Common French Phrases

To keep up a conversation in any foreign language, its important to familiarize yourself with common phrases and expressions. Odds are that theyll come up more often than not. In French, some of the most common phrases like pas de problà ¨me (no problem) are similar if not identical to their English equivalent. These expressions are usually taught in class and tend to be relatively easy for students to grasp and recall. Not all common French phrases are simple. A good example of a more confusing expression is revenons  Ãƒ   nos  moutons, which directly translates to lets get back to our sheep but actually means  lets get back to the subject at hand. Expressions like these are often used conversationally among native French speakers but are often neglected in classrooms. Whether youre planning your first trip to a French-speaking country or you just want to improve your speaking skills, here is a list of common phrases (both simple and more elaborate) that are essential to keeping the conversation going. Affirmatives and Agreements en effet:  indeed, thats rightpas de problà ¨me:  no problemtant mieux:  its just as well, even bettertout à  Ã‚  fait:  absolutely, exactlybien  entendu:  of course, obviouslybien  sà »r:  of courseà §a  marche:  that worksà §a  mest  Ãƒ ©gal:  its all the same to me   Courtesies and Salutations à   la  và ´tre!:  cheers!à  Ã‚  tes  souhaits:  bless youBon  anniversaire!:  Happy birthday!Bon  appà ©tit!:  Enjoy your meal!à §a va (?):  hows it going?, Im finede rien:  youre welcomegrà ¢ce à  :  thanks tosi ce nest pas indiscret:  if its not too personal a questionsi tu veux:  if you willtiens:  here you go, there you are Causality, Comparison, and Condition à   cause de:  because of, due toà   la fois:  at the same timeau fur et à   mesure:  as, whileau lieu de:  instead of, rather than​avoir lair (de):  to look (like)du coup:  as a resultà   la  limite:  at most, in a pinch  Ãƒ   la  rigueur:  or even, if need be  Ãƒ   peine:  hardlyau  cas  oà ¹:  just in caseau fait:  by the wayvis-à  -vis (de):  facing, in relation to Debate and Discussion à   mon avis:  in my opinionah bon (?):  oh really? I seeau contraire:  on the contrary  dailleurs:  moreover, might I adda priori:  at first glance, in principleen  fait:  in factentendre dire  que:  to hear (it said) thatentendre  parler  de:  to hear (someone talk) aboutpar  contre:  whereas, on the other handpar  exemple:  for  example, such as; oh my, well really!revenons  Ãƒ   nos  moutons:  lets get back to the subject at hand Duration and Time à   peu prà ¨s:  about, approximately, nearlydu jour  au  lendemain:  overnighten retard:  lateentre  chien  et loup:  at dusk, twilightfaire  le  pont:  to make it a long weekend  Ã‚  tout  Ãƒ  Ã‚  lheure:  in a moment, a moment agotout  Ãƒ   coup:  all of a suddentout de suite:  right away, immediately Exclamations and Expressions allons-y!:  lets go!à   la franà §aise:  in the French style or mannerà   la une:  front-page newsà §a alors:  how about that, my goodnesscest-à  -dire:  that is, i.e., I meancest  parti:  here we go, and were off  ce  nest  pas grave:  it doesnt matter, no problemdis  donc  / dites  donc:  wow, by the wayenfin:  well, I meanet  jen  passe:  and  thats not allet  patati  et  patata:  and  so on and so forthfais  gaffe:  watch out, be carefulfais  voir:  let me seefigure-toi:  guess what, get thisfin:  well, I mean  il y a  quelque  chose  qui  cloche:  somethings amissJarrive!:  Im on my way!je  taime:  I love youon  ne  sait  jamais:  you never know  Vive la  France!:  Long live France!plus à §a change...:  the more things change...mà ©tro,  boulot, dodo: the rat racetu  connais  la  musique:  you know the routinetu  mà ©tonnes:  tell me something I dont knowdu loup: speak of the devilvoilà  : there is, thats it Negatives and Disagreements à §a  ne  fait  rien:  never mind, it doesnt mattercest  pas  vrai!:  no way!  Jen  peux  plus:  I cant take (it)  anymore  Je  nen  reviens  pas:  I cant believe it  Je  ny  peux  rien:  Theres nothing I can do about it.  Je  ny  suis  pour  rien:  Its got nothing to do with menimporte  quoi:  whateveroh là   là  :  oh dear, oh nopas  du tout:  not at all  pas terrible:  not that great, nothing specialrien  Ãƒ  Ã‚  voir:  nothing to do withtant  pis:  oh well, too bad, tough  tu  connais  la  musique:  you know the routinetu  mà ©tonnes:  tell me something I dont know Quantity/Amount de trop:  too much/manydu  tout:  not/none  at all  il y a:  there is, there are Questions nest-ce  pas?:  right? isnt that so?On y  va?:  Shall we go? Ready?tu te  rends  compte?:  can you imagine?ah bon?:  oh really?à §a va?:  hows it going?