Comme une Française 2 Flashcards
1) Quoi ?
Quoi ? = What ?
Tu viens ou quoi ? = Are you coming or what?
Quoi de neuf ? = What’s new?
C’est quoi ? = What is it?
In general, French people usually don’t use “Qu’est-ce que” to start a question, by the way. We just take the affirmative sentence (the answer) and add “quoi ?” at the end, where we want the answer.
Qu’est-ce que tu veux ? = What do you want ? = Tu veux quoi ?
Qu’est-ce que ça veut dire ? = What does it mean?
= Ça veut dire quoi ?
When you didn’t hear something, try using “Pardon ?” (= Sorry?) or “Excusez-moi ?” (= Excuse me?) instead of “Quoi ?” They’re less colloquial, but more elegant!
2) Quoi : with a preposition
In correct, formal French, Quoi is used in questions after a preposition. Like à, par, vers… In this case, French people often put “quoi” at the end of the question instead, in everyday language.
À quoi est-ce que tu penses ? / À quoi penses-tu ? = What are you thinking about?
→ Je pense à [notre week-end à Paris.] = I’m thinking about [our week end in Paris.] = Tu penses à quoi?
In French, “why” is pourquoi, and “what for” is… also pourquoi. Or sometimes, pour quoi (literally “what for.”)
Pourquoi c’est comme ça ? = Why is it that way? What is it that way for?
C’est pour quoi ? = What are you calling for? (on the phone)
3) French expressions with Quoi
Using quoi at the end of a sentence is a colloquial French filler word. It doesn’t translate well, but it’s used to mean “I don’t care. / In short / And that’s all. / It’s as simple as that…”
And in the dismissive: “N’importe quoi.” = whatever / nonsense / random stuff.
Pff… N’importe quoi. = Pff… nonsense.
Je connais pas les règles, je fais n’importe quoi. = I don’t know the rules, I’m just doing things at random.
Other French expressions with quoi :
Un je-ne-sais-quoi = a very subtle thing, a feeling I can’t describe
Il n’y a pas de quoi ! / “Ya pas d’quoi !” = There’s no need (to thank me), you’re welcome!
1) “Y” or “En” : examples with Y
You can use “y” to answer a question:
Marie va à l’école bientôt ? (= Is Marie going to school soon?)
→ Oui, elle y va demain. (= Yes, she’s going there tomorrow.)
Elle a pensé à acheter ses livres ? (= Did she think about buying her books?) → Oui, elle y a pensé.
As you can see, y most often replaces groups like:
à + [place] → à l’école
à + [action / verb in the infinitive] → à acheter ses livres
We don’t use it for people, though! We have personal pronouns for this.
For example:
Je pense à Marie. (= I’m thinking about Marie)
→ Je pense à elle. (= I’m thinking about her.)
Another thing to note: we also use y as a pronoun for chez + [quelqu’un] (= at someone’s place).
Tu vas chez Antoine ? (= Are you going to Antoine’s place?)
→ Oui, j’y vais. (= Yes, I’m going there.)
2) “Y” or “En” : “J’y vais” / “Je m’en vais”
We never use “je vais” (= I go / I’m going) by itself.
If you want to say “I’m going / I’m leaving now”, you can use two common expressions.
J’y vais! (= I’m going/leaving.)
→ “Allez, j’y vais. Salut !”= OK, I’m going. See ya!
Je m’en vais ! (= I’m going, I’m leaving)
3) “Y” or “En” : Examples with “en”
En has several meanings and uses in French.
For example, we use it for the gerund (– ing) verb forms: en marchant (= walking / while walking), en parlant (= while talking)…
As a pronoun, en replaces a group of words that looks like: de [quelque chose / quelque part] (= “of somewhere / from somewhere / about something / some of it…)
But for example, we’d say:
Je mange de la confiture tous les matins. (= I eat some jam every morning)
= J’aime la confiture. J’en mange tous les matins. (= I like jam. I eat some every morning)
Je reviens de la boulangerie. (= I come back from the bakery.)
