case, "C'est pour offrir?" is *a request from the shop owner (or clerk) to find out if you're buying the object for yourself, or if you're buying it as a gift for someone.* Because the French will always wrap up very nicely anything you're giving as a gift. Maybe, just like you don't frequent Sephora (I don't either -- they are just *so* ubiquitous in France, which turns me off), you also don't frequent shops where this phrase is commonly used? ;-)

@justnais2375 3 года назад

Yes the sentence « avez-vous trouvez votre bonheur » is often used in clothes or other feminine boutiques ! It’s a little posh and old it’s why it’s often used on posh boutiques.

@wudgee 3 года назад

Excellent stuff thanks to both of you. I’ve had a couple of phrases said to me and had no idea what they were asking. Really handy to know these expressions I’ll know what they’re saying now. I Inormally say C’est tous merci. I’m in rural France so I’ve not heard of Sephora, but I don’t need any make-up for ages, I stocked up before leaving the UK.

@LauraMorland 2 года назад

Oh, that's incredible -- Sephora are *so* ubiquitous that they are hard to avoid, particularly in any kind of "mall." Look around the airport the next time you fly back to the UK, and you're sure to spot one. As an example, My stepson and I were walking through the then-newly remodeled Gare du Nord, and he said, *"Oh, this renovation can't be complete -- there's no Sephora!"* Mais le voilà, when we took the final escalator up, there it was!

@truckerdaddy-akajohninqueb4793 3 года назад

You should do a lesson on bad words. I had a little old lady teacher, spectacles and everything, who taught us the spicy vocabulary. It was useful 👍😊

@pheart2381 2 года назад

Apart from espece de con I dont know any fruity french.

@jacquelinemiddleton8396 2 года назад

Mince LOL 🤣

@truckerdaddy-akajohninqueb4793 2 года назад

@@jacquelinemiddleton8396 😃

@ginogina4589 4 года назад

Bon travail Diane comme toujours!

@cornbornmike1006 Год назад

Thank you so much for this video! “J’ai failli” and “tu te casses pas la tête" are some other phrases I learned after moving here.

@hellohjbgjh 7 месяцев назад

In dictionaries, they translate failli very poorly, just with almost. While I think the meaning is closer to (be on the verge of ...). What do you think?

@saraswatiyogi221 4 года назад

Loved these everyday phrases. Please do more!

@dufonrafal 3 года назад

"Avec ceci ?" or "Ce sera tout ?" - answer : ask for something else or "Ce sera tout, merci." "Avez vous trouvé votre bonheur ?" - yep, very common - answer "Non, je cherche..." or "Oui, j'ai ce qu'il me faut, merci." or "Ca ira, merci." "Ne vous inquiétez pas." is a common formal sentence indeed. "Apéritif" can be food also ;) "Laissez tomber" is a casual expression, not something you should use formally, you can sometimes but it can be perceived as rude in a "formal" context. Fun to hear the stories about the first time you heard them :)

@hiroroll 2 года назад

Haha that's very good. The problem is when you haven't learnt another language you are not aware of it. I happened to me me when I moved to the USA. I would go to a shop and people would tell you "how are you doing?" Which I thought it was an actual question and it wasn't. So I would answer and people would stare at me🙈😝. And also when people saying "it's fine "= it's basically means "shut up"

@philippefraile1101 4 года назад

Hello Diane! Great and interesting video sometime funny too. One thing I noticed when I hear you on Facebook or youtube videos is that you have near no accent in french speaking!!! You are becoming more and more French obviously...Philippe from Lyon ( France/ Rhône 69 )

@OuiInFrance 4 года назад

Philippe, you're too sweet. I definitely do have an accent, though. I worked a ton on pronunciation and can say the sounds properly, so maybe a word or two in isolation sound pretty spot on, but when I put a sentence together, the intonation is definitely not native most of the time. People say I'm not difficult to understand at all, but I'll always sound like a foreigner and I'm OK with that. Thanks for watching! ;-)

@maryjanekolesar8325 Месяц назад

I'm French Canadian and none of these colloquial expressions are strange to me. Having said that what is strange and I can't find in dictionaries is words like "bagniol" for ride? Car? or, "putin" which seems to be a swear word and is used liberally in movies; or "gosse" which I gather is kid or teen? I could go on.

@hori166 3 года назад

On my first visit to Québec for a French teachers convention, I was so naïve and thought that it would be just like France. Duh! Is the U.K. like the U.S.? I went into a pâtisserie, ordered an éclair, and the clerk said in a Québecois accent what I thought was, "Vous êtes d'où?" when in fact it was, "C'est tout? (you would need to pronounce this using Québecois phonology which would explain my misunderstanding)". I answered, "de Hawaii" which got a puzzled look, but then we both broke out laughing. Only standard Parisian French is taught in schools, and sadly, one is never exposed to the rich palette of French that exists around the world, even within France. Things have probably changed since I was a student, and I hope there are courses that expose students to a variety of accents, especially Québecois.

@tinkeratlecta8620 3 года назад

Well even french people don't always understand québécois