introduce your friend in french essay

Lyceum – Windlesham House School

An Academic Blog

Describing your best friend…in French!

Adeline Moore – Head of Modern Foreign Languages

The Twos (Year 7) recently had to describe their best friends using complex French  expressions and vocabulary. Below are some examples of their work. Some were created using the app ‘Pic Collage’.

And one more example…

Ma meilleure amie

Ma meilleure amie s’appelle Erin.

Elle est née au Texas en Amérique.

Son anniversaire c’est le six juin et elle a les yeux verts et un petit peu bleu.

Erin est de taille moyenne et elle est mince et très belle.

Elle est extrêmement polie et vraiment sympa.

Je l’aime bien parce que je la trouve attentionnée.

Je m’entends bien avec elle parce qu’elle m’écoute et nous aimons faire les mêmes choses.

Elle est aussi vraiment chouette et nous aimons jouer ensemble.

Aussi nous faisons beaucoup d’art.

As you can see, the Twos not only are producing excellent French, but are also having a lot of fun while doing so!

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LinguaJunkie.com

A very cranky language blogger dishing out brutal language tips.

How to Introduce Yourself in French in 10+ Lines + Audio

Want to speak French? Yes? Good – keep reading.

This is for those that truly want to learn the language. Here’s how you introduce yourself in French in 10 easy lines… and this might take you 2 to 3 minutes or less. You can also listen to audio by pressing the play button.

There’s also a PDF for these phrases at the end!

But if you’re JUST looking for the ONE French phrase, it’s this:

• My name is ______.
• Je m’appelle ______.

1) Bonjour, enchanté(e) de faire votre connaissance.

“Hello” and “Nice to meet you” are must-know phrases. Any introduction will probably will start with these words.

• Hello, it’s nice to meet you.
• Bonjour, enchanté(e) de faire votre connaissance.

You should also listen and hear real French – Press play below. Try this Free Lesson from FrenchPod101.com (click here to visit) for the complete explanation about introducing yourself!

Press play to listen below.

Now, let’s say someone asks for your name in French.

They would say….

2) Comment t’appelles-tu?

• What’s your name?
• Comment t’appelles-tu?

3) Je m’appelle ______.

This is simple. To say “my name is” in French, you just need the phrase “Je m’appelle.” Then say your name. For example, if the name is Linguajunkie, it would be like this…

• Je m’appelle Linguajunkie.

Here’s another example:

• Je m’appelle Robert. Comment t’appelles tu ?
• My name is Robert. What’s your name?

4) Je viens de ____.

So, where are you from? America? Europe? Africa? Asia? Just stick the name of your country inside this phrase. We’ll use France as an example.

• Je viens de France .
• I’m from France .

5) J’habite à ______.

What about now – where do you live? Just fill in the blank with the country or city (if famous) into this phrase. I’ll use Paris as an example.

• J’habite à Paris .
• I live in Paris .

6) J’apprends le français depuis _____.

How long have you been learning French for? A month? A year?

• J’apprends le français depuis un an .
• I’ve been learning French for a year .

7) J’apprends le français sur _____.

Where are you learning French? At school? At home? This would be a great line to know and use when you’re introducing yourself. Here’s my example:

• J’apprends le français sur FrenchPod101.com .
• I’m learning French at FrenchPod101.com .

8) J’ai  ___  ans.

Here’s how to say how old you are in French. Just add the number in. You will want to know French numbers from 1 to 100 , so click the link to review and find out how to say your age in French.

• J’ai      ans.
• J’ai 27 ans.
• I’m 27 years old .

9) Je suis ______.

What about your position? Are you a student? Yoga teacher? Lawyer for the potato industry? Potato salesman? Super important question that people like to ask (and judge you about – Hey, I’m just a blogger! ). Just use “ani” meaning “I” and add your position.

• Je suis enseignant (e).
• I’m a teacher .

Here are some examples of other jobs:

• ingénieur – engineer
• programmeur – programmar
• infirmière – nurse
• professeur – professor
• employé de bureau – office worker/clerk
• ouvrier de société – company worker
• gérant – manager
• secrétaire – secretary
• docteur – doctor
• agent comptable – accountant
• officier de police – police officer
• pompier – firefighter
• avocat – lawyer
• cuisinier – cook

10) Un de mes passe-temps est la lecture. _____.

Now, let’s move onto personal interests – hobbies! My hobbies are languages, linguajunkieing and such. How about you? You’ll definitely need this line when introducing yourself in French.

Here’s an example to use:

• Un de mes passe-temps est la lecture.
• One of my hobbies is reading.

11) J’aime écouter de la musique.

Now, this is just another example line about your hobbies . You can use something else where.

• J’aime écouter de la musique.
• I enjoy listening to music.

So now you know how to introduce yourself in French.

Remember, if there’s only ONE phrase you’ll remember me, Lingajunkie, let it be:

If you want a French PDF lesson for this Introductions lesson, check out the link below. You can download it for free.

Let’s recap the French phrases for self-introduction:

I’m sure there’s a ton more you can say – but this is an easy, simple start that any beginner can put to use. It’s all about starting easy. Here are the French lines for your self-introduction.

See if you can introduce yourself below. Leave me a comment.

I read all comments!

Hope you enjoyed this!

– The Main Junkie

P.S. I highly recommend this for French learners. If you REALLY want to learn French with effective lessons by real teachers – Sign up for free at FrenchPod101 (click here) and start learning!

tomorrow is my french exam and this helped me a lot

Merci,this helps alot

Wow I love this it help a lot

Merci beaucoup

merci becoup

I found this very useful as I prepare myself for the oral test thanx for this

how to say daddy in french

THANKS FOR THIS!!

merci madam

how do you say ” I am taking 6 classes this semester” ?

merci bonjour je m’appelle Malveer J’habite a mosh

um…could you write an introduction for students?????

[…] learn bonus lines for introducing yourself in French in part […]

Bonjour , enchante de faire votre connaissance. je m’appelle Gloria Ewoigbe . Je viens de Nigeria. J’ai 17 ans. J’habite ‘a England . J’apprends Francais depuis trois mois. j’apprends Francais ‘a mon Ecole, ma maison et sur French pod 101 .com un de mes passe -temps est la lecture. J’aime ecouter la Chritienne musique . J’aime Paris repas il est de’licious. Je suis une etudiante . Aussi J’aime Dieu. Et Toi? qui es -tu?

[…] This next section of French phrases contains basics you’d need for conversations. Like, how to say “yes,” “thank you,” “how are you,” or even introduce yourself in French. […]

whats up yo

Thank you for helping

It was not easy and unable to understand for a 7 class child

Very nice! I love it! It helped me a lot!!

Wow I can’t read?

agréable de vous rencontrer copains

Mille merci

Merci, C’est tres simple et utile 😉

You cannot copy content of this page

How to Introduce Yourself and Others in French

Perfecting Les Présentations

• Pronunciation & Conversation
• Resources For Teachers

When you meet French speakers , you need to know how to introduce yourself and what to say when you are introduced. French can be a bit tricky when introducing yourself or others depending on whether you know the person to whom you are making the introduction(s) or even if you have had any contact with the person. In French, those circumstances all require different introductions.

Basic Introductions

French uses the verb  se présenter, not  introduire,  meaning to introduce something into something else, which translates into English as "to insert." The most basic introduction in French, then, would be:

• Je me présente. = Let me introduce myself.

Using s’appeler is the common way of introducing yourself in French. Don’t think of it as “to name oneself” because it will only confuse you. Think of it in the context of introducing your name to someone, and link the French words to that context instead of applying a literal translation, as in:

• Je m​'appelle ... = My name is...

Use je suis with people who already know your name, such as those you have already talked to on the phone or by mail but never met in person, as in:

• Je suis... =  I am...

If you don't know the person or have never spoken to him on the phone or contacted him by email or mail, use  je m’appelle,  as noted previously.

