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:
“And even my sense of identity was wrapped in a namelessness often hard to penetrate, as we have just seen I think. And so on for all the other things which made merry with my senses. Yes, even then, when already all was fading, waves and particles, there could be no things but nameless things, no names but thingless names. I say that now, but after all what do I know now about then, now when the icy words hail down upon me, the icy meanings, and the world dies too, foully named.”
—Samuel Beckett (1906–1989)
“How utterly futile debauchery seems once it has been accomplished, and what ashes of disgust it leaves in the soul! The pity of it is that the soul outlives the body, or in other words that impression judges sensation and that one thinks about and finds fault with the pleasure one has taken.”
—Edmond De Goncourt (1822–1896)
“Man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live.”
—Bible: Hebrew Deuteronomy, 8:3.
Jesus recalls these words in Matthew 4:4.