French phrases you NEED to know as a new French speaker because you will need them

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Join the Confident French Speaker Community for learners at the intermediate plateau : learn.frenchinplainsight.com/confident-french-speaker-community

[@sanjaysirwani1739]

I remember learning a form of asking someone to repeat with "plus doucement", which means asking someone to say it more softly, gently, as in more slowly and literally meaning more sweetly.

[@lisalu910]

"Le français n'est pas ma langue maternelle" By the time I finish the sentence, they already KNOW that! 😆

[@PhilipCrozet888]

Oh I really like that phrase: "Je vais surement commetre des erreurs"! I am often talking to my family and other people about my progress in French and so that gives me something different to say. Thank you!

[@sandykay7565]

Votre expression 'Le français n' est pas ma langue maternelle' sont beaucoup plus positive que 'je ne parle pas bien le français'! Merci beaucoup Alex!!

[@alaingilbert7577]

Bonjour, je suis francophone du Québec et je viens de connaître ta chaîne. Paradoxalement tes leçons de français sont parfait pour m'aider à comprendre mieux l'anglais car tu fait une traduction simultanée. Ton accent britannique m'aide aussi car le débit semble plus lent. Merci

[@thedavidguy01]

I think having these canned phrases ready to go is a great idea, and the ones you suggest are all very useful! I would suggest saying "J'ai pas compris tout" or "J'ai pas tout compris" instead of "J'ai pas compris" unless you're completely lost because, in my experience, they will switch to English (if they speak English) if you say "J'ai pas compris." Another one I find very useful is "Je suis désolé de vous déranger, mais..." and then make whatever request you need to make (of course, you previously said bonjour).

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Great input. Thanks David. Many of the expressions can be modified with adverbs, and mix them with others to make even more natural phrases. "J'ai pas tout compris" is the correct construction. :)

[@thedavidguy01]

@@FrenchinPlainSight Now I'm annoyed with myself because that's not a mistake I "should" make. Sigh. Apparemment, je n'ai rien appris.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

@@thedavidguy01 don't be. Pick your battles. There'll be many other things you say incorrectly that you'll never know about!

[@blueblueyt7542]

Yeah I don't like admitting anything at all, because the minute you show you're struggling, people often think they're helping you by switching to English. It's a failing of mine, but if I really haven't understood everything (often the case) I just let them go on believing that I have, as long as I get the gist. Then I go and practice in private. Of course this is ok as long as I haven't been asked something important and I've missed the key words. On the other hand, if I don't want to speak rapid French,, I've often found it the case that I can't admit to any French at all, since the appeals for 'slowness' are never met. It seems that the French really like to speak at breakneck speed.

[@alfredvikingelegant9156]

@@thedavidguy01 Hi Guy! You should rather say : " je n'ai pas compris " which is correct. If you say "j'ai pas compris ", it's a popular way of talking, but not entirely correct, because you forget the negativ "ne". In the same way, don't say : " j'aime pas " But "je n'aime pas". And à propos (about) the expression : " je suis désolé..." which many French use all the time, i don't like it. This expression exists for about 30 years. It sounds excessive to me. You should rather say: " excusez-moi mais... " For example: " Excusez-moi, mais je ne vous ai pas compris..." instead of: " désolé mais je vous ai pas compris.." 😉

[@ruel6015]

Je suis francophone du Québec ! Votre façon d'expliquer et de vous exprimer est vraiment super, non seulement pour ceux et celles qui désire bien comprendre et s'exprimer en français mais tout autant pour ceux et celles qui veulent bien parler l'anglais !! Vous êtes très articulé sans être "peteux de broue" comme on dit chez nous !! I dont no how can i translate it in english sorry but vous êtes vraiment intéressant à écouter!! Merci beaucoup! Myriam :)

[@mohammadahsansiddiqui5740]

I absolutely love your channel. Please, never stop uploading these videos. You are doing a great job.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Glad you like them!

[@lllordllloyd]

@@FrenchinPlainSight He's right Alex. I came to France with no language, to work for English-speaking bosses and clients. Over time, my vocabulary has improved but that's only part of it. I heavily relate to your material and get a lot out of every video. Greetings from Arras.