→ Tu as vu la boulangerie ? Oui, j’en reviens. (= Have you seen the bakery? Yes, I just came back from the bakery.)
Or, with a verb in the infinitive:
Tu as envie de dormir ? (= Would you like to sleep?)
→ Oui, j’en ai envie. (= Yes, I’d like to.)
1) Encore & Toujours : Overview
In the most basic terms:
Encore = “again” (synonyms: “de nouveau,” “à nouveau”, “une nouvelle fois”… but they’re all more formal.)
→ Je me suis encore perdue ! = I got lost again.
Toujours = “always” (synonyms: “habituellement,” “perpétuellement,” “continuellement,” “éternellement”… but they’re much more formal.)
→ Je suis toujours contente de te voir ! = I’m always happy to see you!
However, these two words do share a meaning: sometimes, encore = toujours = still (adverb)
Elle n’est pas sortie, elle est encore chez elle.
= Elle n’est pas sortie, elle est toujours chez elle.
= She didn’t leave, she’s still home.
Tu as toujours envie de faire du saut à l’élastique ?
= Tu as encore envie de faire du saut à l’élastique ?
= Do you still want to go bungee jumping?
There’s a subtle difference, where “encore” is more often used to describe something that’s not going to last much longer, or something that’s been repeated. “Toujours” more so expresses the fact that it’s something frequent, or something very long. But really, they can be used one for another without problem here.
2) Other uses of “Toujours”
a) Toujours = anyway
→ Je sais pas s’il va pleuvoir, mais je vais toujours prendre un parapluie, on ne sait jamais. = I don’t know if it’s going to rain, but I’ll take an umbrella anyway, you never know.
Synonyms: Tout de même, de toute façon, “au cas où“ (= just in case), Quand même.
b) Pour toujours = Forever
→ Je t’aime pour toujours. = I love you forever.
Synonyms: éternellement, à jamais… (much more formal / poetic)
3) More uses of “Encore”
a) Encore plus / moins (+ adjectif) = Even more / less (+ adjective)
Elle est encore moins motivée que moi.
= She’s even less motivated than I am.
Vous êtes encore plus gentils qu’hier.
= You’re even nicer than yesterday.
Oh non! C’est encore pire !
= Oh no! It’s even worse!
b) Pas encore = “not yet” or “not again”
– Tu t’es brossée les dents ?
– Non, pas encore.
= Did you brush your teeth? Not yet.
– Le chien a mangé ta brosse à dents.
– Oh non ! Pas encore !
= The dog just ate your toothbrush. Oh no! Not again!
When pas encore means “not yet”, it’s a synonym of : toujours pas !
(See below, 4 – Negations)
c) Si encore = At least, if…
Si encore c’était prévu, pourquoi pas ? Mais là…
= If at least that was planned, why not? But now…
(Synonyms: Si au moins = If at least)
d) Encore = “It’s bad, but it’s not as bad as the other thing.”
For example:
Je préfère encore marcher que conduire.
= I’d even rather walk than drive.
e) Et encore = and even then…
Je peux à peine marcher dix kilomètres, et encore.
= I can barely walk ten kilometers, and even that (is difficult.)
Et encore, si c’était le seul problème…
= And even then, if that was the only problem…
= “That’s bad, but it’s not even the only problem… / It would be manageable if it were the only problem.”
J’ai ouvert le pot de confiture du premier coup. Et encore, j’ai pas forcé !
= I opened the jam jar on the first try. And I didn’t even have to try hard!
This meaning is correct but relatively informal. If you didn’t know that, you might make the mistake of thinking it means “again” here as well!
Finally, encore becomes the interjection of anger and frustration:
Et puis quoi encore ? = “What’s going on again?” / “And what now?” / “That’s crossing a line, I’m fed up.”
Nous avons travaillé pendant plus de 8 heures. Et puis quoi encore ! On ne va pas y passer toute la nuit.
= We’ve been working for more than 8 hours. [We’re fed up!] We’re not going to spend the night on this!
4) Encore & Toujours: Summary
Je suis encore là. // Je suis toujours là. = I’m still here.
