When it comes to learning French you really have to be in the country to do it because they are many (many) things they just don't teach you in school.
Here are some essential tips to get you au fait with French in France from The Local and our friends at the Earful Tower Paris podcast.
1. French is often 'Un peu too much'
You'll notice that French people, particularly younger people who dwell in the capital, are always casually dropping English words into the middle of their sentences for seemingly no rhyme or reason (other than it's trendy at the moment).
One minute they'll be chattering away in their mother tongue and the next they'll be saying something's “un peu too much” (a bit too much) or something shocking might be described “completement what the fuck“.
In other words you've learned French and then you get over here and find that half their sentences are peppered with English, a trend particularly pronounced in the business and tech worlds.
Just because someone is doing this, however, don't assume that they speak English, any more than Del Boy was a fluent francophone.
2. Sometimes they go all Spanish
Admit it, were you ever left totally confused after listening to a conversation in French and hearing them use the word “si” instead of “oui“?
As you probably know the Spanish word for “yes” is “si” but the French also use it to say “yes” as well. (It also means “if” in French just to add to the confusion).
In French is is specifically used to answer “yes” to a negative question – Vous n'allez pas au travail aujourd'hui?” “Si, si, j'y vais” – You're not going to work today? Yes, I am going – or when you don't agree with a negative statement someone has made. It's basically a way of contradicting someone.
Tu ne comprends rien!… Si, si je comprends.
3. One word rules them all
Perhaps the first word we are ever taught in French is bonjour. But what they don't tell you is that bonjour isn't just a greeting, it's actually the most important word in the French language and if you use it correctly and frequently it will make life so much more pleasant for you in France.
It's likely to also help change that stereotype you had of impolite French people.
“You can never overdo it with bonjour,” says Julie Barlow author of the The Bonjour Effect: The Secret Codes of French Conversation Revealed.
“When you think you've said it too much, you're probably saying it just enough.”
4. But they often prefer kisses to goodbye
Perhaps the second word we are taught in French is Au Revoir which of course means goodbye, but you'll be surprised how little it is used in France, especially in informal situations.
Most people says Salut when they are saying goodbye but among friends you'll soon get used to saying bisous which basically means “kisses” (although actual kisses are obviously out at present).
Oh and that word you learned in school: Adieu – You can pretty much forget about it.
5. You can say “Re-hello”
Well, rebonjour to be exact, as the Earful Tower points out. That’s when you see someone for the second time on the same day. You can even say rebonsoir if the same thing happens in the evening. Although it needs to be pointed out rebonjour is often said in a kind of jokey way with a smile on your face.
6. They don’t say “hon, hon, hon” when they laugh
For some reason (that we try to explain here) people think the French tend to make the sound “hon, hon, hon” when they laugh. But have you ever heard a French person laugh like this in real life? No, nor have we. They laugh just as everyone else does… by laughing.
7. But they do say “bon…. bon… bon” all the time
As the guys at the Earful Tower point out, you'll need to stock up on your “bons” when you come to France.
“Everyone knows the French say bonjour and bonsoir, bon appetit, and even bonne journée.
“But I had no idea they say so many other bons, which you should really know. Every day of the week can have a bon (bon dimanche = Have a good Sunday). You can say bonne dégustation, bonne continuation, bonnes vacances, bonne chance and of course bon courage!
“The list goes on and on forever. It remains unknown at this point if, when buying candy, the seller says bon bonbon, but they probably do.”
READ ALSO Bon bon – why everything is good when you're speaking French
8. They have their own gestures like the “nose twist fist”
The French don't just communicate with words. The stereotype of the French being a nation of gesticulators is somewhat true.
But it’s not just that they love a good gesture it’s that until you are in the country of shrugs and shoulders you don’t realise that the French have their very own Gallic gestures for communicating.
9. They have the best sounding swear word
The chances are that if you've spent any time in France you've heard the word putain or Puuuuuuutaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiin!
Putain, is the most commonly-used swear word among French people (and among foreigners who've been here longer than three years.) But it's not one you'll learn at school. (You probably learnt merde meaning shit.)
Basically putain covers a whole range of emotions, from anger, to joy, fear to surprise.
For more on putain read: An ode to the greatest French swear word
10. They have really, really strong regional accents
French text books and exam listening exercises do not prepare you for trying to understand a man from deepest darkest Provence or a woman from the land of the “Ch’tis” in northern France.
Let’s not even talk about the Quebecois, whom you’ll likely need an interpreter for.
You can live in your corner of France for years and speak fluent French, but be prepared to feel like a beginner when you venture into another region.
11. They have their own sounds
It really shouldn't be surprising given that they have their own language but when you hear for the first time the French versions of certain sounds, you'll be taken aback.
For example beurk means yuk and miam means yum.
READ ALSO Ouch and 10 other sounds in French
12. Cocorico!
And of course French animals also have their own sounds. French donkeys don't go “hee-haw” they go “hi-han” while cockerels shout cocorico!