Introducing by Name

There are also distinctions between formal and informal introductions, as well as singular versus plural introductions, as noted in the tables in this and the subsequent section.

Meeting People

In French, when you are meeting people , you have to be careful about using the correct gender , as well as whether the introduction is formal or informal, as in these examples.

French Names

Nicknames — or  un surnom in French — are much less common in this Romance language than in American English, but they are not unheard of. Often, a longer first name will be shortened, such as  Caro  for Caroline or  Flo  for Florence. 

Cheek Kissing and Other Greetings

Cheek kissing  is certainly an accepted form of greeting in France, but there are strict (unwritten) social rules to follow. Cheek kissing is generally OK, for example, but not hugging. So, it's important to learn not only the words that go with cheek kissing — such as  bonjour  (hello) — but also the social norms that are expected when greeting someone in this manner. There are also other ways to say " hello " and ask " How are you? " in French.

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• Les Chaussures Is French for Shoes, Boots, and Flip-flops
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• Talking About Your Period or Asking for a Tampon in French

How to Introduce Yourself in French — Be Unforgettable!

We all want to make a great, long-lasting first impression. Just moved to France and are eager to make new local friends? Are you traveling and looking for people to practice your French with? Or maybe you’re on the hunt for a job, anxious to outshine the competition?

The beauty of the introduction is that you don’t need to be fluent to come up with a catchy script that you can use in any social occasion, be it professional or casual, in person or in writing. No matter your level of French , if you learn the right tips and tricks, you’ll make people interested and they’ll remember you.

From situational French phrases to talking about your family in French, this complete guide will reveal all the secrets and best lines to introduce yourself in French like a boss and be unforgettable!

Table of Contents

• Warm Up With a Greeting!
• How to Learn about Each Other
• Specific Introduction Lines
• How to Leave an Impression
• How FrenchPod101 Can Help You Learn More about Introducing Yourself

1. Warm Up with a Greeting!

Before anything else, you want to follow the French etiquette and start with a greeting. That said, let’s go ahead and learn some greetings in French.

1- Bonjour or Salut?

Do you remember our short list of fail-proof greetings? Here’s how we start the conversation:

• Bonjour (“Hello” or “Good day”) can be used from morning to sundown, in almost any case. Neither too formal nor too relaxed, you cannot go wrong with it.
• Bonsoir (“Good evening”) is the night-time counterpart of bonjour and can be used professionally as well as with friends.
• Salut (“Hi”) is the casual bonjour that you use at any time of the day, with friends and peers.

2- Tu or Vous ?

French has two forms of “you.” When meeting new people, you’ll always have to figure out which one to use. Don’t worry, it’s pretty straightforward!

Vous is for formal encounters and Tu is for more casual interactions. If you meet someone for the first time, there’s a good chance you’ll use Vous , unless you’re meeting friends of friends or meeting strangers in an informal context such as a bar or a club.

Here’s a simple summary:

• Friends, peers, family, kids or teens, animals: Tu
• Anybody else: Vous (until decided otherwise by both parties)
• Whenever in doubt: Vous

3- Handshake or La Bise ?

Another tricky question: Should you shake hands or use La bise, our typical French custom of kissing on the cheeks?

• If you’ve used Salut and Tu and you’re greeting someone of the opposite sex, there’s a good chance you could go for La bise.
• Otherwise or whenever in doubt, go for a firm handshake! Remember that La bise is one of the more casual greetings in French, though common.

Make sure to check out our complete guide about “ How to Say Hello in French ” for more vocabulary and cultural insight about the subtle art of French greetings!

You can also practice your accent using our list of Common Ways to Say Hello with audio recordings on FrenchPod101 .

2. How to Learn about Each Other

Now, let’s have a look at the classic questions and answers that usually come up when you meet someone. You’ll learn not only how to answer these questions and tell about yourself, but also to inquire about the other person and learn more about them.

Most questions have two forms ( casual and formal ) while most answers simply have one form .

1- What’’s Your Name?

To give your name or ask someone’s in French, we use the verb S’appeler .

• Je m’appelle Bob (“My name is Bob”) literally means: “I call myself Bob.”
• This is the most common way to state your name. It works in both formal and casual situations.

Next, you can return the question:

When asked back, in a casual situation, you can answer:

• Moi, c’est Bob. (“I’m Bob.”)

2- Where are You From?

Unless you’ve worked hard on your accent with FrenchPod101 , your new friends will most likely guess that you’re not from France and ask you where you’re from. Here’s how:

If you’re from another country, you can answer with any of these:

• Je viens de Chine. (“I’m coming from China.”)
• Je suis Chinois. [Male] / Je suis Chinoise. [Female] (“I am Chinese.”)

If you want to state the city where you’re currently living, it would be:

• Je viens de Paris. (“I’m coming from Paris.”)
• J’habite à Paris. (“I’m living in Paris.”)

Check out our extensive list of Vocabulary for Nationalities and learn how to state where you’re from. It’s so important to learn useful contextual French phrases like this!

3- What’s Your Profession?

It’s common in France to ask about the other person’s job early in the conversation . It usually comes before what we see as more personal details, such as age, marital status, or family. If your new friend has a cool profession and you can follow-up with more questions, this can also be a great ice-breaker! Here’s what you’ll need to know about talking about your profession in French!

Possible answers are:

• Je suis étudiant(e). (“I’m a student.”)
• J’étudie la biologie. (“I’m studying biology.”)
• Je travaille dans l’informatique. (“I’m working in IT.”)
• Je suis dans la finance. (“I’m working in finance.”)
• Je suis charpentier. (“I’m a carpenter.”)

A bit of slang: Travail or Métier (“Occupation” or “Profession”) are often replaced in casual conversations with any of these slang alternatives:

• Boulot; Taf; Job

Find more job names on our list of jobs in French with translations and audio recording. And if you’re a student, you can find another list about School Subjects .

4- Tell Me about Your Family!

This isn’t likely to come up right away when meeting new people, but as you get to know more about them, this conversation topic is perfectly fine. Below you’ll find information on talking about your family in French.

Some possible answers are:

• Oui, je suis marié(e). (“Yes, I’m married.”)
• Non, je suis célibataire. (“No, I’m single.”)
• Non, je suis divorcé(e). (“No, I’m divorced.”)
• J’ai deux enfants. (“I have two kids.”)
• J’ai un petit frère et une grande soeur. (“I have a little brother and a big sister.”)

Learn more on talking about your family in French with our list of Must-know French Terms for Family Members .

5- How Old are You?

The French are a bit more demanding on politeness than other countries. For instance, it can be seen as rude or insensitive to ask a woman about her age, unless you’re talking to a young girl or woman that would obviously not shy away from the question.

In most cases, it’s absolutely fine, though. Don’t let us scare you with French etiquette! Talking about your age in French really just comes down to the information below.

You can answer with:

• J’ai 30 ans. (“I’m 30 years old.”)

As you grow older, it’s perfectly acceptable to start lying about your age. 😉

6- What are Your Hobbies?

Now that we’ve got the mundanities out of the way, let’s share more personal information by talking about our hobbies and passions in French.

You could answer virtually anything, but here are some examples:

• Je joue au tennis. (“I’m playing tennis.”)
• Je joue du piano. (“I’m playing piano.”)
• Je passe mes nuits sur HBO. (“I spend my nights on HBO.”)
• J’écris un journal de voyage. (“I’m writing a travel diary.”)

We have a vocabulary list about hobbies with translations and recordings, as well as a free PDF lesson with even more words for you to learn!

The best way to learn how to pronounce all these introduction sentences? Check our list of 10 Lines You Need for Introducing Yourself and practice your French pronunciation!