Tu reprends encore un verre ? = “Will you have a drink again ?” = “Do you want another drink ?”
Il y a toujours une exception en français.
= There’s always an exception in French
1) Re- = again
Re + [verb] = [verb] again
Most times, re- means “again.”
More importantly, you can add re- in front of any random verb and it will mean “doing that again.”
Faire = to do → Refaire = doing again.
Cuire = to cook, to heat → Recuire = to cook / to heat again
Manger = to eat → Remanger = to eat again
Jouer = to play → Rejouer = to play again…
2) Re- = back
a) Common verbs
Sometimes, re- means “back” – especially in the meaning of “going back” somewhere, or to the way it was before.
Je reprends le parapluie que je t’avais donné.
= I take back the umbrella that I gave you.
Elle se lève. / Elle se relève. = She gets up. / She gets back up.
Ils s’habillent le matin. Ils se rhabillent après nager. = They get dressed in the morning. They get dressed “back” (they put their clothes back on) after swimming.
b) Revenir / Rentrer / Retourner
Re- also means back in three close verbs:
Revenir = to come back (to where you are now, or to someone)
Retourner = to go back (to a place where you are not right now)
Rentrer = to go back (home, or at least somewhere “safer”)
For example:
Revenir → Je reviens
Je reviens très vite. = I’m coming back very soon. (to the same place)
Je reviens vers vous dès que possible. = I get back to you as soon as possible.
Retourner → Je retourne
J’ai oublié la bière, je dois retourner au supermarché. = I forgot to buy some beer, I have to return to the supermarket.
Rentrer → Je rentre
Il est tard, je rentre. = It’s getting late, I’m going home.
Tu rentres à l’hôtel ? = Are you going back to the hotel?
Non, je rentre chez moi. = No, I’m going back to my place.
Un revenant is someone who came back (and/or a ghost).
Le retour is a return.
La rentrée is the start of a school year, where students go back to school.
(Excerpted from Comme une Française)
C’est n’importe quoi (bullshit, nonsense, whatever).
Tu sais quoi, non, c’est n’importe quoi (crazy).
Attends, c’est n’importe quoi (insane).
Ahh, that’s nonsense.
You know what, no, this is crazy.
Wait. This is insane.
C’est n’importe quoi
C’est → It is
n’importe quoi → Bullshit / Nonsense / Whatever
The expression “C’est n’importe quoi” is commonly used in daily French. Depending on the context, it can mean “It’s nonsense” or “Bullshit” as you will see just below.
How to use it
First scenario: someone says something completely untrue or unrealistic:
Mon poisson rouge sait conduire → My gold fish knows how to drive
C’est n’importe quoi ! → Bullshit!
Second scenario: you are talking about something shameful, shocking or nonsensical:
Cette société maltraite les animaux, c’est n’importe quoi ! → This company is mistreating animals, that’s a nonsense/shame!
In most cases, you can shorten it by using “N’importe quoi” without “C’est“. The meaning is the same, it just makes it more informal. Same thing for the slang version “C’est n’imp“.
Synonyms
N’importe quoi. (“Bullshit / Nonsense“)
C’est n’imp. (“It’s bullshit / nonsense“)(Slang)
Ça n’a aucun sens. (“It has no sense“)
C’est du délire. (“It’s crazy / delirium / nonsense“)
C’est des conneries. (“It’s bullshit“)
AllAboutFrench.com
Pas de souci
“No problem.”
Used when someone asks you for a favor, or apologizes for something minor, or lets you know that there was a small change of plans.
T’inquiète
“T’inquiète” means “don’t worry”, or “I got this / it’s not a problem”, and is grammatically fascinating. It’s mostly used by young people.
“Voilà !”
“You’re right”, “that’s exactly what I mean”, “That’s it!”
1) “Très” = very
Très amusant ! = Very amusing!
Nous mangeons de très bons éclairs. = We’re eating some very good éclairs.
Elle est très jolie ! = She’s very pretty!
Une très grande maison est très difficile à chauffer. = A very big house is very hard to keep warm.
Rules for using “Très”:
1) Before an adjective
→ “Très” comes immediately before an adjective!
