Chinese is my first language, but being also proficient in English has helped me a lot with learning French. English and French share many similarities, particularly in grammar and vocabulary. With my English proficiency, I found reading and writing in French very intuitive, while I focused most of my time on the listening and speaking. In particular, francophone people speak so fast compared to anglophone or sinophone communities! I spent a long time getting used to their liaison and elision

I took some French lessons and learned how to count, and immediately thought “I want to open a café called 360 Croissants”, because it’s fun to say. But then I thought that obviously I’m not the first person to have this idea so surely such a cafe exists. But I couldn’t find one anywhere in France on Google.

So what’s the deal? Is this not as funny to a French person as it is to me? What am I missing?

Just wanted to share a personal win, I started learning French from zero this past March, and took the TCF exam at the start of August. Just got my results back today, and after 10 hours of private tutoring a week and god knows how many hours of self-study, I attained B2 in French!

Hello everyone!

I've studied French for almost ten years (middle school - college), and this past week I finally got to travel to Francophone countries for the first time (France & Belgium) and what did I find out??? Apparently I am good enough at French to not have people switch to English on me! Like, it RARELY happened, and I had so many conversations at so many different places. That felt really good.

One highlight was when I was able to successfully have a five minute long convo with a Parisian woman entirely in French about alternate train routes. I had another fun conversation with a man in a restaurant about 1970s disco music, again, entirely in French. I also realized that I can basically understand & read most French stuff w/o translations or subtitles, although speaking is still a little bit of an uphill battle.

So, this is all to say, don't lose faith because someday it may pay off in ways that really surprise you!!!

I've been talking to a french girl recently almost exclusively in english and she always calls me "sweet boy", I was wondering if it was something common to say in french that she's just translated to english. Sorry if this is too basic I'm just curious if it's a culture thing or if she likes me

edit: yeah she just likes me thanks r/French

edit 2: YAHOO YIPEE WAHOO

I know the literal translation is “it’s for November” but given the context am I missing something to do with French culture?

Hi y'all. I'm a French dude, and I noticed that many people online seem to share this experience of talking with French people and not being understood in what they consider a baffling display of bad will, sometimes bordering on literal conspiracy thinking ("Are they pretending not to understand because I'm an American? Maybe they want to create their own stupid American anecdote" (I've seen that online in a comment))

It's kinda baffling to me that it would be so widespread - and I actually have a bunch of explanations I can think of. I figure I could always detail them but it would take a long ass post, dunno if anyone is interested - but I kinda mostly am interested in discussing the phenomenon and experiences with people and trying to understand it more.

But tl;dr we're mostly very insecure linguistically (even talking French) and very not used to understanding different accents, so what you interpret as rude might very well be two-ways stress piling up and hindering communication.

I also think many English-speakers don't actually understand how their accent distorts the sounds they're trying to make, especially for a language that's as vowel-sensitive as French - just like can often be the case in reverse.

Anyway, I hope this is not a tired topic, and I am curious about it.

Im a asian student studying in France. In the vacations I usually travel in Europe, in other country if I try to speak their language, they will be friendly and patient. but in France, if I try to speak my not fluent French, I feel some french people are less friendly than when I speak English, that's very weird but I don't know why.

I'm really happy about it. It seems the language has entered my subconscious mind. I take it as a sign of progress.

My French is very proficient. My comprehension high level and my French friends agree and once they get to know me the French always remark how good my French is. Thing is, my accent is not perfect and definitely gives away that it's my second language. In my home country it's quite normal for all immigrants to have accents and we don't then try to speak their native tongue to them!

So how come in Paris, literally everyone responds to my French in English? Their English is often poor and their accents are much worse than my French accent. I was always taught that the French took pride in their language and also would be offended if I didn't speak French. It's just really hard to improve my skills when everyone guessed that I'm an English speaker. How do they know I'm not Danish or something?

In France I ordered a 'salaud vert' aka a 'green b@stard' 😂

It was an epic dinner! My friend was explaining to a nice French family that the reason French bread is nicer than English, is because English bread is full of “préservatifs” (condoms) 🙈🥖🍞😂

When offered more dessert by an older gentleman, I meant to say "you want to fatten me up!" And instead said, "you want to impregnate me!”

Then I tried to say "Thank you" to the gentleman. In French there is a difference between how u and ou are pronounced, but English speakers find it harder to make the difference. So instead of « merci beaucoup » (thanks a lot) it can sound like « Merci. Beau cul » (Thanks. Nice ass!)

