For the Love of French
It's 10 pm - Do You Know Where Your French Dictionary Is?
Below are some colloquial French sample sentences.
Sample Sentences and Phrases
Two Questions: How good is your French, really? Are you able to perform in it on command?
At work, in front of colleagues, or people you're trying to impress, or trying to bluff? At an important business meeting, can you follow the rapid speech of native French speakers? How is your confidence level in the presence of native speakers?
You'd do research for a job interview, wouldn't you? Shouldn't you also prepare ahead of time for upcoming French-speaking situations? Something useful, something colorful?
Until you've had some experience doing it, using a new foreign language in public is one of the most difficult things in the world. Try preparing for the ordeal in advance.
Where's My Vocabulary When I Need It?
One way to deal with public speaking is to use ready-made phrases and sentences - stock utterances and phrases you can work into a conversation or a situation. Think interjections, comments, responses.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Il n'y a pas de fumée sans feu | Where there's smoke, there's fire |
| Craignez les retombées | Watch out for repercussions |
| Je ne peux pas le remettre | I cannot place him |
| Morte la bête, morte le venin | Dead men tell no tales |
| Qui sème le vent récolte la tempête | He who sows the wind reaps the whirlwind |
| Quelle embrouillamini! | What a pretty kettle of fish! |
| Je n'y peux rien | I can't do a thing about it |
| Il ne faut perdre la peau de l'ours | Don't count your chickens before they're hatched |
| A qui le dites-vous! | You're telling me! |
| Là -dessus | Thereupon, |
| Un tant soit peu | Just a bit |
| A peu près | Just about |
| Il n'y a pas de quoi rire! | That's no joke! |
| Il ne faut pas juger à la légère | One mustn't jump to conclusions |
| Laissez tomber! | Let it ride! |
| Pas vrai? | Right? |
| Du coup, | As a result, |
| Ne vous en déplaise, monsieur! | With all due respect, sir! |
| Soit dit entre nous, | Between you, me and the lampost, |
| Je le lui écrirai en toutes lettres | I'll spell things out for him |
| Les conseilleurs ne sont pas les payeurs | Advice comes cheap |
| J'ai pas envie d'être mêlé à cette querelle | I don't want to get dragged into that quarrel |
| Il va se faire savonner la tête | He's going to get chewed out |
| On dit qu'il manque du poigne | They say he's not very forceful |
| Elle peut tenir son rang dans n'importe quelle conversation | She can hold her own in any conversation |
| Il a réussi à bousiller toutes ses chances | He managed to muff every chance he got |
| Cette estimation était loin du compte | That guess was way off |
| Que voulez-vous que cela lui fasse? | What difference do you think that makes to him? |
| Si j'étais que de vous, | If I were in your shoes, |
| A vôtre place, | If I were you, |
| Elle n'a pas cessé de débiter des fadaises | She kept on reeling off platitudes |
| Cette explication n'a ni queue ni tête | That explanation just doesn't add up |
| J'y suis! | I get it! |
| Elle me déroute toujours | I can't figure her out |
| Il nous a donné entendre qu'il reviendrait | He led us to believe he'd come back |
Conversation Topics
How you're feeling, what the world's been doing to you, your thoughts on certain people, and what should happen to certain other people... memorable, witty, crucial, sarcastic, possibly ominous things said to, by, of, or about colleagues.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Elle est la cinquième roue du carrosse | She's utterly useless |
| Je m'interroge sur mon avenir ici | I have doubts about my future here |
| Il ne faut jurer de rien | Nothing is certain |
| Voilà un garçon d'avenir | There's a man with a future |
| A quoi rêvez-vous? | A penny for your thoughts |
| Ma vielle est fâchée contre moi | My old lady's mad at me |
| Mieux vaut prévenir que guérir | An ounce of prevention |
| Il ne faut jurer de rien | Nothing is certain |
| Détrompez-vous! | Wise up! |
| Et ça c'est la verité pure et simple | And that's the plain unvarnished truth |
| En l'ocurrence, | In this case/at this juncture, |
| Elle pétille d'esprit | She sparkles with wit |
| Rideau! | Enough, already! |
| Il a la grace d'un éléphant | He's like a bull in a china shop |
| C'est un morfale | He's a regular chowhound |
Bluffing for Business
Here's where you team up with a colleague, assistant, or secretary to whisper French to each other as your rivals look on, straining to hear:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Pour le moment ce ne sont pas les discussions qui importent | For the time being, let's not discuss that matter |
| Jusque ici c'est bien | So far, so good |
| C'est l'heure, allons-y | Time's up; let's go |
| Tout cela c'est des vielles lunes | All that is old hat |
| Cette théorie a fait son temps | That theory has had its day |
| J'en doute | Fat chance! |
| Quel gobe-mouches! | What a chump! |
| Qui rien ne sait, rien ne doute | Ignorance is bliss |
| Alons, mettez-vous à la page | Get with it! |
| Je pige | I dig |
| J'ai fini par me dessaler | I finally wised up |
| C'est un puits de science | She's a walking encyclopedia |
| Détrompez-vous! | Wise up! |
| Je ne sait pas que faire pour commencer | I don't know what to do for an opener |
When you find yourself seated next to, or in the midst of, native speakers:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Je n'aime pas déjeuner sur la pouce | I don't like eating on the run |
| Voilà un rôti de bonne mine | There's a good-looking roast |
| Il me faut une minute pour un brin de toilette | I need a minute to freshen up |
| French | English |
|---|---|
| çela m'est sorti de l'esprit | It slipped my mind |
| Son nom me rappelle quelque chose, mais je ne peux pas le remettre | His name rings a bell, but I can't place him |
| Je suis puni où j'ai pêché | I got what was coming to me |
| Elle se conduit commme une chatte en folie | She has the morals of an alley cat |
| C'est un vieux polisson | He's a dirty old man |
| Dès qu'il parle, on voit qu'il a de la branche | When he speaks you can tell he comes from a good family |
| Quel mufle! | What a skunk! |
| Cette jeunesse est bien mal policée | Young people nowadays have no manners |
| Son patron l'a fichu dehors | The boss gave him the ax |
| La loi du plus fort est toujours la meilleure | Might makes right |
| Nous ne conaissons pas encore sa régulière | We don't know his better half yet |
| Ils avaient pactisé avec l'ennemi | They made a deal with the enemy |
| Il est inscrit au chômage depuis le mois dernier | He's been drawing unemployment since last month |
| Je m'interroge sur mon avenir | I have doubts about my future |
Trick: The above conversational riffs are one-liners designed to give you a toehold in conversations. You memorize them one at a time, by having a list of them in your pocket, tucked into file folders, scribbled on file cards or on business cards, taped to your car's dashboard.
When you've gotten accustomed to using phrases and sentences, upgrade to the absolute best technique, the pinnacle of language practice: memorizing entire paragraphs, dialogues, ad monologues. They can be from anything, and they'll get you inside the guts of a foreign language better than anything.
Other Resources
Below are some sources for French dialogues and important vocabulary.
Books
- Street French 1, 2, and 3: The Best of French Slang, Idioms, and Naughty French by David Burke (Wiley)
- 2001 French and English Idioms by Denoeu, D. Sices, & J. Sices (Barron's)
- Harper Collins Robert French Concise Dictionary
- Cambridge French-English Thesaurus
French Web Radio
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