French Travel Conversation Guide: Useful Expressions
French Conversation Guide for Travelers
Are you travelling to an French-speaking country soon but you are afraid that your level of French is not good enough? Don't panic! With this guide, learn useful phrases and essential words to help you during your trip.
Greetings in French
When you meet someone, you should includes goodbye. This is polite. So here are some expressions to greet someone:
Bonjour → Hello Salut → Hi Bonsoir → Good evening Bonne nuit → Good night Enchanté / ravi de vous rencontrer → Nice to meet you Comment allez-vous ? → How are you? Au revoir → Goodbye / Bye À plus tard → See you later A bientôt → See you soon
Finding your way
When you are in an unfamiliar place, it is likely that you will sometimes have trouble finding your way around:
Excusez-moi, savez vous où est la gare / le centre ville ? → Excuse me, do you know where the station / city center (UK) /center (US) is? Où puis-je trouver les toilettes ? → Do you know where I can find a toilet? Je veux aller à… → I want to go to... Je recherche… → I am looking for … C’est loin d’ici ? → Is it far from here ? Sur la gauche → On the left Sur la droite → On the right Tout droit → Straight ahead
Important places
Being abroad, you will be moving around. Whether it is to find an ATM, go to the pharmacy, the supermarket or the train station, you will need to know the vocabulary of important places in order to find your way around.
Banque → bank Distributeur automatique → ATM (Automated Teller Machines) Pharmacie → pharmacy Aéroport → airport Gare → train station Supermarché → supermarket Centre ville → downtown (US) / city center (UK) Commissariat → police station
Useful questions for conversation when traveling
Parlez-vous anglais ? → Do you speak French? Pourriez-vous me dire… ? → Could you tell me...? Pouvez-vous répéter s’il vous plaît ? → Can you repeat, please? Pourriez-vous parler plus lentement, s’il vous plaît ? → Could you speak more slowly, please? Combien ça coûte ? → How much is this? Qu’est-ce que ça veut dire → What does it mean?
Expressing yourself
Sometimes, even if you know small phrases, it will be difficult for you to understand. In this case, you should express your problem and don't hesitate to say if you don't understand your interlocutor.
Je ne sais pas → I don't know Je ne comprends pas → I don't understand Je ne parle pas anglais → I don't speak French J’ai besoin de... → I need …. Je ne me sens pas bien → I don't feel very well
Signs to know
Although these signs are often accompanied by a small picture to show you the toilets or the exit, whether you are allowed to smoke or not, etc. it is always useful to know what they mean, if only to know which way to open a door.
Toilettes → Toilets Pousser → Push Tirer → Pull Sortie → Exit Sortie de secours → Emergency exit Ne pas toucher → Do not touch Ne pas fumer → No smoking Passage interdit / ne pas entrer → No entry Danger → caution Réservé → reserved Entrée libre → Free entrance Entry → entrée
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