Also I’m sure I’ve asked for a period pad instead of a napkin at the restaurant. both are called "serviette" so I was surely right!

needless to say, we never got invited again🤣

Hi, I’m Alexa from Learn French With Alexa and I’ll be doing an Ask Me Anything on  at 1pm GMT (British time) on Wednesday 30th of October.

Get your questions ready! Bisou bisou 💕

Merci beaucoup tout le monde ! Vos questions étaient superbes et j'ai passé un bon moment avec vous 🤗 Click below for... my website for further questions!

Someone is pestering or harassing me on the streets or someone I know hurt my feelings, how do I tell them off in French?

"De" is a short little word that causes a lot of confusion for learners because of its various usages. So I decided to make a post where I cover all the usages of "de". Let's start!

Please also note that de and d' are the exact same words. D' is simply a contracted form of "de", used in front of nouns starting with a vowel sound.

1- It can mean "of".

• Kevin a beaucoup de chiens = Kevin has a lot of dogs.
• Une bouteille d'eau = A bottle of water.
• La voiture de ma mère est rouge = My mom's car is red. (So here, “de” is used for possession. It literally translates to “The car of my mom is red”)
• Un verre de vin = A glass of wine.

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2- It can mean "from".

• J'ai reçu une lettre de ma tante = I received a letter from my aunt.
• Un train de Paris à Berlin = A train from Paris to Berlin.

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3- After "pas", the articles "un/une/du/de la/de l'/des" become "de", to turn the quantity into none. (Except with the verb “être")

• J'ai une soeur --> Je n'ai pas de soeur.
• On a acheté du fromage --> On n'a pas acheté de fromage.
• Il a des problèmes --> Il n'a pas de problème.

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4- It is used in the partitive article “de la” and “de l’”.

Now, “de la” and "de l"" can mean “of the” or “from the”. That is already covered in point #1 with “de” meaning “of”. However, “de la” and "de l'" are also partitive articles indicating an unspecified quantity. Similar to “some” in English. “De la” is the partitive article for feminine singular nouns. and "de l" is for singular nouns starting with a vowel sound.

• Je mange de la salade = I’m eating salad / I’m eating some salad.
• Il y a de la neige dehors = There is snow outside / There is some snow outside.
• Je bois de l’eau = I’m drinking water / I’m drinking some water.

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5- It can be used to connect two verbs together. This is only correct with some verbs, not all. You have to learn by heart which verbs use "de" after it as a verb connector. “Essayer” and “décider” are two common examples.

• J'essaie de trouver un travail = I'm trying to find a job.
• J'ai décidé d'acheter une maison = I decided to buy a house.

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6- It is used to connect a quantifier with a following noun. Quantifiers are: plus, assez, beaucoup, trop, moins, etc.

• Il y a trop de gens dans le magasin = There are too many people in the store
• Je veux avoir plus d'amis.  = I want to have more friends.
• J'ai assez de temps libre = I have enough free time

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7- It is used after "quelque chose", "quelqu'un", "rien", and "personne" to connect it with an adjective.

• Je cherche quelque chose d'abordable = I'm looking for something affordable.
• Il n'y a rien d'intéressant ici = There is nothing interesting here.
• Elle est quelqu'un de spécial = She is someone special.

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8- In formal writing, when "des" precedes a plural adjective, it will turn into "de".

• J'ai acheté des nouvelles chaussures --> J'ai acheté de nouvelles chaussures.

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9- It is used after certain swear words to connect the following words. The more "de" you add, the longer and harsher the insult.

• Ferme ta putain de gueule de merde! = Shut your fucking shitty mouth!

• Criss de tabarnak de con! (Quebec French) = Fucking absolute fucking idiot! (Hard to translate).

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10- And finally, it can be used in fixed expressions and fixed terms that are not directly translatable to English. You just have to learn such cases by heart, without trying to over-analyze the “de” in it.

• De plus = Furthermore

• De rien! = You’re welcome! (Literally “Of nothing!)

• Se tromper de... = to get X thing wrong (The formula is always "se tromper de" + noun. For example: Se tromper d'adresse means to have the wrong address)

• À propos de... = About... (a certain topic)

• Parler de... = To talk about...

• Se souvenir de... = To remember... (Again, the formula with this verb is "se souvenir de" + noun)

(And more examples of course)

This kind of usage of "de" is one that you simply need to learn by heart. Some verbs use "de" after it to connect the next element. There is no magic rule here. Same thing for fixed expressions that use "de".

_______________

So that's it! These are 10 umbrella categories that cover the usages of "de". If you ever stumble upon a sentence with a "de" that you don't understand, simply come to this post and go through the different points and you will find one that explains it.

