Collins Gem. Collins Dictionaries

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Polite expressions

      There are two forms of address in French, formal (vous) and informal (tu). You should always stick to the formal until you are invited to tutoyer (use the informal tu).

The meal was delicious	Le repas était délicieux luh ruh-pa ay-teh day-lee-syuh
Thank you very much	Je vous remercie zhuh voo ruh-mehr-see
Delighted to meet you	Enchanté(e) ahñ-shahñ-tay
This is…	Voici… vwa-see…
my husband/my wife	mon mari/ma femme moñ ma-ree/ma fam
Enjoy your holiday!	Passez de bonnes vacances! pa-say duh bon va-kahñs!

Celebrations

      Christmas celebrations revolve around food as much as they do presents. They start on Christmas Eve (réveillon de Noël) with a lavish meal lasting many hours. The main course is usually goose, turkey, capon or white pudding followed by the traditional dessert, a bûche de Noël (Christmas log). Families start the celebrations with an apéritif before the meal accompanied by foie gras and elaborate amuse-bouche (nibbles). Champagne sometimes replaces the usual apéritif drinks.

I’d like to wish you a…	Je vous souhaite un/une… zhuh voo soo-eht uñ/ewn…
Merry Christmas!	Joyeux Noël! zhwa-yuh noh-el!
Happy New Year!	Bonne année! bon a-nay!
Happy Easter!	Joyeuses Pâques! zhwa-yuz pak!
Happy birthday!	Bon anniversaire! bon a-nee-vehr-sehr!
Have a good trip!	Bon voyage! boñ vwa-yazh!
Enjoy your meal!	Bon appétit! bon a-pay-tee!

Making friends

      In this section we have used the informal tu for the questions.

FACE TO FACE

Comment tu t’appelles? ko-mahñ tew ta-pel? What’s your name?

Je m’appelle… zhuh ma-pel… My name is…

Tu es d’où? tew ay doo? Where are you from?

Je suis anglais(e), de Londres zhuh swee zahñ-gleh(z), duh loñdr I am English, from London

Enchanté(e)! ahñ-shahñ-tay! Pleased to meet you!

De rien! duh ryañ! You’re welcome!

How old are you?	Quel âge as-tu? kel azh a tew?
I’m … years old	J’ai … ans zhay … ahñ
Are you French?	Tu es français(e)? tew ay frahñ-seh(z)?
I’m English/Scottish/American	Je suis anglais(e)/écossais(e)/américain(e) zhuh swee zahñ-gleh(z)/zay-ko-seh(z)/za-mayree-kañ/ken
England/English	l’Angleterre f/anglais(e) ahñ-gluh-tehr/ahñ-gleh(z)
Scotland/Scottish	l’Écosse f/écossais(e) ay-kos/ay-ko-seh(z)
Wales/Welsh	le Pays de Galles/gallois(e) pay-yee duh gal/ga-lwa(z)
Ireland/Irish	l’Irlande f/irlandais(e) eer-lahñd/eer-lahñ-deh(z)
USA/American	les États-Unis/américain(e) ay-ta-zew-nee/a-may-ree-kañ/ken
Australia/Australian	l’Australie f/australien(ne) oh-stra-lee/oh-stra-lyañ/lee-en
Where do you live?	Où est-ce que tu habites? oo es kuh tew a-beet?
Where do you live? (plural)	Où est-ce que vous habitez? oo es kuh voo za-bee-tay?
I live in London	J’habite à Londres zha-beet a loñdr
We live in Glasgow	Nous habitons à Glasgow noo za-bee-toñ a glaz-goh
I’m…	Je suis… zhuh swee…
single	célibataire say-lee-ba-tehr
married	marié(e) mar-yay
divorced	divorcé(e) dee-vor-say
I have…	J’ai… zhay…
a boyfriend	un petit ami uñ puh-tee-ta-mee
a girlfriend	une petite amie ewn puh-teet a-mee
I have a partner (male/female)	J’ai un compagnon/une compagne zhay uñ koñ-pa-nyoñ/ewn koñ-panyuh
I have … children	J’ai … enfants zhay … ahñ-fahñ
I have no children	Je n’ai pas d’enfants zhuh nay pas dahñ-fahñ
I’m here on holiday/on business/for the weekend	Je suis ici en vacances/en voyage d’affaires/en week-end zhuh swee zee-see ahñ va-kahñs/ahñ vwa-yazh da-fehr/ahñ wee-kend

Work

What work do you do?	Qu’est-ce que vous faites comme travail? kes kuh voo fet kom tra-va-yuh?
I’m…	Je suis… zhuh swee…
a doctor	médecin may-dsañ
a manager	directeur dee-rek-tur
a secretary	secrétaire suh-kray-tehr
I’m self-employed	Je travaille à mon compte zhuh tra-va-yuh a moñ koñt

Weather

temps variable tahñ va-ree-abl	changeable weather
beau boh	fine
temps orageux tahñ o-ra-zhuh	thundery weather

It’s sunny	Il y a du soleil eel ya dew so-lay
It’s raining	Il pleut eel pluh
It’s snowing	Il neige eel nezh
It’s windy	Il y a du vent eel ya dew vahñ
What a lovely day!	Quelle belle journée! kel bel zhoor-nay!
What awful weather!	Quel mauvais temps! kel moh-veh tahñ!
What will the weather be like tomorrow?	Quel temps fera-t-il demain? kel tahñ fuh-ra-teel duh-mañ?
Do you think it’s going to rain?	Vous croyez qu’il va pleuvoir? voo krwa-yay keel va pluh-vwar?
It’s very hot/cold	Il fait très chaud/froid eel feh treh shoh/frwa

Getting around

Asking the way

en face de ahñ fas duh	opposite
à côté de a ko-tay duh	next to
près de preh duh	near to
le carrefour luh kar-foor	crossroads
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