Words
| This section includes inline links to audio files. If you have trouble playing the files, see Wikipedia Media help. |
The "Quebec" audio samples here are not necessarily from speakers of Quebec French, which has distinct regional pronunciations of certain words.
| English | French | Quebec accent | Northern French accent |
|---|---|---|---|
| French | Français | /fʁãsɛ/ | /fʁɑ̃sɛ/ |
| English | Anglais | /ãɡlɛ/ | /ɑ̃ɡlɛ/ |
| Yes | Oui (si when countering an assertion or a question expressed in the negative) | /wi/ | /wi/ |
| No | Non | /nõ/ | /nɔ̃/ |
| Hello! | Bonjour ! (formal) or Salut ! (informal) or "Allô" (Quebec French or when answering on the telephone) | /bõʒuːʁ/ | /bɔ̃ʒuːʁ/ |
| Good evening! | Bonsoir ! | /bõswɑːʁ/ | /bɔ̃swaːʁ/ |
| Good night! | Bonne nuit ! | /bɔn nɥi/ | /bɔn nɥi/ |
| Goodbye! | Au revoir ! | /ɔʁvwɑːʁ/ | /o ʁəvwaːʁ/ |
| Have a nice day! | Bonne journée ! | /bɔn ʒʊʁne/ | /bɔn ʒuʁne/ |
| Please/if you please | S’il vous plaît (formal) or S’il te plaît (informal) | /s‿ɪl vu plɛ/ | /s‿il vu plɛ/ |
| Thank you | Merci | /mɛʁsi/ | /mɛʁsi/ |
| You are welcome | De rien (informal) or Ce n’est rien (informal) ("it is nothing") or Je vous en prie (formal) or Je t’en prie (informal) | /də ʁjẽ/ | /də ʁjɛ̃/ |
| I am sorry | Pardon or Je suis désolé (if male) / Je suis désolée (if female) or Excuse-moi (informal) / Excusez-moi (formal) / "Je regrette" | /paʁdõ/ / /dezɔle/ | /paʁdɔ̃/ / /dezɔle/ |
| Who? | Qui ? | /ki/ | /ki/ |
| What? | Quoi ? (←informal; used as "What?" in English)) or Comment ? (←formal; used the same as "Pardon me?" in English) | /kwa/ | /kwa/ |
| When? | Quand ? | /kã/ | /kɑ̃/ |
| Where? | Où ? | /u/ | /u/ |
| Why? | Pourquoi ? | /pʊʁkwa/ | /puʁkwa/ |
| What is your name? | Comment vous appelez-vous ? (formal) or Comment t’appelles-tu ? (informal) | /kɔmã vuz‿aple vu/, /kɔmã t‿apɛl t͡sy/ | /kɔmɑ̃ vuz‿aple vu/, /kɔmɑ̃ t‿apɛl ty/ |
| Because | Parce que / Car | /paʁskə/ | /paʁsøkø/ |
| Because of | à cause de | /a koːz də/ | /a koz də/ |
| Therefore | Donc | /dõːk/ | /dɔ̃ːk/ |
| Maybe | Peut-être | /pœt‿aɛ̯tʀ/ | /pøt‿ɛtʁ/ |
| How? | Comment ? | /kɔmã/ | /kɔmɑ̃/ |
| How much? | Combien ? | /kõbjẽ/ | /kɔ̃bjɛ̃/ |
| I do not understand. | Je ne comprends pas. | /ʒə nə kõpʁã pɔ/ | /ʒø nø kɔ̃pʁɑ̃ pa/ |
| Yes, I understand. | Oui, je comprends. Except when responding to a negatively posed question, in which case Si is used preferentially over Oui | /wi ʒə kõpʁã/ | /wi ʒø kɔ̃pʁɑ̃/ |
| I agree | Je suis d’accord. D’accord can be used without je suis. | /ʒə sɥi d‿akɔːʁ/ | /ʒə sɥi d‿akɔːʁ/ |
| Help! | Au secours ! (à l’aide !) | /o skuːʁ/ | /o søkuːʁ/ |
| Can you help me please? | Pouvez-vous m’aider s’il vous plaît ? / Pourriez-vous m’aider s’il vous plaît ? (formal) or Peux-tu m’aider s’il te plaît ? / Pourrais-tu m’aider s’il te plaît (informal) | /puve vu m‿ɛːde s‿ɪl vu plɛ/ | /puve vu m‿ede s‿il vu plɛ/ |