3. Specific Introduction Lines

Now that we’ve seen the most common questions and answers, let’s see how to introduce yourself with useful French phrases in more targeted situations with short conversation examples:

1- When You Travel (Meeting Friendly Locals)

• Tu voyages depuis longtemps ? (“Have you been travelling for a long time?”)
• Je voyage depuis deux mois. (“I have been travelling for two months.”)
• Tu as visité quels autres pays ? (“What other countries did you visit?”)
• Je suis allé(e) en Espagne et en Italie. (“I have been to Spain and Italy.”)

Find more vocabulary and recordings in our Travel and Traveling vocabulary lists.

2- At Work (Meeting Your Coworkers)

• Tu travailles dans quel service ? (“In which division are you working?”)
• Je travaille aux ressources humaines. (“I’m working with HR.”)
• Tu bosses sur quoi en ce moment ? (“What are you working on right now?”)
• Je viens de commencer un nouveau projet. (“I have just started working on a new project.”)

3- In a Casual Social Event (Meeting Friends, a Date)

• Tu fais quoi demain soir ? (“What are you doing tomorrow night?”)
• Je vais au cinéma avec un pote. (“I’m going to a movie with a pal.”)
• Tu as un copain ? / Tu as une copine ? (“Do you have a boyfriend / girlfriend?”)
• Non, on a rompu il y a deux semaines. (“No, we broke up two weeks ago.”)

4- Family Meetings (Meeting Your Parents-in-law)

• Vous vous êtes rencontrés comment ? (“How did you meet?”)
• J’ai rencontré Julie à l’université. (“I have met Julie at the university.”)
• Comment tu connais Bastien ? (“How do you know Bastien?”)
• On travaille ensemble. (“We work together.”)

4. How to Leave an Impression

1- Less is More!

Don’t make it all about yourself. As tempting as it is to talk about your dancing eyebrows talent, snail-watching hobby, or any of your groundbreaking achievements, try to keep it to yourself and keep some mystery alive . When someone asks something about you, you don’t have to divulge a whole chapter of your biography. Just throw some juicy teasers and play hard-to-get. It’ll make you more interesting and appealing.

In the meantime, talking less about yourself will leave you more time to inquire about the other person, ask them questions , and learn more about their culture and passions! Listen to what they have to say; don’t think about what you want to say next.

2- Show Your Interest

When meeting someone for the first time, it’s customary in France to drop a word of appreciation once you’ve learned that person’s name. This can take different forms:

• Enchanté(e) (“Delighted”) is the easiest and most common.
• Ravi(e) de vous rencontrer or Heureux / Heureuse de vous rencontrer (“Happy to meet you”)
• C’est un plaisir de vous rencontrer (“It’s a pleasure to meet you”) You can cut it down to Un plaisir de vous rencontrer (“Pleased to meet you”) or even Un plaisir (“A pleasure”).

But there are many other ways to show your interest when you greet in French:

• Je m’appelle Julie. (“My name is Julie.”)
• C’est un très joli prénom. (“It’s a really pretty name.”)
• Je suis photographe. (“I’m a photographer.”)
• Génial ! Quel genre de photos ? (“Great! What kind of photos?”)
• J’ai 40 ans. (“I’m 40 years old.”)
• Vraiment ? Tu fais beaucoup plus jeune. (“Really? You look so much younger.”)

3- Start the Conversation in French

French people love to hear French. This is partly because we’re terrible at foreign languages, but the fact is that even if you only babble a few words of French to your new local friends before switching to English, you’re likely to make a good first impression!

Whatever your level is, even if you’re a complete beginner, our advice is to always start the conversation in French. It doesn’t matter if you only know how to say Bonjour (“Hello”) or Je ne parle pas français . (“I don’t speak French.”). Starting the conversation in French will get you off to a much better start than if you open with English.

5. How FrenchPod101 Can Help You Learn More about Introducing Yourself

In this guide, you’ve learned how to introduce yourself in French, from greeting to talking about your job and passions. You’ve also seen how to learn more about them while showing your interest.

Do you feel ready to introduce yourself to your new French friends and make sure nobody ever forgets about you? How would you introduce yourself to your colleague or to a girl you like? And what would you ask?

A good exercise is to write down your presentation and tell as much as you want about you. Following this guide, you already have everything you need to write a great introduction. But if you want to go further, FrenchPod101 has plenty of free resources for you to practice your grammar and vocabulary!

Go further with MyTeacher for one-on-one guidance tailored to your needs. Practice introducing yourself to your private teacher and get personalized feedback and advice!

We hope you learned a lot of practical greetings in French, along with useful contextual French phrases to help you as you start out your travels in France. Best wishes!

About the Author: Born and bred in the rainy north of France, Cyril Danon has been bouncing off various jobs before he left everything behind to wander around the wonders of the World. Now, after quenching his wanderlust for the last few years, he’s eager to share his passion for languages.

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8 ways to introduce yourself in French

January 30, 2021

This article contains affiliate links. This means French Together may earn a commission for purchases made through these links. Read our full affiliate disclosure .

Introducing yourself in French is an important skill.  After all, chances are, at least part of the reason you’re learning French is to talk to French speakers one day, right?

But what will you say when you meet them?

Let’s look at 8 ways to introduce yourself in French, as well as some ways to introduce someone else, too.

Here are 8 common ways to introduce yourself in French.

The standard French introduction: Bonjour, je m’appelle _.

The most common way to introduce yourself in French is to say Bonjour, je m’appelle,  followed by your name.

This can be used in most formal as well as informal situations.

As you may have noticed, there’s nothing complicated about this introduction; it literally translates to “Hello, my name is _ .”

Bonjour, je m’appelle Jean. (Hello, my name is Jean.)

The less formal standard French introduction: Salut, je m’appelle _ .

You can make the standard way of introducing yourself in French a little more informal by using Salut instead of Bonjour , with Salut, je m’appelle (Hi, my name is _ )

Salut, je m’appelle Marie. (Hi, my name is Marie.)

The “I am” standard introduction: Bonjour/Salut, je suis _ .

If you want to change it up, you can pair either Bonjour  or Salut  with je suis , instead of je m’appelle ,  followed by your name.

These two expressions are more or less equivalent and choosing to say je m’appelle or je suis is mostly just a personal preference.

Bonjour, je suis Jean. Salut, je suis Marie. (Hi, I’m Jean. Hi, I’m Marie.)

The formal French introduction: Bonjour, je me présente….

If you’re giving a speech, introducing yourself at a job interview, or in some other very formal or extremely professional situation, you may want a more formal way to introduce yourself. (Even though, in most cases, Bonjour, je m’appelle _  works perfectly fine.) 

This would be: Bonjour, je me présente. Je m’appelle/Je suis _ .  (Allow me to introduce myself. My name is/I’m _ .)

Bonjour, je me présente. Je m’appelle Marie. (Hello, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Marie.)

The “And I’m…” introduction: Moi c’est _

In English, we might introduce ourselves after someone else by saying “And I’m _ .”  To do this in French, you’d say Moi c’est _ .

Bonjour, je m’appelle Jean.  (Hi, my name is Jean.) Moi c’est Marie.                    (And I’m Marie.) Bienvenue sur notre chaîne YouTube ! (Welcome to our YouTube channel!)

Note that, as in English, this phrase can often seem slightly informal/friendly. In a very formal context, you should probably say Et je m’appelle _  instead.

The “By the way, I’m….”: Moi c’est _ .

Sometimes you’ll also see the previous example, Moi c’est _ , used to mean “By the way, I’m _ ” or “I’m _ , by the way.”

This somewhat informal usage would come in the middle of a conversation, when you realize that you haven’t introduced yourself yet. Of course, there are other ways to do this, depending on the context and vibe of the conversation. For instance, there could be a lull and you could simply use the standard introduction instead.

C’était un super match! (What a great game!) Oui vraiment bien. (Yeah, it was really good!) Moi c’est Jean. (I’m Jean, by the way.) Bonjour Jean, je m’appelle Marie.   (Hello Jean, I’m Marie.)