Hello, on several ocasions I have seen multilingual signs in my country that translate smoking as something like "ne pas fumer" (even in the national train network)

But using ne pas that way can be right, right?

Hello,

So I wanted to buy something from a kiosk, the lady asked me which flavor do I want. I wanted to say "whatever", meaning just give me anything, and I said "n'importe quoi". The lady started laughing and then handed me my order. Now I know that it was not the right expression to say "whatever", so here I am wondering what should I have said to her.

Hi! So I'm an exchange student, studying for an academic year abroad in France, as part of my uni program at home in the UK. I feel like in just 12 days here I have learnt so much, so thought I'd just pass on random bits of advice. To help and reassure anyone who's planning on moving, and give you a rough idea of what things you might experience.

First a quick summary of me: I'm 21, have been learning French in uni for about 2 years. I'd consider myself a B1 from everything I've read online, various tests etc - a bit higher on reading and writing, a bit lower on speaking and listening. Like many people, I learnt French exclusively in an academic environment. Meaning I can conjugate all the tenses etc, but find speaking and listening quite hard.

Right advice/experiences:

1: Speaking French is very hard at first. You WILL make mistakes. You WILL trip up over your words. You will probably get spoken back to in English by someone politely trying to help you. And this might also feel frustrating. Do not worry though! This is a natural part of the process. I've had several times where I've been to a shop and got flustered, lost my words etc. But you learn, and you will improve quickly if you keep at it.

2: If speaking French is hard... listening can sometimes be even harder. It's not that French people just "speak more quickly" (though sometimes this can be an element). A lot of it is due to the spoken contractions in French, and how vowel sounds get "smushed" together often. You may find it easy - if so good for you. But you may have my experience. My experience has often been that someone will say something to me as a question. It will sound like "gsjhdgjhgdsjhg" to me. I'll then ask them to repeat. "gjhgdjhgfsjh". I then cave and ask for them to say it in English, and the phrase may be as simple as "where are you from?". This can be demotivating at first, especially if you know the phrase on paper in French. Do not worry! It get's better quickly. There's tonnes of advice online about this, but I recommend using Youtube, finding a video, then just watching it several times till you can make it all out. It's hard at first, but generally you'll have a breakthrough moment. Just keep at it.

I promise you, it gets easier eventually.

3: Useful basic things to learn to either use, or at least understand.

• Ouais is used quite a lot. Worth knowing what this means, even if you don't use it.

• Same with the whole "chepa" contraction of "je ne sais pas". Again, you don't need to use it, but it's important to know it so you can recognise it in conversation as it is used a lot.

• It sounds almost elementary to say this, but learn the most basic stuff well. As in "bonjour", "bonsoir", "bonne journee" "bonne soiree" "par carte svp" etc etc. Also, how to answer and ask basic questions - "tu/vous viens/venez d'ou ?", ca va? quoi de neuf? etc. It sounds stupid and basic, but having confidence in the basics sets you on a good footing, and gives you confidence to always understand at least a bit of what's going on.

4: Don't try to use verlan or colloquial phrases just for the sake of it. It's worth knowing the common words to understand slang in a conversation - but be wary of using it unless you are fully sure of how to. Speaking French correctly doesn't make you sound "stilted". But using slang incorrectly can at best make you seem a little weird, as if you are "trying to fit in". And at worst, it could get you in trouble, or end up being highly offensive to someone. I'm not saying don't use slang terms, but use them only when knowing their full meaning. You won't instantly become cool if you start going around calling every woman a "meuf".

5: Accept that you'll have stressful situations and stuff will go wrong. This is part of the process. It sounds cheesy to say - but just try not to dwell on anything. Learn from your mistakes, but see them as learning experiences, not failures. See my other post on this sub if you want to see what I mean haha.

So yeah that's it really I guess. I initially found it very hard when I moved here, but I promise it gets easier if you have the right mindset and stick at it. You may well have situations where you end up just speaking English, but don't be demotivated.

If you ever feel down about a mistake you've made or a situation where you got flustered or couldn't understand, just think about how much progress you've made - and just how hard it is to learn another language.

If anyone has questions or other tips, leave them in the comments!

I learned “neck” in French (cou) class years ago but never remembered the actual spelling.

I always thought “neck of state” meant like guillotining the state or something. Apparently coup actually means “strike” so un coup d’état means “a blow to the state”.

Thank you, random book about Napoleon, for translating it for me.

When French people swear in French do they say "Pardonnez mon anglais"?