[@lllordllloyd]

@@FrenchinPlainSight Also, the workbook link takes me to a general website but it does not help me find your work book. What search terms to use, mate?

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

​ @lllordllloyd Hey thanks for the heads up about the link. Here's the right one bit.ly/3qMPU7L Glad you resonate with my videos. That's why I make 'em :). Keep an eye out for more.

[@ramaaah]

Your videos are full of empathy 🤗🙏🏽

[@laynes1232]

J'ADORE ! C'est parfait à savoir, merci beaucoup !

[@Yornek1]

when he said arbre, I was able to know this meant tree, thanks Duolingo.

[@zulkiflijamil4033]

Bonjour Alex. Mon exemple; comment on dit en français " exciting". Votre canal est excellent. Et merci beaucoup. 🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆👍👍👍👍👍

[@HươngGiangHoàng-n9u]

thanks teacher

[@assuntakoay2035]

Yr surely filling a gap We beginners need confidence to tackle functional French

[@qingcusumano3873]

I’ve yet come to use these phrases, yet I’ve taken notes of all. Merci beaucoup ❤

[@JRSOLO1974]

You are always amazing in giving us the lesson of French Language.

[@noeblaze2650]

i know Im asking randomly but does anyone know of a way to log back into an Instagram account..? I was stupid lost my password. I would appreciate any help you can offer me

[@tysonmaddux1126]

@Noe Blaze instablaster :)

[@noeblaze2650]

@Tyson Maddux Thanks for your reply. I got to the site on google and Im in the hacking process now. Takes quite some time so I will reply here later when my account password hopefully is recovered.

[@noeblaze2650]

@Tyson Maddux It did the trick and I actually got access to my account again. Im so happy! Thanks so much, you saved my account!

[@tysonmaddux1126]

@Noe Blaze glad I could help =)

[@Buzzlightyear158]

🇫🇷 Salut ami! 🇫🇷 Thank you for giving out this amazing video Hopely I’ll be fluent in French soon Have a great day 😎

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

I hope so too!

[@PhilipCrozet888]

I got an insect bite and had to go to a French chemist to have it checked. I prepared what I wanted to say and it went relatively well, until the chemist ask me something about my reaction to the bite. I think she used the verb 'raye' (which has an accent on the 'e' and in English means 'scratch'. I had no idea what this word was at the time and didn't know how to proceed from there. When I got home, I reflected on this and looked up how to say: "Could you explain your meaning in another way", which in French is: "Pourriez-vous expliquer ce que vous voulez dire d'une autre maniere". This is longer than: "Est-ce que tu peux repeter" but it might help in certain situations where a single key word is not being understood.

[@EricaNernie]

Tres util. Merci.

[@katemorrison5358]

Really helpful video. Coming to France soon to practice my speaking so I’m sure I’ll need all these phrases ready to roll off the tongue. Thanks Alex.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Ouiiiii. C'est la meilleure stratégie !

[@hullabaloo7974]

Je viens d'envoyer cette fantastique vidéo à mes étudiants. Merci infiniment!!!

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Avec plaisir. Merci pour le partage :)

[@Karl61290]

Absolutely brilliant your channel ............love it on to listen to whilst I am woking , great way to help with learning the language

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Very happy to hear that Karl! Don't forget to listen to plenty of French too :). Mix it up :D

[@tetraqartet6798]

As an italian with a medium intermediate english level I find your channel so helpful in learning french from scratch! Apparently it fits me watching this first video. Cheers!

[@tantradossantos4501]

This was dope. Thanks!

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Glad you liked it!

[@GCWalch]

Love your channel because it's so practical. I have a suggestion for a video: Eating in a restaurant. I know you've already covered some of this but I'd love for you to delve deeper. Start with how to make reservations, then segue to arriving at the restaurant, what to say if they can't find your reservation. The biggest thing I'd like to hear is how to handle problems while at a restaurant. For example, what if the salad is grainy, like it hasn't been cleaned properly. How do you complain politely? How do you make sure you're aren't billed for it? And if you are billed, how do you dispute the bill? Another thing: It's not just about speaking but understanding the server and the host. Teach us common phrases by the server and host. e.g.: I went to a Paris restaurant and upon arriving was asked to wait at the zinc. Took me a long time to understand this means the bar.