The radio or TV introduction: Ici _

If you watch a French news broadcast or listen to the radio in French, you may hear a reporter say Ici  followed by their name. This roughly translates to “This is…”

Note that this introduction is only used in this context, so unfortunately, you shouldn’t try to adopt it in real life. But if you’re ever reporting for a French newscast, this is the one to use!

Ici Marie Dupont, en direct de Paris.  (This is Marie Dupont, reporting live from Paris.)

The phone-only introduction: _ à l’appareil.

Most of the time, a French person will use a standard introduction when introducing themself over the phone. But in some cases, especially if you called to speak to them, you might hear:  [Name] à l’appareil .

This translates to “ _ here” or “ _ speaking.”

This introduction is typically used in formal business situations, especially if the line has been transferred. Sometimes you may also hear it if a business contact is calling you back, or, very rarely, if a business contact is calling you in general.

But when it comes to making phone calls in everyday life in French, you normally would just use a standard introduction, so this is primarily one to be familiar with but not necessarily use.

– Bonjour, je voudrais parler avec Jean Martin.  (Hello, I’d like to speak to Jean Martin.) – Un instant, je vous mets en ligne avec Monsieur Martin.  (One moment, I’ll connect you to Monsieur Martin.) – Bonjour, Jean Martin à l’appareil.  (Hello, Jean Martin speaking.)

How to introduce someone else in French

Now you know how to introduce yourself in French. But if you’re wondering how to introduce someone else in French, here are a few common options:

The formal way to introduce someone else : Je vous présente _ /Je te présente _

Je vous présente _ /Je te présente _  means “Allow me to introduce _ ”

Note that this phrase depends on whether you use vous or tu with the person you’re talking to.

Example: Je vous pr é sente Marie. (Allow me to introduce Marie.).  

This is often followed by a brief explanation of who the person is.

Je vous présente Marie, ma collaboratrice.  (Allow me to introduce Marie, my business partner.)

The informal way to introduce someone else : Voici _

In a general or informal context, you can introduce someone else by saying Voici (This is), followed by their name. For instance: Voici Jean. (This is Jean.)

This phrase is often followed by some explanation of who the person is.

Voici Jean, mon meilleur ami.  (This is my best friend Jean.)

“Over there” introductions

You may find yourself introducing someone at a distance or talking about a new person in French. There are many ways to do this, but here are two common options.

• Ça, c’est _ (That person there is ).  

Ça, c’est Jean.  (That person there is Jean.)

Note that this phrase can be followed with additional information. For instance:

Ça, c’est Marie. Elle est française.  (That person there is Marie. She’s French.)

2. Voilà _. (That’s_).

Note that this phrase doesn’t always have to be immediately followed by a name.

Voilà Jean.  (That’s Jean.) Voilà mon frère. Il s’appelle Jean.  (That’s my brother. His name is Jean.)

How to respond to an introduction in French

Depending on the situation and context, there are many ways to respond to an introduction in French.

The easiest and most typical is saying Enchanté(e) , a very useful word that means “Pleased to meet you” or “A pleasure to meet you.”  

Enchant é( e)  can be used in formal and informal contexts.

Although it’s pronounced the same way in its masculine and feminine forms, if you’re writing it, remember to make it agree with your gender.

– Bonjour, je m’appelle Marie. – Enchanté.

If you want to reply a little more formally, you could say Ravi(e) de faire votre connaissance  (I’m pleased to meet you.)

More formal still is C’est un plaisir de faire votre connaissance. (It’s a pleasure to meet you.)

Another way to respond to a French introduction is to simply say Bonjour or Salut , followed by the person’s name . This will probably be followed by an expression of courtesy, like one of the two above, or else with some sort of information or phrase.

– Bonjour, je m’appelle Marie. (Hello, I’m Marie.) – Ravi de faire votre connaissance. Moi, c’est Jean. (I’m pleased to meet you. (And) I’m Jean.)

How to follow up an introduction in French

Often when you introduce yourself, you may need or want to add some additional details about why you’re there, who you are, etc.

Fortunately, like most French introductions, these are also fairly intuitive and basic, for the most part.

For instance, you might talk about where you’re from, how old you are, what you do for work, how you know a common acquaintance, etc.

Here are some examples:

Bonjour, je m’appelle Marie. Je viens de Paris. (Hello, I’m Marie. I’m from Paris.) Salut, je m’appelle Marie. J’ai 25 ans. (Hi, I’m Marie. I’m 25 years old.) Bonjour, je m’appelle Marie. Je suis médecin. (Hello, I’m Marie. I’m a doctor.) Bonjour, je m’appelle Marie. Je travaille avec Jean. (Hello, I’m Marie. I work with Jean.)

You can also follow up an introduction by asking about the other person. The easiest and most common way to do this is with the phrase Et vous ?  or Et toi ?

For instance:

– Bonjour, je m’appelle Marie. Je viens de Paris. Et toi ?   (Hello, my name is Marie. I’m from Paris. And you?) – Bonjour, Marie. Ravi de faire ta connaissance. Je m’appelle Jean. Je viens de Lyon. (Hello, Marie.Pleased to meet you. My name is Jean. I come from Lyon.)

Three takeaways about French introductions

Although there are several common ways to introduce yourself in French, keep in mind that:

• You will almost always begin an introduction by saying Bonjour or Salut .
• You will never use the verb introduire  to introduce yourself or someone else in French. As this webpage helpfully points out, that’s because the verb introduire in French means  to physically put something inside of something else. That would be quite an awkward mistake!
• It’s easy to learn how to introduce yourself in French because it’s fairly intuitive and there aren’t a lot of options or variations. Just a greeting and saying what your name is, is perfectly sufficient!

How can I practice introducing myself in French?

The best way to practice introducing yourself in French is to actually do it! if you can’t travel to a French-speaking country, you can find French-speaking conversation partners  in real life and, easier still, online. Conversation exchanges are often free and are a great way to meet new people and practice French.

Reading, listening to, and watching things in French  is also helpful, since people and characters will often have to introduce themselves and each other.

I hope you found this introduction to French introductions helpful. Have you ever introduced yourself in French? What, if any, details about yourself did you add? Feel free to share in the comments! And feel free to introduce yourself there, too!

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How to Introduce Yourself in French

Last Updated: March 16, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Language Academia and by wikiHow staff writer, Glenn Carreau . Language Academia is a private, online language school founded by Kordilia Foxstone. Kordilia and her team specialize in teaching foreign languages and accent reduction. Language Academia offers courses in several languages, including English, Spanish, and Mandarin. There are 8 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 155,341 times.

If you want to master French, it’s important to learn the basics—including how to introduce yourself. By learning just a few simple words and phrases, you can greet and get to know French speakers. You can even form cross-language friendships! This comprehensive guide will show you how to say hello, identify yourself, and share some information with your new acquaintance.

Greetings in French

• " Bonjour " is pronounced, "bohn-zhoor." The "zh" sound is pronounced like the "ge" in "deluge." The “n” is delicate, almost silent. The “r” is also delicate and pronounced with friction (like a gargling sound) in your throat.
• The “bon” in " Bonjour " means “good,” and “jour” means “day.” Put together into one word, it means “Good day.”

• " Salut " is pronounced, “Sah-loo.” The "loo" uses a subtle sound uncommon in English; it sounds like "liu" with a very soft ee sound at the beginning.

• " Bon matin " is pronounced “bohn mah-ten.” “ Bon ” is pronounced like the beginning of Bonjour , while the “tin” in matin has a soft, subtle “n” sound that is almost silent.

• " Bonsoir " is pronounced “Bohn-swahr.” Like the end of Bonjour , the “r” is soft and pronounced with a gargling sound in your throat.
• " Bonne nuit " is pronounced, “Bun nwee.” " Bonne " has more of a heavy “u” sound than " Bon ."

