French language attracts with its beauty. It is spoken by 270 million people around the world. In this article, you will learn how to speak politely in French.
In this article, you will learn how to say “please” in French and figure out in which situations to use them.
Why learn French
French is distinguished by its melody. In conversation, the Frenchman’s voice rises and falls. From the fact that the words in the sentence are interconnected, speech sounds like one melody. Thanks to this, French seems like an incredibly beautiful language. This is one of the reasons why it is very popular.
Another reason to learn French is the history and culture of the country. Everyone who loves Hugo, Dumas, Voltaire and other famous personalities wants to read their works in the original, speak their language and even think in it.
French is the official language of the United Nations. It is spoken by almost 300 million people around the world. For 35 countries of the world, French is the official language.
"Please" in Russian and French
Being in another country, people cannot avoid communicating with its residents in the local language. No matter how you try to disengage from the outside world, in an unfamiliar place you sometimes have to ask for directions, ask for help or find out some important information.
It is difficult to survive without knowing the language in a foreign country. That is why tourists before the trip learn the basics of a foreign language or, in extreme cases, take phrasebooks with them.
However, not everyone knows, for example, how to pronounce "please" in French. In phrasebooks, pronunciation in Russian letters is not always prescribed.
Moreover, in Russian, the word "please" we can use:
- When we ask for something. For example: Please give me this book .
- When we respond to the request. For example: Is it possible with you? - You are welcome.
- When we respond to gratitude. For example: Thank you very much! - Please .
- When we transmit something. For example: Please, your patch .
- When we experience emotions: indignation, indignation, surprise, etc. For example: Here you are !
- When we want to be polite. For example: Please weigh me this piece of meat.
In French, in these situations we use different words and phrases. Let’s try to figure out how “please” will be in French in different speech situations.
Request and response to thanks
So, in French, there are two variants of the word "please" when requested:
- S'il vous plaît - sil wu ple (the pronunciation of "please" in French Russian letters). The phrase “sil wu ple” is used either when referring to a lot of people, or to express respect in an official speech.
- S'il te plaît - sil te ple . This phrase is used in an appeal to loved ones, peers, and generally to everyone with whom you are "you."
When we want to respond to gratitude, the phrases “silu ple ple” and “sil te ple” do not fit. There are several options for please in French in response to thank you.
- Je vous en prie - je vousanpri. This is a common phrase in response to "merci". This is a respectful form of appeal.
- Je t'en prie - je tanpri. The same phrase, but when referring to "you."
There are several colloquial phrases that the French use in everyday life:
- Il n'y a pas de quo i or just Pas de quoi - il nya pa de qua / pa de qua - " for nothing."
- C'est tout à fait normal - se here and fe normal - "everything is fine."
- C'est vraiment peu de choses - se vraeman pe de choz - "this is a mere trifle."
The following phrase is similar to the Spanish De nada :
- De rien - le ryan - "not at all." This is an abbreviated version of the phrase Ne me remerciez de rien ( ), translated into Russian - "Do not thank me for anything."
The English often use the phrase "No problem" in their speech - No problem. The French also began to use this combination. Often this is the answer to Excusez-moi ( Exusa moa) , that is, "sorry."
- Pas de problème - pa to problems - "no problems."
- Y'a pas de souci - I'm pa de sushi - "no problem" (this is a more colloquial version of the phrase above).
Regional thanks phrases
In Quebec, residents respond to "thank you" like this:
- Bienvenue - Bianwen - please. Looks like English. You are welcome.
This expression sounds in Lorraine (northeast of France) and in the western regions of Switzerland:
- À votre service - but the service is “at your service."
If you want to indicate that helping a person was a joy to you, then you can use the following phrases:
- C'est un plaisir - setan plaisir - "this is pleasure" ("with pleasure").
- Ça me fait plaisir - sa me fe plaisir - "I enjoyed it."
And this phrase often sounds in the south of France in the city of Toulouse:
- Avec plaisir - avek plaisir - "with pleasure".
However, if you say so in the north of France, you may be misunderstood.
Where French is needed
In some cases, you can not do without knowledge of the French language:
- You are going to work in France. There is no language here. You can start a career in a French company in Russia, but you have to learn the language anyway.
- You are going to live in countries where French is the official language. The French respect their culture, so getting away with knowledge of English will not work here.
- You are going to study in France. Higher education will require you to have a high level of knowledge of a foreign language.
From this article you learned how in French "please", studied several options for its use, depending on the situation.
If you want to study the language seriously, then you have to master the basics of the language: phonetics, grammar, spelling, vocabulary.