| Where are the toilets? | Où sont les toilettes ? | /u sõ le twalɛt/ | /u sɔ̃ le twalɛt/ |
| Do you speak English? | Parlez-vous anglais ? / Est-ce que vous parlez anglais ? | /ɛs kə vu paʁle ãɡlɛ/ | /paʁle vu ɑ̃ɡlɛ/ |
| I do not speak French. | Je ne parle pas français. | /ʒə nə paʁl pɑ fʁãsɛ/ | /ʒə nə paʁl pa fʁɑ̃sɛ/ |
| I do not know. | Je ne sais pas. | /ʒə (nə) se pɑ/ | /ʒə (nə) sɛ pa/ |
| I know. | Je sais. | /ʒə se/ | /ʒə sɛ/ |
| I am thirsty. | J’ai soif. (literally, "I have thirst") | /ʒ‿e swaf/ | /ʒ‿e swaf/ |
| I am hungry. | J’ai faim. (literally, "I have hunger") | /ʒ‿e fẽ/ | /ʒ‿e fɛ̃/ |
| How are you? / How are things going? / How is everything? | Comment allez-vous? (formal) or Ça va? / Comment ça va ? (informal) | /kɔmã t‿ale vu/ | /kɔmɑ̃ t‿ale vu/ |
| I am (very) well / Things are going (very) well // Everything is (very) well | Je vais (très) bien (formal) or Ça va (très) bien. / Tout va (très) bien (informal) | /ʒə vɛ (tʁɛ) bjẽ/ | /ʒə vɛ (tʁɛ) bjɛ̃/ |
| I am (very) bad / Things are (very) bad / Everything is (very) bad | Je vais (très) mal (formal) or Ça va (très) mal / Tout va (très) mal (informal) | /ʒə vɛ (tʁɛ) mal/ | /ʒə vɛ (tʁɛ) mal/ |
| I am all right/so-so / Everything is all right/so-so | Assez bien or Ça va comme ci, comme ça or simply Ça va.. (Sometimes said: « Couci, couça. », informal: "bof") i.e. « Comme ci, comme ça. ») | /ase bjẽ/ | /ase bjɛ̃/ |
| I am fine. | Ça va bien. | /sa vɑ bjẽ/ | /sa va bjɛ̃/ |
| (How) can I help you? / (Do) you need help? / We need help! | (Comment) pourrais-je vous aider? Avez-vous besoin d'aide? Nous avons besoin d'aide! |
Read more about this topic: French Language
Famous quotes containing the word words:
“Since you were so thankfully confused
By law with someone else, you cannot be
Semantically the same as that young beauty:
It was of her that these two words were used.”
—Philip Larkin (1922–1986)
“What drivel it all is!... A string of words called religion. Another string of words called philosophy. Half a dozen other strings called political ideals. And all the words either ambiguous or meaningless. And people getting so excited about them they’ll murder their neighbours for using a word they don’t happen to like. A word that probably doesn’t mean as much as a good belch. Just a noise without even the excuse of gas on the stomach.”
—Aldous Huxley (1894–1963)
“Linguistically, and hence conceptually, the things in sharpest focus are the things that are public enough to be talked of publicly, common and conspicuous enough to be talked of often, and near enough to sense to be quickly identified and learned by name; it is to these that words apply first and foremost.”
—Willard Van Orman Quine (b. 1908)