• An informal way to say, “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” is " C’est un plaisir de faire votre reconnaissance " (pronounced, “Set uhn play-zheer duh fayr vot-ruh re-ko-nay-sans”).
• The formal version of this phrase is " C'est un plaisir de vous rencontrer " (pronounced, “Set uhn play-zheer duh voo ran-con-tray”). It means, “It is a pleasure to meet you.”
• " Enchanté de faire votre connaissance " is pronounced, “An-shan-tay duh fayr vot-ruh con-nay-sahnse.”

Giving Your Name in French

• " Je m’appelle " is pronounced, “Zhuh mah-pell.” Again, the " Je " here (or the “zhuh” sound) is pronounced like the "ge" in "deluge."
• For example, a full introduction could be, “ Bonjour! Je m’appelle David. ” In that case, you’d be saying, “Good day! My name is David.”
• Tell someone if you have a preferred name. Say " Je m'appelle Alexandra, mais je me fais appeler Alex " (“Zhuh mah-pell Alexandra, may zhuh muh fay ah-pel-ay Alex.”) It means, “My name is Alexandra, but I prefer to be called Alex.”

• " Je suis " is pronounced, “Zhuh swee.”
• In a full sentence, you could say, “ Bonsoir! Je suis Alex ,” to introduce yourself.

• Finish the phrase by saying your name after " Moi c’est. " In a full sentence, you could say, “ Moi c’est Candice .”
• " Moi c’est " is pronounced, “Mwah say.” The phrase " c’est " can sound different depending on the context, which is why it sounds like “say” here, but “set” in C’est un plaisir de vous rencontrer.

• For example, you could say, “ Bonjour, je me présente. Je m’appelle Karin, ” which means, “Hello, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Karin.”
• " Je me présente " is pronounced, “Zhuh muh pray-zant.”

• "(Name) à l’appareil" is pronounced, “ah lah-par-ay.” Like other words with an “r” sound, this “r” is delicate and pronounced with friction in your throat.
• When answering the phone in French, you can also begin with the greeting " Allô ?" (Ah-low?) It means “Hello,” and it’s only used by French speakers over the phone.

Sharing Information in French

• " J'habite à " is pronounced “Zhah-beet ah.”
• Finish the phrase by naming your town or even country of origin. For example, " J'habite à New York! " means “I live in New York!”

• For example, you could say, " Je suis docteur, " which means, “I am a doctor,” or " Je suis artiste, " which means, “I am an artist.”
• If you’re in school (rather than working), talk about your main area of study by saying " J’étudie " (Zhey-too-dee), which means, “I study.” For example, " J’étudie l'écriture créative " means, “I study creative writing.”

• " J'ai (number) ans " is pronounced, “Zheh (number) ahn.” The final n is delicate and almost silent.

• " Je vous présente …" (Zhuh voo preh-zont) means “I present to you…” Say the other person’s name after this introductory phrase.
• " Voici …" (Vwuh-see…) means “Here is…” This is a more informal way to introduce someone. Like the first phrase, say the other person’s name after saying Voici.

• " Comment vous appelez-vous? " (“Co-mahnt vooz ah-play-voo?”) means “What is your name?”
• " D'où êtes-vous? " (“Doo eht-voo?”) means “Where are you from?”
• " Quel est votre profession? " (Kell ay vote-ruh pro-fess-yone?) means “What do you do for a living?”
• " Comment allez-vous? " (Co-mahnt ah-lay-voo?) means “How are you?”

Community Q&A

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://lingvist.com/course/learn-french-online/resources/french-greetings/
• ↑ https://alpinefrenchschool.com/blog/les-salutations/
• ↑ https://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/meet.htm
• ↑ http://www.frenchtutorial.com/en/learn-french/vocabulary/introducing
• ↑ https://www.tandem.net/blog/the-complete-guide-to-introducing-yourself-in-french
• ↑ https://www.mattfrenchtutor.com/courses/vocabulary/lessons/how-to-introduce-yourself/
• ↑ https://www.lawlessfrench.com/vocabulary/on-the-phone/
• ↑ https://www.mezzoguild.com/learn/french/phrases/self-introduction/

About This Article

To introduce yourself in French, start by saying, “Bonjour,” which means “Hello,” or something more specific, like "Bonsoir" for "Good evening." Then, say, “Je m'appelle," or "My name is," followed by your name. Alternatively, try saying 'Je suis," which means "I am," before your name. In casual settings, you can simply state your name after you say, “Bonjour,” and shake the person's hand. For more tips, including how to introduce someone else in French, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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How To Introduce Yourself In French [Essential Phrases]

• Read time 11 mins

Salut ! Bonjour ! Comment vas-tu ?

Are you looking for ways to introduce yourself in French?

Knowing how to introduce yourself in French is a necessary skill; it can help us to make lasting friendships, get off on the right foot with new people, or meet a potential soulmate.

So if you’ve been wondering how to introduce yourself in French, take a look at this guide to learn ways to make a good first impression (and gain a few grammatical hints along the way).

How to introduce yourself in French the formal way: Step one, stating your name

To introduce yourself in French formally, that’s to people you don’t know, or in a work environment, simply say:

Bonjour je m’appelle [your name].

Now, je m’appelle literally translates to English as “I call myself”.

This is similar to the Spanish introductory phrase me llamo . But it is the standard way to tell someone your name and is used to say “my name is”.

You can then follow this up with the following sentence:

Je suis enchanté de vous rencontrer.

Note that the word enchanté here is the masculine single version of this adjective, whereas the word enchantée is the feminine single version of the adjective.

This means that if you’re a male introducing yourself to colleagues, you would use the adjective enchanté , and if you’re a female introducing yourself to colleagues, you would use the adjective enchantée .

What you should also note is that the formal version of making French introductions uses the pronoun vous .

This differs from the informal French introduction, as you will see in the following section.

One quick fact: enchanté or enchantée as an adjective means “delighted” or “pleased”.

How to introduce yourself in French the informal way

So now, let’s look at how to introduce yourself in French informally, which means to friends of friends, or family members related to your spouse who you’re meeting for the first time.

This requires a different register, but it’s less complex than the informal way to introduce yourself in French.

To do it, simply say:

Salut, je m’appelle [your name].

In this instance, did you notice that the introductory greeting word bonjour has been replaced with salut ?

This is because salut is normally used when greeting friends and family.

Quick tip: salut sort of means “hi” in English.

You can continue by saying the following:

Enchanté de te rencontrer.

Now, in this sentence, note that you don’t use the vous pronoun.

This has been replaced with the pronoun te , which must be used if you’re speaking with friends of friends or new family members that you might be meeting for the first time.

If you use vous , your introduction will sound a bit off… as though you’re being prim and proper with close friends.

That’s okay, but you’ll probably want to stick with te if you’re speaking with friends of friends.

What if you’re not sure if the situation is formal or informal?

It’s not always clear whether the situation is formal or informal.

For this reason, it’s always good to have a backup.

Instead of je suis enchanté de vous rencontrer or enchanté de te rencontrer , is just the word enchanté (if your male), or enchantée if you’re female.

What are reflexive pronouns and how to use them when introducing yourself in French?

You might have noticed, when reading this article on how to introduce yourself in French, that in the sentence je m’appelle , there is a strange m followed by an apostrophe.

This m’ is a reflexive pronoun and means that the verb appelle is reflexive.

Reflexive verbs are used when introducing yourself in French or asking someone their name in French.

In many situations, they are the equivalent of using the word myself or yourself in the introductory sentence.

So, let’s go ahead and take a look at the many different reflexive pronouns in the French language:

Reflexive verbs can alter the meaning of a sentence since they make the object of the sentence different.

So in one context, you might use the reflexive s’appeler verb to say “call myself” or you might use it to say “call one another”.

How to introduce yourself in French: Step two, asking someone’s name

As well as knowing how to introduce yourself in French, you’re going to need to know how to ask someone their name in French too.

The way to ask someone their name in French in a formal situation is to ask the interrogative:

Comment vous appelez-vous ?

This would literally translate to the English language as “what do you call yourself?”.

