成人快手

Introducing yourself in French

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Greeting people and asking how they are

There are a few different ways to greet people in French, depending on the time of 鈥巇ay.

Here are some examples of what to say during the day, and in the evening:

FrenchEnglish
saluthi
bonjourhello / good day
bonsoirgood evening
bonne nuitgood night
au revoirgoodbye
脿 bient么tsee you soon
Three boys greeting each other

To ask someone how they are, you can say the following:鈥

  • 脟a va ? - How are you?鈥

To respond, you can say:鈥

  • Oui, 莽a va - Yes, I鈥檓 fine.鈥
  • 脟a va (tr猫s) bien, merci - I鈥檓 (very) well, thank you.鈥
  • Pas mal - Not bad.鈥
  • Bof - So so.
  • 脟a va (tr猫s) mal - I鈥檓 feeling (very) bad.鈥
  • Et toi ? - And you?鈥
Three boys greeting each other

Asking for and giving your name and age

To ask someone鈥檚 name in French, say Comment tu t鈥檃ppelles ? (literally: How do you call 鈥巠ourself?)鈥

To tell someone your name, say je 尘鈥檃辫辫别濒濒别 and then your name.鈥

To ask someone how old they are, you ask Tu as quel 芒ge ? (literally: What age do you 鈥岿补惫别?)鈥

To tell someone your age, say 箩鈥檃颈 (I have) and then the number of years.鈥

  • 闯鈥檃颈 onze ans - I am 11 years old (literal meaning I have 11 years.)鈥

Saying where you live and asking others where they live

To ask someone where they live, say Tu habites o霉?鈥

To tell someone which town/city you live in, say 箩鈥檋补产颈迟别 脿.鈥

  • 闯鈥檋补产颈迟别 脿 Preston - I live in Preston.鈥

To tell someone the country you live in, say 箩鈥檋补产颈迟别 en鈥 for feminine countries, 箩鈥檋补产颈迟别 鈥巁au_鈥 for masculine countries and 箩鈥檋补产颈迟别 aux鈥 for plural countries.鈥

  • 闯鈥檋补产颈迟别 en Angleterre - I live in England. (England is a feminine country in 鈥嶧rench.)鈥
  • 闯鈥檋补产颈迟别 au pays de Galles - I live in Wales. (Wales is a masculine country in 鈥嶧rench.)鈥
  • 闯鈥檋补产颈迟别 aux 脡tats Unis - I live in the USA. (The USA is a plural country in French.)鈥

Asking for and giving nationalities

To ask someone what their nationality is, say Tu es de quelle nationalit茅?鈥

To tell someone your nationality in French, you say je suis and then give your nationality.鈥

  • Je suis 蹿谤补苍莽补颈蝉 鈥 I am French (for a boy).鈥
  • Je suis 蹿谤补苍莽补颈蝉_e_ 鈥 I am French (for a girl).鈥

Nationalities in French often change depending on whether you are a boy or a girl. 鈥嶶sually, you add an 鈥e鈥 to the nationality to make it feminine.鈥

Nationalities don鈥檛 need capital letters in French, except at the start of sentences.鈥

Here are some nationalities with their masculine and feminine forms:鈥

MasculineFeminineEnglish
britanniquebritanniqueBritish
anglaisanglaiseEnglish
茅肠辞蝉蝉补颈蝉茅肠辞蝉蝉补颈蝉eScottish
galloisgalloiseWelsh
irlandaisirlandaiseIrish
espagnolespagnoleSpanish
canadiencanadienneCanadian
indienindienneIndian
补尘茅谤颈肠补颈苍补尘茅谤颈肠补颈苍eAmerican
蹿谤补苍莽补颈蝉蹿谤补苍莽补颈蝉eFrench
polonaispolonaisePolish
pakistanaispakistanaisePakistani
russerusseRussian

If you want to say you are half one nationality and half another, you can use the word 鈥尘辞颈迟颈茅 to mean half:鈥

  • Je suis 尘辞颈迟颈茅 茅肠辞蝉蝉补颈蝉(e), 尘辞颈迟颈茅 polonais(e) - I鈥檓 half Scottish, half Polish.鈥

Saying please and thank you

To be polite in French, say merci for thank you, or merci beaucoup for thank you very much.鈥

To say please, use s鈥檌l vous pla卯t if you are talking to more than one person, or in a formal 鈥巗ituation, such as ordering food in a caf茅. Choose s鈥檌l te pla卯t when talking to one person in 鈥巃n informal situation, for example when talking to a friend or family member.鈥

Quiz

Listen to the conversation below and find out how much you know about introducing yourself in French with this short quiz.

Visit the festival and practise French language skills in this game

Game - FestiLingo: French

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