Ce tableau est très beau. = This painting is very beautiful.
Le métro est très pratique. = The métro is very handy.
Très jolie ! = Very pretty!
2) Before an adverb
→ “Très” also comes before adverbs.
Ça va très bien. = It’s going very well. (= “I’m great.”)
Caroline lit très rapidement, pour son âge ! = Caroline reads very quickly for her age!
3) Before feelings (or needs) with “avoir”
J’ai soif. = I’m thirsty. → J’ai très soif. = I’m very thirsty.
J’ai faim. = I’m hungry. → J’ai très faim. = I’m very hungry.
Elle a froid. = She’s feeling cold. → Elle a très froid. = She’s very cold.
2) “Beaucoup” = a lot
Rules for using “Beaucoup”:
1) Right after a verb (Most common case)
On marche beaucoup à Paris ! = We walk a lot in Paris.
Nous mangeons beaucoup. = We eat a lot.
Je t’aime beaucoup. = I like you a lot.
→ In some cases, you might use souvent (= often) instead:
Tu viens souvent ici ? = Do you come here often? Do you come here a lot?
Nous allons très souvent à Lyon. = We go to Lyon a lot. / We go to Lyon very often.
→ With le participe passé, beaucoup usually comes between “être / avoir” (the auxiliary verb) and the past participle. For example:
J’ai beaucoup mangé. = I ate a lot.
Elles ont beaucoup dansé. = They danced a lot.
→ Otherwise, when there are two verbs in a row, beaucoup comes right after the one you want to emphasize. For example:
J’aime manger. = I like to eat. (Verbs: “Aime” and “Manger”)
J’aime beaucoup manger. = I really like to eat.
J’aime manger beaucoup. = I like to eat a lot (a lot of food.)
2) Before a noun: “Beaucoup de”
Before a noun, “beaucoup” becomes “beaucoup de” (= “a lot of.”)
Tu as mis beaucoup de sauce sur ta salade. = You put a lot of dressing on your salad.
Il y a beaucoup de gens ce soir. = There are a lot of people tonight.
Beaucoup d’enfants aiment les bonbons. = A lot of children like sweets.
3) “Beaucoup” + adverb
Finally, you can also use beaucoup with some adverbs. The most common cases are:
Beaucoup plus = A lot more
→ Tu as beaucoup plus de temps. = You’ve got a lot more time.
(Here, we pronounce the final “s” in plus. Find out why in my lesson: How to say “Plus” – with or without the S.)
Beaucoup moins = A lot less.
→ Ils aiment beaucoup moins la fin du film. = They like the ending of the movie a lot less.
Beaucoup trop = Way too much (see below for more about “Trop”)
Ce livre est beaucoup trop long. = This book is way too long.
Il y a beaucoup trop de touristes au Louvre. = There are way too many tourists in the Louvre.
J’ai beaucoup trop faim ! = I’m way too hungry.
3) “Trop” = Too much
“Trop” means “too much” / “too many” / “too (+ adjective).”
In a sentence, it can be used like très and like beaucoup!
1) Before an adjective
Vous êtes trop jeunes pour ce film. = You’re too young for this movie.
2) Before an adverb
Ce TGV va trop lentement. = This TGV is going too slowly.
3) Right after a verb
Tu manges trop ! = You’re eating too much!
4) Before a noun, with “de” : “Trop de”
“Trop de” can mean “too many” or “too much.”
J’ai mis trop de sel dans mon gâteau. = I put too much salt in my cake.
Ma tante a trop de chats! = My aunt has too many cats!
And one final note:
In colloquial French, Trop = “Très”
It’s a popular turn of phrase; a casual exaggeration to express your enthusiasm (or dismay.) For example:
C’est trop bien ici ! = It’s too good here, it’s amazing here.
Je suis trop contente que tu sois là ! = I’m so happy you’re here!
Oh non, c’est trop dommage ! = Oh no, that’s too bad!
Congratulations in French
Congratulate better by mentioning their success:
Bravo pour ton diplôme ! (= Congratulations for getting your degree.)