Also take note that the verb appeler must be conjugated with the verb form related to the person you are addressing, so in the following section, we’ve covered how to conjugate the verb appeler . Stick with us to find out!

Asking someone their name with the verb appeler

So, why and how do we need to conjugate the verb appeler to ask someone their name? Well, in one situation you might be asking just one person who you already know because they’re a friend of a friend.

In this case, you’d conjugate the verb appeler in the second person informal form: appelles _and use the reflexive pronoun _se .

In another situation, you might be asking someone to tell you what their friend’s name is.

In this case, you’d conjugate the verb appeler in the third person informal form: appelle .

Comment il s’appelle ?

You might want to ask for the names of several people in French, which will require the vous form of the verb appeler and the reflexive pronoun vous :

Or in the off chance that you’re forming a new band, you might want to ask your bandmates “what are our names?” which will require the nous form of the verb appeler and the reflexive pronoun nous :

Comment nous appelons-nous ?

Let’s look at the conjugation table below to confirm all of the conjugations of appeler , so you know how to ask anyone for their name.

How to ask someone their name in French informally

As mentioned above, there is a different register and word choice required for informal situations.

Here’s how to ask someone their name in French in informal situations:

Comment t’appelles-tu ?

So, here, we have a different sentence structure which uses the pronoun tu instead of the pronoun vous .

How to introduce yourself in French: Step three, talking about where you’re from

When introducing yourself in French, as the dialogue or chat starts to flow, someone might ask you where you’re from.

They might say:

D’où venez-vous ?

Or they might say:

D’où viens-tu ?

As you might have noticed, each of these mean the same thing.

It’s just the register that’s different here.

The first interrogative is the formal vous form, and the second interrogative is the informal tu form; the first interrogative is used in formal situations and the second is used in informal ones.

Part of knowing how to introduce yourself in French is knowing how to respond to this question, so here’s how to do it:

Je viens de [name of country]

Someone who wants to get to know you might also then ask you where you live, which in French would be:

Où habitez-vous ?

Or if they’re a friend of a friend, they will use the informal:

Où habites-tu ?

In response, just use the sentence j’habite à [name of city] .

Introducing yourself in French: Step four, stating your age, hobbies and occupation

Now you’re hitting it off with a person, they might ask you how old you are, what your hobbies are and what your occupation is.

Let’s take a look at each of these in turn.

Talking about how old you are when introducing yourself in French

So, if someone wants to know how old you are, in French they might use the interrogative sentence:

Quel âge as-tu ?

Note that the French interrogative uses the verb avoir , meaning “to have” in English. This means the sentence would literally translate to English as “what age do you have?”

You can respond to this question by saying:

J’ai [number of years] ans

Talking about hobbies when introducing yourself in French

Say you’re preparing for a blind date with a French native speaker. One of the things you’ll want to be able to mention when you introduce yourself in French are your hobbies. They might ask you:

Que fais-tu pendant ton temps libre ?

And if you’re wondering how to introduce yourself in French and make the best impression with your special someone asks you a question like this, here’s how you might respond:

J’aime [state hobby or interest]

For instance, if you like to listen to music, you might say:

J’aime écouter de la musique.

Note that the sentence structure “I like to” in French normally features the verb aimer with a second verb in its infinitive form.

In our example above, the second verb is écouter meaning “to listen”.

Talking about your occupation when introducing yourself in French

One final, but critical thing that might come up when introducing yourself in French is your occupation; someone might ask you:

Quel est ton travail ?

Or, in formal contexts, they’ll ask:

Quel est votre travail ?

Both of these translate to English as “what is your job/occupation?”

If you’re asked about your occupation when introducing yourself in French, here’s the best way to answer.

Just as with the Spanish language, we don’t use the article a when describing our professions in French.

So whereas in English we would say “I am a teacher”, here’s the French equivalent:

Je suis médicin.

It works for any profession, just substitute the profession with your own.

General tips for getting better at self-introductions in French

As it’s sometimes challenging enough to introduce yourself without the grammatical rules here are six crucial tips to help you:

• Listen to introductory conversations in audios, podcasts or French films . Get a feel for the way French native speakers introduce themselves.
• If you’re starting with zero knowledge, sign up to a French course to get started. Introductory dialogues in these courses are useful starting points.
• If you know the basics but are struggling with verb conjugation, grab a stack of flashcards and write all six French pronouns on each one. Shuffle and select a flashcard from your stack. If you receive tu , try to conjugate the verb appeler in the tu form. Make this a habit every day until you get more confident. Repeat the flashcard game with a set of reflexive pronoun flashcards and you’ll be on your way.
• Some other challenges you might face as a French student is making literal translations between English and French. Now, this won’t work very well, particularly because English sentences don’t translate word for word when introducing yourself in French. Just to repeat an example, we don’t normally say “how old are you?” word for word in French. We don’t use the verb to be, either–we’d use the verb avoir in this case. Or, to use another example from this article, we don’t say “I am a writer” in French – it’s not a word for word translation. So, the tip is to avoid literal translations.
• It’s helpful to try and memorise some of these sentences to help you make the best impression. You’ll want to learn to think in French as well, even though this might be a bit challenging at first, so you could record your voice to practice introducing yourself in French. The more you record yourself, the more you’ll remember how to do this.

Make your first impression count in French

Introductions can make a difference to your relationships, but can be challenging in another language like French.

The best way to get better at introducing yourself is to do it often .

Connect with your local French community (ideally in a French-speaking country), or chat with French speakers online.

What are some other important phrases for self-introductions in French?

Comment below.

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Lesson 2 of French for beginners: introduce someone in French

French lesson 2 of communication: introduce someone in french.

After learning to simply introduce yourself with  lesson 1 introduce yourself in French , learning to introduce someone is the second thing you need to learn in French. This will be very useful in your first exchanges with French speakers. The video below will teach you how to simply introduce someone in French. For a person whom you wish to introduce in French, you will be able to express his/her first name, his/her age, his/her nationality, the place where he/she live (his/her city, his/her country), his/her occupation (his/her profession):

Speaking activity to introduce someone in French

Using the models below as inspiration, introduce your best male friend and your best female friend by making a video and posting your video to Flemotion's Vimeo group:  https://vimeo.com/groups/flemotion

Je vous présente mon meilleur ami. Il s’appelle (son prénom). Il a (son âge) ans. Il est (sa nationalité). Il habite à (sa ville). Il est (son métier).

Je vous présente ma meilleure amie. Elle s’appelle (son prénom). Elle a (son âge) ans. Elle est (sa nationalité). Elle habite à (sa ville). Elle est (son métier).

Writing activity to introduce someone in French

Using the models above (those in the speaking activity) as inspiration, introduce your best male friend and your best female friend by writing a comment under our Youtube video “introduce someone in French”:  https://youtu.be/L37WkNJgrNk  We will respond to all comments.

This second French communication lesson is part of the  French course 2: learn to introduce someone in French  which includes 8 additional videos and articles of conjugation, lexicon (vocabulary) and grammar.

Are you a FLE (Français Langue Étrangère = French as a foreign language) teacher? Recommend this article and this video to your beginner learners in French. You will find more explanations in this article:  the first lesson of a FLE teacher: lesson 0 .

Once you have mastered this second French lesson for beginners “introduce someone in French”, you can move on to the following French communication lesson:

Lesson 3 of French for beginners: greet and take leave with tu in French

You can find other communication lessons in French  by clicking here . You can also perfect your learning of the French language thanks to our:

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10 French basic sentences: Introducing yourself and someone

Introducing yourself and someone is one of the most fundamental and essential things to learn when studying a new language.

In this lesson, we will explore ten basic French sentences to help you introduce yourself and someone else.

• Bonjour, je m’appelle [votre nom]. (Hello, my name is [your name].)

Use this sentence to introduce yourself to someone.

• Je suis [nationalité]. (I am [nationality].)