[@darrenthompson3003]

Loved this helpful video🎉

[@meganmartinaux6407]

Brilliant content, clear, very helpful, saving time and YOU ARE THE BEST Alex!!!! Nobody teaches us learners these tricks! Thank you so happy I found your channel.

[@Alexanders7566]

Most of the time I'd go more into native speakers channels but you're so much different and of course I loved the video

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Every learner needs different voices, different points of view to create a complete picture. Thanks for choosing me, and leaving a comment!

[@bkp_s]

How nicely you boosted the moral of a learner.merci beaucoup monsieur

[@priyaramadas6964]

THANK YOU ALEX! that was super helpful.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

You're welcome Priya :)

[@adrianpierce1687]

Just can’t get enough of these. Thanks for sharing all these, Alex!

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

You're welcome Adrian! What is your biggest challenge right now?

[@Machobravo]

Great job.

[@marizamentzou3293]

Stumbled upon your channel today, love it!! Thanks for posting these vids :)

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Thanks for watching :)

[@viethabernardon8877]

Merci pour ton super travail je suis française mais ce que tu fais par passion aide non seulement les non francophones à apprendre nle français mais aussi les non anglophones à apprendre l’anglais j’ai du apprendre le français quand j’étais adolescent quand je suis venue vivre en France le français est maintenant si naturel que je ne me rend plus compte combien cette langue est compliquée, souvent illogique donc ton "c’est quoi ce bordel"? me fait énormément rire thanks for this amazing work see you soon because i’m now your follower i’m so eager to learn how to speak English fluently merci beaucoup à bientôt love from France

[@richardhepburn4746]

Great ! Very useful and helpful , delivered by a considerate and very good coach , big thanks 👍👍👍

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Glad you enjoyed it Richard!

[@mamatashahane3946]

Je m'adore tous les vidéos de votre

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Merci beaucoup. C'est très gentil ! J'adore toutes vos vidéos*

[@tonyiannazzo1072]

Hello yes you are always amazing in giving us the lesson of French Language. another great video

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

My pleasure!

[@enriquesanchez2001]

EXCELLENT ♥

[@mkalinecpf5206]

Merci beaucoup pour courage, je etudie la francais le troisieme livres. J'habite ici a Brussels. Am enjoying your explanations and finding it easy to understand, I think am completely okay with conversation now hahahah I used to fear to say wrong words or pronouncing badly. You have truly helped me.

[@Yogawithjarell]

Vos vidéos sont trés utile. Je suis trés nouveau en francais langue

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Merci beaucoup et bon courage :)

[@matcradle]

Greetings from Nice!!

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Greetings from Montpellier !

[@bamboolaceway]

Thanks so much for these! I was sure I knew a few, but it turned out they were in your "The French don't really use these expressions this way anymore" list, so it's good to know the better way to speak. One thing I'm curious about. Years ago, when I was staying with a French family, I asked them, "Que dit le chien? Que'st-ce que dire les oiexeux?" They didn't understand what I meant. They said, ' Rien. Ils disent rien." So I tried to explain saying (in French) that in America, the dogs say, "Woof Woof!" Or "Bow Wow", and birds say "Tweet Tweet" or "Chirp Chirp" So, I guess I'm asking how I could have phrased the question for my host family better?

[@ClaireGrob]

maybe you'd phrase it as 'what noise do dogs make', 'les chiens font quel bruit'?

[@saileewagh6909]

Hi. I have moved to Paris a year back and trying to learn French since then. Your videos are really nice and I can totally relate to them. Like in this one where you said that I know it in back of my mind but it just doesn’t come out of the mouth and I end up looking stupid just nodding. Wanted to check do you also take pvt classes on zoom maybe

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Hi Sailee, I do offer some private classes. It depends what you're looking for. Please email me at [e-mail] and give me some more details. I will get back to you.

[@EasyFinnish]

Merci!

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

De rien!

[@letswatchhank2867]

J'adore vos vidéos, elles sont très utiles et inspirantes, je dis toujours "j'oublie comment dire ..." ou "j'ai oublié comment dire ..." (plus parce que j'aime dire "oublie" and it helps me remember past tense construction), c'est ça quelque chose que les gens disent en France?

