Travel France - French Phrases for Travelers
From LoveToKnow Travel
Learning a few French phrases for travelers is an essential part of planning any trip to France. The French sometimes have a reputation of being unfriendly towards tourists. Warm up the chilliest Parisian by learning a few French phrases before you visit France. Knowing that you took the time and effort to learn a little of their language goes a long way to easing relations between residents and tourists. Besides, even being able to use a few words and phrases allows visitors to communicate and share ideas with people of a different culture.
French Phrases for Travelers: The Basics
You’ll find that many words in French are familiar. French, like Spanish, has Latin as its base, and many English words are also derived from Latin.
Pronunciation
Many letters are pronounced the same in French as they are in English. A few exceptions are:
Ch is pronounced like sh in shut.
G, when before e, I, y is pronounced like g in manger.
G, when before a,o,u is pronounced like g in go.
H is always silent in French.
J is pronounced like s in pleasure.
Qu is pronounced like k in kiss.
The French r is rolled slightly.
Greetings
In France, it’s considered good manners to greet a shopkeeper when entering a store and to thank them when leaving. It’s also polite to greet the hotel front desk personnel and the hostess in a restaurant when you arrive. Use the following:
Bonjour (bawngzhoor) – Good morning, Good day, Good afternoon
Bonsoir (bawnsswahr) – Good evening
S’il vous plait (seel voo pleh) – Please
Merci (mehrsee) – Thanks
Au revoir (ov rervwahr) – Good bye
French Phrases for Travelers: At a Restaurant
At the Table:
La carte (cart) – the menu (in France, “menu” refers to a pre-set chef’s menu.
Le verre (vehr) – glass
Le couteau (kootoe) – knife
La serviette (sehrvyeht) – napkin
La Cuiller (kweeyay) – spoon
La forchette (forshette) – fork
Beverages:
Une biere (byehr) – beer
Du vin (dew van) - wine
De l’eau (der loa) – water
Du café (kahfay) – coffee
Du café au lait (kahfay o lay) – coffee with half warm milk
Du the (tay) - tea
Food:
Du fromage (frommazh) – cheese
Du poisson (pwahssawng) – fish
Du poulet (poolay) - chicken
De la viande (vyahngd) – meat
Des legumes (laygewm) – vegetables
Des fruits de mer (frwee der mehr) – seafood
Du pain (pan) – bread
De la salade (sahlahd) – salad
Condiments:
Du beurre (byehr) – butter
Du sel (sell) – salt
Du poivre (pwahvr) – pepper
Du sucre (sewkr) – sugar
Du vinaigre (veenehgr) - vinegar
Du citron (seetrawng) – lemon
Reading the Signs
Below are French phrases you will see posted all over France. Keep these in mind to better understand public notices.
Defense de Fumer – No Smoking
Entrée – Entrance
Sortie – Exit
Renseignements – Information
Arret – Stop (as in bus stop or stop sign)
Soldes - Sales (as in stores with price reductions)
Tirez - Pull
Poussez – Push
Hommes - Gentlemen
Dames – Ladies
Attention - Caution
Use a few French phrases for travelers to get the most out of your travel France vacation. Have fun with it and reap the benefits of sharing your ideas with people from another country. Bon Voyage!
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