Félicitations pour la naissance de ton petit-fils. (= Congratulations for your grandson’s birth.)
Martin, j’ai appris que tu t’es fiancé ! C’est merveilleux ! (= Martin, I heard you got engaged! That’s wonderful!)
You can also share how you learned about the good news:
Céline, ton père m’a dit que tu as marqué plus de buts que toutes tes coéquipières au cours de la saison. Bien joué !
= Céline, your dad told me you scored more goals than all your teammates this season. Well played! / Well done!
Lola, je viens de voir ton statut Facebook. Je suis si contente d’apprendre que tu vas avoir un bébé ! Quelle bonne nouvelle !
= Lola, I’ve just seen your Facebook status. I’m so happy to learn that you’re going to get a baby! What a piece of good news!
Yes, smile and be enthusiastic ! And share how you feel:
Je suis si contente. = I’m so happy.
Je suis trop contente ! (informal) = I’m very happy!
Je suis tellement heureuse. = I’m so happy.
Je suis très heureuse pour toi ! = I’m very happy for you!
Je suis fière de toi. = I’m proud of you.
À tantôt : à tout à l’heure OU
À tout à l’heure / ‘t-à-l’heure
(Québécois)
French people use “À tout à l’heure” when they will see each other later during the day. The closest English translation would be “See you later (today)“.
Québécois : ‘t-à-l’heure = tout à l’heure.
Ex : On se verra t’-à-l’heure.
Here are the variations to use if you know when you will see the person:
À tout de suite / 1 to 30 minutes*
À tout à l’heure / 30 minutes to later today*
À tantôt : à tout à l’heure.
À ce soir → This evening
À demain → Tomorrow
À lundi / mardi / mercredi… → Next Monday / Tuesday / Wednesday…
À la semaine prochaine → Next week
À bientôt → Soon
If the next time you will see the person is not defined, use instead:
À plus tard / Later (Undefined)
À la prochaine → Next time (Undefined)
Au revoir / Salut → Goodbye / Bye
1) L’accord du participe passé et des adjectifs avec “on.”
Nous mangeons une glace. → On mange une glace.
Nous sommes allées au cinéma.
On est allées au cinéma. As you can see here, the participe passé agrees with the pronoun, and because the pronoun “on” is representing several people the participe passé also agrees with several people.
For adjectives, it’s exactly the same:
Nous sommes contentes de te revoir. → On est contentes de te revoir.
Both adjectives add “es” to the end because there are two women talking.
2) Le déterminant possessif avec “on.”
Note: in Québécois, glacé is crème glacée.
Once again, we saw that “on” replaces “nous”:
Nous mangeons une glace. → On mange une glace.
But what happens when we say: “Nous mangeons notre glace.”?
Do we say ““On mange sa glace.” ? No. This is a use of “on” as pronom indéfini.
Instead, it’s much easier. In fact, it’s used in exactly the same way as for the “participe passé” and adjectives we just saw.
Nous mangeons notre glace. → On mange notre glace.
Pro tip: keep “on = nous” in your head all the time. Ignore everything else, as the rest of the phrase stays exactly the same.
3) La dislocation avec “on.”
But what pronom tonique do we use with “on”? The easiest answer is to use “nous”: Nous, on aime la glace à la fraise. This is a very authentic, modern French way to tell people that you (collectively) really love strawberry ice cream, but the others don’t.
Bonne vacances / Profite bien / Amuses-toi bien
Passe de bonnes vacances → Have a good holiday
Passez de bonnes vacances → Have a good holiday (Formal and/or Plural)
Profite bien → Enjoy
Amuse-toi bien → Have fun
Bonsoir
Bonsoir, ça va ? → Good evening, how are you?
Bonsoir, ça va et toi ? → Good evening, I’m fine and you?
Bien. Mais je suis fatigué(e). Je vais me coucher. → Good. But I’m tired. I’m going to sleep.
Bonne nuit. → Good night.
Merci et bonne soirée. → Thanks and (I wish you a) good evening.