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Oui on dit "j'ai oublié comment dire..." et "je ne me souviens pas de comment dire..." souvent :)

[@kerrylosi1595]

Salut Alex. Je suis une nouvelle abonnée. Merci énormément pour ces astuces. Très intéressant. Je te souhaites un Joyeux Noël 🎄 et pleins de cadeaux sous le pied de sapin et joyeuses fêtes de fin d’année. Bon continuation..... salut de Brisbane, Australie. 🎄🥰

[@nancylindsay4255]

Salut Australie! Vive Adam Hills! Bonne santé à tout le monde de Madison, Wisconsin USA

[@michaeldonohue167]

Great practical advice

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Glad you enjoyed it Michael. How's your French?

[@michaeldonohue167]

@@FrenchinPlainSight I've been doing a lot of listening over the last six months but haven't spoken a word yet. I'm based in London.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

I'm sure you've spoken to yourself! You'll find you need these when you do start :)

[@maryleavey]

Trop facile pour moi ... La prochaine ?

[@rahuldeswal4894]

Bonjour Alex et je vous remercie pour faire cette vidéo en fait toutes les vidéos. Alors, est-ce-que on peut aussi dire, "C'est à dire"? Pardonnez-moi, si j'ai fait des erreurs de la grammaire. Passez une bonne journée!

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Bonjour Rahul. Oui tu peux. Ça dépend un peu de la phrase (comme d'habitude) mais en général, oui ça va bien :)

[@theterminator8854]

Could i say "comment es que je peux dire" + the actual word

[@yewandebini.26]

Hello Alex,your vids are very helpful. Thank you and well done. I was wondering if you wrote TEF exams or can give pointers to folks intending to write same. Thank you!

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Thank you Yewy for your kind words :). No, I didn't take the TEF but I did take the DELF B2 in 2016.

[@Kitiwake]

Je ne comprend pas... How much more, O Lord?😂😂😂

[@stellademua]

Is “pouvez vous répéter s’il vous plaît”also correct

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Tout à fait, oui. C'est juste un petit peu plus formel, c'est tout.

[@stellademua]

@@FrenchinPlainSight merci 😂☺️☺️

[@lisaahmari7199]

Alex...thank you for the great video, as usual. I wonder, could you say "Desolee, mon francais n'est pas encore trés fort"?

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Looks good to me. But as I'm not native I can be wrong on small details. I suggest using deepl translator and context reverso to double check

[@MUSCU1964]

Well in french we say " mon français n est pas encore très bon !"

[@Isabella_xx]

Bonjour d’abord je veux te remercier pour ta vidéos, ils sont très utile et m’aider beaucoup et deuxièmement j’ai une question, comment puis-je pratiquer ma parole si j’ai personne avec lequel parler qui parle francais

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Bonjour. Merci beaucoup de ton commentaire :). Je te conseille de trouver un prof/tuteur de conversation ou un partenaire de langue pour échanger gratuitement, plusieurs fois par semaine, chaque semaine. Je recommande fortement www.italki.com/i/BE6aA6?hl=en-us Grâce à Internet, on peut pratiquer n'importe quelle langue :). Après, si tu veux plus de structure, je pourrais t'aider avec le coaching :)

[@Isabella_xx]

French in Plain Sight merci beaucoup pour ta conseil, c’est très utile😊

[@nancylindsay4255]

Salut Cwazy Bella! If you're near a college or university, there may be a French club or "French table" that gets together for conversation where all levels are welcome. They may not be meeting during the pandemic, but there might even be some virtual meetings.

[@robertbrodie9453]

Merci beaucoup Alex. A quel age avez vous decide de vivre en France? Ou habitez en Angleterre?

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

J'avais 27/28 ans

[@antonyware9887]

« losing face ». My ego’s not that fragile thanks. 😂

[@MusaMohammed-s9h]

Because they say french is an easy language for english speakers but it seems very hard for me yet i am an English speaker .

