Language in use

French for travelling

Hotel, station, café and the way to the chemist’s: French that helps at once on the road.

Why this field

French is spoken in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Canada and across large parts of Africa. Saying a few sentences in French instead of switching straight to English changes the welcome noticeably.

The situations repeat themselves, and so do the formulas. It is the small courtesies that decide how a conversation goes.

Sentences to say aloud

The label says where a sentence belongs. The speaker next to it reads it aloud.

1. Bonjour, j’ai une réservation au nom de Becker.Hello, I have a reservation under the name Becker.

   neutral

2. Excusez-moi, pour aller à la gare, s’il vous plaît ?Excuse me, how do I get to the station, please?

   polite The shortened question with pour aller à… is the usual way to ask for directions.

3. Un aller-retour pour Lyon, s’il vous plaît.A return to Lyon, please.

   neutral

4. Est-ce que le petit-déjeuner est compris ?Is breakfast included?

   neutral

5. Vous pouvez me l’écrire, s’il vous plaît ?Could you write it down for me, please?

   polite

6. Il y a une pharmacie près d’ici ?Is there a chemist’s near here?

   neutral

7. Je voudrais une carafe d’eau, s’il vous plaît.I’d like a jug of water, please.

   polite A carafe d’eau is tap water and free in restaurants.

8. On se retrouve devant la gare à huit heures ?Shall we meet in front of the station at eight?

   casual In speech on usually means "we".

9. L’addition, s’il vous plaît.The bill, please.

   neutral

10. Pardon, je ne parle pas très bien français.Sorry, I don’t speak French very well.

    neutral

What matters here

• Bonjour first: in France every conversation starts with it, in shops and at counters too. A question without a greeting comes across as rude.
• With strangers you say vous. tu is kept for friends, family and children.
• In speech a question is often marked by the voice alone: Il y a une pharmacie près d’ici ? That is correct, not sloppy.

Try it yourself

Read the meaning, say the sentence aloud in French, then open it to compare.

1. Hello, I have a reservation under the name Becker.

   Bonjour, j’ai une réservation au nom de Becker.

2. A return to Lyon, please.

   Un aller-retour pour Lyon, s’il vous plaît.

3. Could you write it down for me, please?

   Vous pouvez me l’écrire, s’il vous plaît ?

4. I’d like a jug of water, please.

   Je voudrais une carafe d’eau, s’il vous plaît.

More fields

Every sentence on this page was written for EveryLingua. There are no quotations from films, series, books or songs here, and no titles or names of artists — the page shows how people talk in this field, not what somebody once said.