13. They don’t say Sacre bleu
There seems to be rule among the Anglophone press that every story about France has to begin with the phrase Sacre bleu! See below for example.
Except you soon realise that no one actually says it in France and the same goes for Zut alors! (although people do say Zut).
In fact it’s not just the mythical swear words that the French don’t actually use. There are a whole bunch of expressions, words and phrases you learn in school (or from the television) that they rarely use including “Je m’appelle…” and “Voulez vous couchez avec moi!”
14. You're either a mec or a meuf
Every French guy under 40 refers to every other French guy under 40 as mec (pronounced meck) while younger women often call each other meuf.
It could be translated as dude or mate. If you want to fit in in France, start your conversations with guys with a salut mec – hi mate – and voilà, you fit in.
Meuf, which comes from the French backwards slang Verlan (it's femme backwards), is simply the female equivalent, although it tends to have a slighter younger profile than mec.
15. They speak a backwards language
Over to the Earful Tower podcast for this one: “It’s called Verlan and it's essentially switching syllables in words around. Eg: Merci is Cimer.
“While this might sound like some kind of kids’ language, French people actually use it, provided they are under the age of 40. You may have used it without even knowing – the singer Stromae is Verlan for Maestro, the word Meuf comes from Femme (woman or girlfriend)… and the word Verlan itself… yep, it comes from L’envers (reverse).”
16. Mademoiselle isn't always acceptable
You might find it strange when you realise that such a common word is a contentious issue in France, but it is.
Mademoiselle is considered by some as sexist because it separates married women from single ones when the same distinction isn't applied to men, while if you're using it to a woman over a certain age or in a professional setting it can come across as patronising.
This has led to the word being banned from French administrative forms with feminist groups saying they want it phased out altogether.
There's a fuller explanation of the controversy here, but as a rule of thumb Madame is probably safer and unlikely to offend anyone.
17. Do you really know how to say Oui properly?
You'd be forgiven for thinking oui isn't one of the words you'll struggle with when you're in France.
But once here, you'll be confronted with all kinds of variations from the clipped oui you're familiar with to a more casual sounding ouaaaaaaaaii (pronounced almost like waaaayyyy) which can vary in length. Naturally this can lead to some confusion for the foreigners in town.
And there's also the mysterious inhaled oui that many French women do that you should be prepared for. It might sound like “whhhoui” or “wheeee” (we have no idea how to spell it). Avoid trying to do it as you might swallow your chewing gum. But you can see how it's done in the video below.
18. There's a testicle in the soup
It would have been great at school if they'd taught us some of the fantastic expressions the French use, because there are lots and they use them frequently.
They have expressions for sex, obviously and they have expressions for insulting people, equally obviously, and they have expressions that are just brilliant that they would never have taught you at school like 'There's a testicle in my soup' – Il y a un couille dans le potage – which is roughly equivalent to saying 'Houston, we have a problem'.
19. It's not Ooooh laa laa
The most famous three words in French Oh là là that we have pinched for English and changed to 'Ooooh la la' which is mostly used to describe something sexy aren't really used like that in French.
What you'll hear far more often is what sounds like “Or lorr lorr” as someone reacts to something they don't like or if they are shocked.
And the more shocked and horrified the more “lorr lorrs” you're likely to get.
It can also be used positively in which case it is more like oh là là. For a more detailed explanation of the Oh là là conundrum click below.
20. They have their own text speak
Once you settle in and make some French friends and inevitably starting messaging each other or checking out social media then you'll need to learn a whole new subset of terms.
MDR (LOL), MR6 (Merci), B1Sur (Bien sûr) are just a few of the abbreviated terms you can learn. But there are many more.
21. They have a load of shortened slang terms you can use
Chances are you'll hear the locals shorten many of the words you learned.
Comme d'habitude, D'accord and restaurant are more than shortened to comme d'hab, D'ac and resto. If you want to blend in then best learn them.
22. Don't be afraid to speak up because they will love your accent
We all love the sound of French people speaking English, but what you don’t realise until you get here is that the feeling is mutual.
Forget about the idea you had of being afraid to speak French in case a moody person runs out of patience because you’ll be surprised how often you can make the heart of a stony-hearted Parisian melt just with your “tres mignon” accent when speaking French.
23. Ouistiti!
The French don't say “cheese” when they are taking a photograph or even fromage for that matter. Officially they are meant to utter the word “ouistiti” which is also the name of a South American monkey.
Although many in France will deny people say “ouistiti” anymore”.
. . . and also
Once you've lived in France long enough and spent a lot of time speaking or reading French, something weird happens to your English and you start to think it's perfectly acceptable to talk about the Metro being perturbed or that a new rule will be precisioned tomorrow.
READ ALSO 9 'English' sentences that will only make sense if you live in France
Please whitelist us to continue reading.
Member comments