French/Français- Allez Les Bleus!
You’d be surprised to know that the English language has very strong links with the French language. In some ways they are the closest languages to each other, bearing in mind that French is further removed from it’s Latin base (as English from it’s German base) than any other Latin language. French was introduced into England at one stage by the French conquerors & was the language of court. It slowly diffused into the English language. If you get your basic French grammar worked out, you can surprise a few Frenchies by using a technical English word & just giving it a French ending e.g. plastic would be ‘plastique’ & aesthetic would become ‘aesthetique’ etc etc. So keep this in mind we share a lot of common words. Be aware of ‘faux amis’ false friends e.g preservatifs= condoms. Bearing all this in mind you couldn’t find 2 similar languages with such different pronunciation which makes some sounds extremely hard to pronounce on both sides. Don’t let that worry you though. Give it a try to speak to them in their language & you’ll have a good time with them
National French sporting Chant
Quintessential French
Oh la la! And finally Oh la la. La vache! Holy cow! And Quebecois :- Osti, or Tabarnak To it’s full extent ; Osti de Tabarnak de Sacrament, de Calice de Christ de Marde back to top
the flag of the French speaking state of Quebec in Canada
Greetings & Salutations/Salutations
À toute a l’heure. À toute. (short)
See you soon.
A bientot ! See you soon!
À la prochaine! Until next time!
Amuse-toi bien Have Fun!
À tes souhaites Bless you (sneeze)
Au-revoir Goodbye
Bonne chance! Good luck!
Bon courage Good luck (usually for work- hope it goes well)
Bonne journée Have a good day
Ça va? (Most common but informal greeting) How are you?
(literally “Alright?”, to which the response can be ‘Ça va!’)
Ça va! Bien! Comme ce, comme ça! Pas mal! Vachement bien!
Alright! Good! So, so! Not bad! Damned good!
Comment tu vas bien mon petit chameau/biche/poule/crevette ?
Are you well my little camel/goat/chicken/shrimp?
Je suis très heureuse de vous rencontrer
I am very glad to meet you
Je vous remercie I thank you
Je suis content que tu sois content
I am happy that you’re happy
Merci a toi/vous You’re welcome (thanks to you)
Merci beau cul Thank you nice arse (play on words-sounds like merci beaucoup-thank you very much)
On se casse Je me casse
Let’s piss off I’m pissing off
Please S’il vous plait (formal) S’il te plait (informal)
Quoi de neuf, ma poule?
What’s new chicken?
Salut. On se connaît ?
Hello. Do we know each other?
Salut les filles/ les gars
Hi girls/ guys
Tout se passe bien
All is going well
Tu as passe une bonne journée/soirée ?
Have you had a good day/evening?
Citroën typical French design cars Image by liftarn via Flickr
With all the resources we have at Street Talk Savvy we couldn’t fit all our French Slang on the one page. To follow on, click on the links below to find other French Slang categories
- Romance and Pick Up Lines
- In the Bar
- That’s Cool
- Having a Laugh
- Sayings
- The Weather and Commands
- Express Yourself
- French Songs
- Verlan