C’est curieux
C’est suspicieux. (“It’s suspicious“)
C’est louche. (“It’s suspicious/weird“)
C’est étrange. (“It’s strange“)
C’est bizarre. (“It’s weird“)
C’est surprenant. (“It’s surprising“)
C’est étonnant. (“It’s surprising“)
Ça m’étonne. (“It surprises me“)
Ça me surprend. (“It surprises me“)
C’est dingue
(Cochon Dingue, Québec)
It means “It’s amazing/crazy” and aims to describe an incredible experience, story, place, person… or anything exceptional. It’s generally used positively, even though not always, just like in English “It’s crazy” can be negative.
You are visiting Paris and someone asks you what you think of the city, you can say: “C’est dingue !” (That’s amazing!)
You can also use it in a sentence, for example: “J’ai découvert qu’on va bientôt conquérir la planète Mars. C’est dingue !” (I discovered that we will soon conquer planet Mars. That’s crazy!)
Synonyms
C’est fou ! (“It’s crazy!“)
C’est génial ! (“That’s genious!“)
C’est incroyable ! (“That’s unbelievable!“)
C’est la folie ! (“That’s craziness!“)
C’était fou! (“It was crazy!“)
Ça n’est pas grave
There is an infinite number of synonyms, here are the most used ones:
Neutral
Ce n’est pas grave. (“Thats doesn’t matter“)
C’est rien. (“That’s nothing“)
C’est pas grand chose. (“It’s not a big deal“)
Informal
Pas grave. (“No harm“)
Ca va. (“It’s ok“)
Tranquille. (“Easy“)
Rien de grave. (“Nothing serious“)
Pas de souci. (“No worries“)
Pas de problème. (“No problem“)
Y’a pas de mal. (“There is no harm“)
C’est pas la fin du monde. (“It’s not the end of the world“)
allaboutfrench.com
Tiens, c’est pas juste (it’s not fair).
C’est pas juste (it’s not right) et c’est pas bien, mais quoi faire ?
Je peux voir que tu n’es pas une mauvaise personne, et tout ce truc, c’est pas juste (it ain’t right).
Well, that’s not fair.
It’s not right and it’s not fair, but what’s to be done?
I can see you ain’t a bad person, and this whole thing, it ain’t right.
Je reviens vous aider, c’est promis = je vous promets
Je te rembourserais, c’est promis (I swear).
Please, help me! - I’ll come back for you, I promise.
I’ll pay you back, I swear.
Ça ne vaut rien jusqu’à l’authentification.
It’s worthless, until it’s authenticated.
Ça te tente en québécois (per ML)
Ça te dit?
French people use it very often when they want to ask: “Up for it” or “Would you like to?” or “Are you interested?“ It’s a polite way to invite people to do something with you by asking them if they want to do it.
That’s why it’s super useful in many social situations!
To use it, add “Ça te dit ?” after the sentence describing your plans. This way you’ll make the invitation clear, without being pushy. For example: “On va à la montagne ce weekend, ça te dit?” (We are going to the mountains this weekend, up for it?).
For the plural and/or formal form, use “Ça vous dit ?” instead.
If someone asks you “Ça te dit ?” You can answer with classic answers like “Oui, ça me dit bien !” (Yes, I’m up for it!) or “Non, ça ne me dit rien.” (No, I don’t want to do this).
You can also use the conditional, which makes the question softer and more open: “Ça te dirait” (Would you be up for it?)
Trap alert! Sometimes you can also see “Ça te dit quelque chose ?” which has a totally different meaning. It means “Do you see what I am talking about?” or “Do you know something about this?” or “Does that ring a bell?“.
Synonyms
Ça te tente ? (“Does it tempt you?“)
Ça t’intéresse ? (“Does it interested you?“)
Éthique, confidentialité… Ça te dit quelque chose ? (Does that ring a bell)?
Ça te dit quelque chose? (Does that mean something to you?)
Ethics, confidentiality - does any of this ring a bell?
Bon, ça va me manquer de ne pas rentrer à la maison avec toi.
Ça va me manquer, tout ça.
Well, I’ll miss riding home with you.
I’ll miss all this.