Use this sentence to share your nationality or cultural background.

• Je viens de [ville / pays]. (I’m from [city / country].)

Use this sentence to share your place of origin or where you’re from.

• Enchanté(e) de vous rencontrer. (Nice to meet you.)

Use this sentence to express pleasure in meeting someone.

• Voici [nom de la personne]. (This is [person’s name].)

Use this sentence to introduce someone else to a third person.

• C’est mon ami(e). (This is my friend.)

Use this sentence to introduce someone as your friend.

• Elle / il est [profession ou occupation]. (She / he is a [profession or occupation].)

Use this sentence to introduce someone’s profession or occupation.

• Nous sommes étudiants. (We are students.)

Use this sentence to introduce yourself and others as students.

• Je parle [langue(s)]. (I speak [language(s)].)

Use this sentence to share your language skills or proficiency.

• Et vous, comment vous appelez-vous ? (And you, what is your name?)

Use this sentence to ask for someone’s name in a polite manner.

In conclusion, these ten basic French sentences for introducing yourself and someone else can help you communicate effectively and confidently with others. Whether you’re meeting someone for the first time, introducing a friend or acquaintance, or simply sharing information about yourself, these sentences will help you navigate your conversations in French. With practice, you will be able to use these sentences effortlessly and communicate effectively in a French-speaking environment.

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DELF A2 production orale: How to describe someone in French

How do you talk about the person you admire most in french? a celebrity or friend? What about their appearance and personality? Well, in this tutorial, we will look at how you should approach this topic by providing the necessary vocabulary and french phrases to get you going. In addition, you will find sample French A2 questions and cue cards, to practice. And finally authentic sample monologues.

French A2 Cue card Examples “Describe a person you admire”:

Parlez d’une personne célèbre que vous admirez (écrivain, sportif, acteur, chanteur, personnage de la vie politique…) : nom, âge, nationalité, activité… Décrivez-le/la physiquement. Dites pourquoi vous l’admirez.

Décrivez votre professeur préféré. Pourquoi l’aimez-vous ? Racontez un souvenir avec ce professeur.

Remember cue cards or questions are not limited to those listed above. Cue cards for describing someone can come in the form of talking about the person you admire most, appreciate, describing someone you know, such as their personality or appearance or both. The good news is these question types sometimes require the same basic vocabulary and response pattern.

How to talk about the person you admire in French

Since you will be given 2 cue cards to choose from, the first thing you should do is to introduce the topic you will be talking about. The following french expressions will come in handy.

Aujourd’hui, je vais parler de mon amour

Je vous présente mon idole/modèle/héro/héroïne

Je partage avec vous celui / celle que j’aime

En ce moment, on va parler de la personne que j’admire

You can continue by stating their profession.

Cette personne est …

Il / Elle est …

C’est un / une …

Celle / Celui dont je parle c’est …

List of professions in french you may find useful

Professeur – teacher              directeur(euse) – director                  artiste – artist

Médecin – doctor                   infirmier(ière) – nurse                                    dentiste – dentist

Sportif(ve) – athlete                chanteur(euse) – singer                      avocat(e) – lawyer

Soldat – soldier                       scientifique – scientist                        écrivain – writer

Pompier(ière) – firefighter     peintre – painter                                 acteur(trice) – actor

Homme/femme politique – politician    musicien(ne) – musician     étudiant(e) – student

* Remember the professions must agree in gender. Once you speak about a profession, the article is omitted unless you use c’est or an adjective to describe the profession.

You may give additional information about the person

  State the person’s name

• Il/Elle s’appelle …
• Son nom est …
• Le nom de mon amour/mon admirateur(trice) est …
• Le nom de celle/celui dont je parle est …

Give the person’s age

Il/Elle a … ans

Sylvie a … ans

Il /Elle a environ … ans (if you don’t know the exact age of the person)

You may also state the nationality of the person

Jamaïquain/e – Jamaican                   Français/e – French                Canadien/ne – Canadian

Belge – Belgian                                   Americain/e – American        Anglais/e – English

Chinois/e – Chinese                            Africain/e – African                Algérien/ne – Algerian

Italien/ne – Italian                              Mexicain/e – Mexican                        Marocain/e – Moroccan

Espagnol/e – Spanish                          Suisse – Swiss                          Russe – Russian

Polonais/e – Polish                              Portugais/e – Portuguese       Japonais/e – Japanese

Adjectives to describe someone  physically in french

For size and appearance

Il/Elle est …

Grand/e – tall                         petit/e – short                                     gros/se – fat

Mince – slim                           beau – handsome                               belle – beautiful

For skin colour

Il / Elle a la peau foncée (dark-skinned)                    Il / elle est blanc/blanche (white)

Il / Elle a la peau claire (fair/light-skinned)               Il / elle est noir/noire (black)

For eye colour

Il / Elle a les yeux …

bleues (blue), verts (green), noisettes (hazel), bruns (brown)

Il / Elle a les cheveux …

Noirs (black), châtains/bruns (brown), blonds (blond), roux (red), gris (grey)

longs (long), mi-longs (medium length), courts (short),

bouclés (curly), ondulés (wavy), raides (straight), épais (course/thick)

Il a une barbe – he has a beard

Il a une moustache – he has a moustache

Il / elle porte des lunettes – he/she wears glasses

Il / elle a des taches de rousseur – he/she has freckles

Il / elle a des fossettes – he/she has dimples

Add reasons why you admire such person in french

Je l’admire parce que …

J’admire Sylvie parce que …

Je le/la trouve admirable parce que …

A mon avis, il/elle est admirable parce que …

Selon moi, il/elle est une personne …

List of adjectives to describe someone’s personality in french

Charismatique – charismatic                         courageux/courageuse – courageous

Dynamique – dynamic                                    créatif/créative – creative

Energique – energetic                                                débrouillard/débrouillarde – resourceful

Fidèle – faithful                                               travailleur/travailleuse – hardworking

Honnête – honset                                            extraverti/extravertie – extrovert

Optimiste – optimistic                                    ingénieux/ingénieuse – ingenious

State why you admire him/her

Je l’admire parce qu’il/elle…

• m’encourage – encourages me
• me motive – motivates me
• me pousse de faire de mon mieux – pushes me to do my best
• m’aide à attendre mes buts – helps me to attain my goals
• m’aide à comprendre les leçons – helps me to understand the lessons
• me traite comme un fils/une fille – treats me like a son/daughter

* You may also use adjectives above as reasons.

Example french monologue: “The Person I admire”

Below you will find some examples of people talking about someone that they admire. Lesson to the monologue and see if you can reuse some of the vocabulary to describe the person you admire in french.

The first person, Lucas, speaks about his favourite DJ David Guetta and the second, David, speaks about his favourite handball player, Thierry Omeyer.

Lucas : David Guetta

Lucas nous présente son DJ préféré: David Guetta.

David : le sportif Thierry Omeyer

David vous présente son joueur de handball préféré : Thierry Omeyer.

Example: Describing your favourite teacher in French

Introduction of topic

Je vais vous parler de mon prof préféré/favori

Je vous parler de …

Begin by giving a physical description

Mince – slim                           beau – handsome                               belle – beautiful

Il / Elle a la peau …

Add additional features such as :

Il / elle porte – He / She wears …

lunettes – glasses                   appareil dentaire – braces                 bague – ring

montre – watch                      boucle d’oreille – earring                   bijoux – jewellery

Il / Elle a – He/She has …

Barbe – beard                         moustache – moustache         Taches de rousseur – freckles

Fossettes – dimples                 tatouage – tattoo                    grain de beauté – mole

You may then describe his/her character traits

Drôle – funny                          amical/e – friendly                             gentil/le – kind

Sympa – nice                           taquin/e – playful                               sérieux/se – serious

Intelligent/e – intelligent        ouvert d’esprit – open-minded           patient/e – patient

Franc/he – frank                     impartial – fair

You may also tell of an experience you had 

* This will require you to use the past tense (perfect and the imperfect tense).