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

I love that you brought this up. No language is either entirely easy or hard. It's all relative to: - Your native language. - Your experience with languages. - Whether you're talking about pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary... People tend to make general statements. It makes for easier conversation. I'm learning Danish and I got asked today if it was difficult. I said "I'm sorry, I can't give you a simple answer. Yes in some ways, in others, no." French and English share a lot of vocabulary. You can guess the French form of an English word quite often. In that case, it's easy. But, French has a lot of conjguations where English doesn'r. In this context, we'd say French is really hard. If you're Spanish, you're used to conjugations so the concept is easy but memorising the French ones is hard.... I've thought about this question a lot in 10 years as you can see. Keep going, and just know that it's normal that it's hard. But don't forget to notice when sometimes it's easy :D Tout est relatif dans l'apprentissage d'une langue :D

[@gringo19860]

When you ask these things about not understanding, repeating, slowing down etc., should you apologize first ('Je suis desole...' or even just 'pardon' or 'excusez-moi...'). Or are the French not really big on apologies?

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

The French appreciate those polite phrases perhaps even more than where I'm from (UK). I just don't recommend apologizing for your level of French. I explain why in this one kzbin.info/www/bejne/rIvRZ6t-qt6FY5o

[@MusaMohammed-s9h]

Does French get easier with time.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Of course. Like everything in life. Time and effort = improvement. A lot of how easy/hard it is depends on your mindset. Stay strong. 💪

[@pierreverhaeghe-windsor7108]

Sorry but i would say : comment ça s'appelle quand ...

[@zulkiflijamil4033]

Qu'est ce ç ça veut dire arbre?

[@barfuss2007]

The first year in school I was very bad in french so I got private lessons by a french native speaker. She NEVER spoke a german or english word to me! That is my advice for you here too. Your "french" sounds very british, try to speak smoother and faster and try to increase the modulation of your voice. And if you don´t know a french word try to paraphrase it. That is much more polite that to use an english word. I would hate that as a french. And the most important sentence for you: Voulez vous coucher avec moi ma chérie?

[@nawarnawar5822]

Hi. There are some questions that I want to ask You might find them silly but they are really essential for me. Can we say : comment l'acteur s'appelle ? You said that in everyday life people don't switch between pronouns ( subjects) and verbs when they ask questions so is that correct in writing or in formally writing? What I noticed is that there are tons of ways to ask questions in French language so are all of these ways acceptable? Why do they say :comment ça marche when there is " ça" but they say comment marche l'ordinateur ( for example) ? " ça" came before the verb marche but " l'ordinateur" came after it. Merci J'ai envie de apprendre le français mais je le trouve très difficile.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

It's not silly. I totally see why you would feel overwhelmed with this! I think it's a question of "what is completely grammatically correct French and what is everyday spoken French?" In the latter, the French modify stuff, break rules, add stuff, etc. So, "comment l'acteur s'appelle ?" is completely grammatically correct, but in my experience, the French would rather SAY "comment s'appelle l'acteur ?" or even "comment il s'appelle, l'acteur ?" "Comment marche ça ?" is something I would never here. It sounds so strange to me now, after 5 years in the country. I am guessing that you don't live in a French speaking country? Let me say that it's great that you're curious about that. You should stay curious! However, you also need to be pragmatic. This is one subtlety that shouldn't stop you practicing your speaking. There's no way you can learn all the little nuances of spoken French without being around it a lot, either in the country or by simulating it at home. So, I recommend you keep learning, keep speaking YOUR French (Comment marche ça ?) and improve bit by bit :) Tu le trouves très difficile parce que tu passes trop de temps à comprendre les subtilités qui ne te serviront pas à ce stade de ton apprentissage. Note toutes ces choses intéressantes sur lesquelles tu tombes et puis passe à autre chose.

[@nawarnawar5822]

@@FrenchinPlainSight thank you sir for your recommendations.

[@graadlon]

Qu'est-ce que ça veut dire: c'est quoi..... ?je n'ai pas compris: hein?...lol 😁 est ce que tu peux répéter ?: hein?quoi?pardon?

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Voilà quoi. Bref, tu as compris. Tu vois ce que je veux quand même hein ? Quoi ?

[@graadlon]

@@FrenchinPlainSight en Bretagne il est très courant de finir ses phrases par quoi... Même si c'est pas une question. 😱 😂

[@olgazhelvakova1984]

Too much talking