Mais ça vaut le coup (it’s worth it) rien que pour voir sa tête.
Je doute que ça vaut le coup (it’s worth it).
Je crois que ça vaut le peine (it’s worth the trouble) parce que, encore une fois, ça nous aide a comprendre,
But it’s worth it just to see the look on his face.
I’m just not sure it’s worth it.
I think it’s worth the trouble because, again, it just helps us to understand.
Retourne dans ta chambre et calme-toi.
Just go to your room and relax.
C’est pas mon genre de… (québécois per ML)
Çe n’est pas mon truc
First scenario: someone asks you if you are a talented singer, but you’re really not… so you can say: “Non, ce n’est pas mon truc“. It doesn’t mean that you don’t like to sing, just that you are not talented.
Second scenario: someone asks you if you enjoy doing hiking and you hate it, you can also say: “Non, ce n’est pas mon truc“. Here, it’s clear that you just don’t like it, even if you might be good at it.
C’est pas du tout mon truc. (“It’s really not my thing“)
C’est pas mon truc. (“It’s not my thing“)
C’est pas mon genre. (“It’s not my genre“)
C’est pas mon style. (“It’s not my style“)
Comment t’appelles-tu ? / Quel est ton nom ?
In French, there are many ways to say “What’s your name“. So, if someone asks you one of these:
Comment tu t’appelles ?
Comment t’appelles tu ?
Comment vous appelez vous ? (Formal)
Quel est ton nom ?
Quel est votre nom ? (Formal)
C’est quoi ton nom ?
C’est quoi votre nom ? (Formal)
Ton nom ?
Votre nom ? (Formal)
Nom ?
Then you can answer :
Jean Dupont → Jean Dupont
Je m’appelle Jean Dupont → My name is Jean Dupont
Mon nom est Jean Dupont → My name is Jean Dupont
Je suis Jean Dupont → I am Jean Dupont
And if instead of “Nom” (Name) we asked you specifically for your “Prénom” (First name):
Jean → Jean
Je m’appelle Jean→ My (first) name is Jean
Mon prénom est Jean→ My first name is Jean
Je suis Jean → I am Jean
Finally, if we asked you specifically for your “Nom de famille” (Last name / Surname):
Dupont → Dupont
Je m’appelle Dupont→ My (last) name is Dupont
Mon nom de famille est Dupont→ My last name is Dupont
De rien / Çe me fait plaisir (Qué) / Bienvenue (Qué) / Je t’en prie
De rien” is the most basic way to say in French “You’re welcome” or “It was nothing“. It’s neutral register and works for most situations, but it doesn’t express much gratitude compared to other variations.
So, if you have to keep in mind just one expression, it’s this one, but as you will see below, there are plenty of other ways to express it.
To sound like a true French you will need to master these variations and use them appropriately depending on context, whom you are talking to and how much you want to be polite.
In Canada, you can use:
Ça me fait plaisir → My pleasure (“It gives me pleasure“)
Bienvenue → You’re welcome (“Welcome“)
In France, the variations you can use are:
Je t’en en prie → You are welcome (“I beg of you“)
Je vous en prie → You are welcome (“I beg of you“)(Formal)
Pas de souci(s) → No worry(ies) (Informal)
Pas de problème → No problem (Informal)
T’inquiète → Don’t worry (Informal)
T’inquiète pas → Don’t worry (Informal)
Ne t’inquiète pas → Don’t worry (Informal)
C’est moi qui te remercie → No thank you (“No, I am the one who thank you“)
C’est moi qui vous remercie → No thank you (“No, I am the one who thank you“)(Formal)
Merci à toi → Thanks to you
Merci à vous → Thanks to you (Formal)
Avec plaisir → My pleasure (“With pleasure“)
Tout le plaisir est pour moi → My pleasure (“All the pleasure is for me“)
Tout le plaisir était pour moi → My pleasure (“All the pleasure was for me“)
Pas de quoi → That’s nothing (“No need“)(Informal)
Y’a pas de quoi → That’s nothing (“There is no need“)(Informal)
Il n’y a pas de quoi → That’s nothing (“There is no need“)