Perfect tense

Formed with the auxillary verb avoir or ê tre and is used when there’s a complete action:

Write an essay in French

Beyond the fact that writing an essay in French can be a good practice to improve your writing, you may also be asked to write one during your schooling. So, it is important to study the topic of French essay writing and get some useful tips..

» Tips and tricks for your French essay » The structure of a French essay » Sample French Essay

Tips and tricks for your French essay

When writing a French essay for school, you should always use a structured approach and good French skills to present your arguments in a focused way. Beyond French skills, there are also important formal requirements for a successful French essay. We will come back to this in detail later. First, you will find some useful tips and tricks that will help you write more compelling and better French essays in the future.

• Have a clear thesis and structure
• Do sufficient research and use reliable sources
• Use examples and arguments to support your thesis
• Avoid plagiarism and cite correctly
• Always check structure, grammar and spelling

When you write your essay at school or university, you need to make sure that the general structure of your essay, the presentation of the arguments and, above all, your French language skills play a role in the mark you will get. This is why you should definitely take a closer look at the structure of an essay as well as the most important grammar rules and formulations for French essays.

The structure of a French essay

In an essay, you deal at length and in detail with a usually given topic. When you write an essay in French, you must follow a certain structure. Below we show you what this structure looks like and give you some tips for writing the most important parts of your essay.

The Introduction

The introduction prepares the main body of your essay. You think of a meaningful title for your essay, you describe your thesis or your question, you give general information on the subject and you prepare your argument by giving an overview of your most important arguments.

Below are examples and phrases that you can use to write the introduction to your essay in French.

The title should be meaningful, concise and reflect the content of the essay.

Introductory paragraph

The first paragraph of your French essay should briefly introduce the topic and engage the reader. Here are some examples to help you write your essay:

Proposal or question

The central proposition or question of your French essay should be a clear and concise definition of the purpose of the essay. Use these examples to get a clearer idea of ​​how to write theses in French:

Overview of Arguments and Structure

At the end of your introduction, describe the structure of the main part of your essay (your outline) and outline your argument. Here are some French expressions that will certainly help you write your essay:

The body of your essay

The main part of your French essay deals with the given topic in detail. The subject is studied from all angles. The main body of your essay follows a thread of argument and discusses in detail the main arguments of your thesis previously made in the introduction.

In the body of the text, you should discuss the subject of your essay in clear and concise language. To achieve this, we give you some wording aids as well as vocabulary and phrases that you can use to write your essay in French.

Formulation tools:

French vocabulary for essays.

In the conclusion of your French essay, you address the thesis of your essay, summarize the main points of your discussion in the main body, and draw a conclusion. On the basis of the arguments and the resulting conclusions, you formulate in the conclusion of your dissertation final thoughts and suggestions for the future. It is important that you do not add new information or new arguments. This should only be done in the body of your text.

Here are some wording guides to help you write your essay in French:

Sample French Essay

Les avantages des voyages linguistiques

Malgré les difficultés potentielles, les voyages linguistiques offrent aux apprenants une occasion unique d'améliorer leurs compétences linguistiques et de découvrir de nouvelles cultures, ce qui en fait un investissement précieux pour leur développement personnel et académique.

Les séjours linguistiques sont des voyages organisés dans le but d'améliorer les compétences linguistiques des participants. Ces voyages peuvent se dérouler dans le pays ou à l'étranger et durer d'un week-end à plusieurs semaines. L'un des principaux avantages des séjours linguistiques est l'immersion. Entourés de locuteurs natifs, les apprenants sont contraints de pratiquer et d'améliorer leurs compétences linguistiques dans des situations réelles.Il s'agit d'une méthode d'apprentissage beaucoup plus efficace que le simple fait d'étudier une langue dans une salle de classe.

Un autre avantage des séjours linguistiques est l'expérience culturelle. Voyager dans un nouveau pays permet aux apprenants de découvrir de nouvelles coutumes, traditions et modes de vie, et de se familiariser avec l'histoire et la culture du pays. Cela enrichit non seulement l'expérience d'apprentissage de la langue, mais contribue également à élargir les horizons et à accroître la sensibilisation culturelle.

Cependant, les séjours linguistiques peuvent également présenter des inconvénients. Par exemple, le coût du voyage et de l'hébergement peut être élevé, en particulier pour les séjours de longue durée. En outre, les apprenants peuvent être confrontés à la barrière de la langue ou à un choc culturel, ce qui peut être difficile à surmonter. Le coût et les difficultés potentielles des séjours linguistiques peuvent sembler décourageants, mais ils offrent des avantages précieux en termes d'épanouissement personnel et scolaire.

Les compétences linguistiques et les connaissances culturelles acquises peuvent déboucher sur de nouvelles opportunités d'emploi et améliorer la communication dans un cadre professionnel. Les bourses et les aides financières rendent les séjours linguistiques plus accessibles. Le fait d'être confronté à une barrière linguistique ou à un choc culturel peut également être l'occasion d'un développement personnel. Ces avantages l'emportent largement sur les inconvénients et font des séjours linguistiques un investissement qui en vaut la peine.

En conclusion, malgré les difficultés potentielles, les séjours linguistiques offrent aux apprenants une occasion unique d'améliorer leurs compétences linguistiques et de découvrir de nouvelles cultures, ce qui en fait un investissement précieux pour le développement personnel et académique. Qu'il s'agisse d'un débutant ou d'un apprenant avancé, un voyage linguistique est une expérience à ne pas manquer.

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Introducing and describing yourself in French

In this lesson, we will learn how to say our name and use some simple vocabulary to describe ourselves.

Lesson details

Key learning points.

• saying your name
• describing yourself
• être (je suis)
• simple adjectival agreement (adding e when feminine)

This content is made available by Oak National Academy Limited and its partners and licensed under Oak’s terms & conditions (Collection 1), except where otherwise stated.

Some of our videos, including non-English language videos, do not have captions.

Starter quiz

3 questions, 2 questions, lesson appears in, unit french / c’est moi.

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Presenting yourself or someone in french (les présentations).

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Asking Introductory Formal and Informal Questions (Introduction Formelle et Informelle)

Most common phrases used in french (la plupart des phrases françaises communs), basic greetings in french (salutations en français).

Never Say “Mon Ami” in French (And What to Say Instead)

• June 2, 2020

Today, I want to talk to you about one of the most common clichés in French — “ mon ami ” — and why you should never use it in French conversations.

People in France never use “ mon ami ” the way you might use “my friend” in English. It’s another common mistake that I hear all the time, like using “ bien fait ” or saying bonjour twice.

“But Géraldine,” you might say, “ I do hear it a lot in movies! Even with Lumière in Beauty and the Beast! Are you saying Disney lied to me?”

Yes, I am! If you use “ mon ami ” (on its own) in France, you’ll sound like a tourist who only knows French clichés. Let’s fix that.

Today, we’ll look into why you shouldn’t say “ mon ami ” so much, and what to say instead.

Bonjour I’m Géraldine, your French teacher. Welcome to Comme une Française. Today, like every Tuesday, I’ll help you get better at speaking and understanding everyday French.

C’est parti !

Want all the vocabulary of the lesson ?

Want to read this lesson later , 1) “mon ami” is just a cliché.

Mon ami (or mon amie in the feminine) means “my friend.”

If there’s a French character in an American movie, they basically have to say it at some point. Like in this scene of Beauty and the Beast.

It’s kind of like saying Bonjour with a really heavy accent. Sure, it shows that the character is French, but it’s not something you’d actually hear in France.

Using “ Mon ami ” alone as “ Hello my friend” will make you sound like you only know French clichés – and you deserve better!

It’s basically the oral version of Marcel Gotlib’s SuperDupont : a funny stereotypical representation that doesn’t exist.

By the way, in the French (dubbed) version, Lumière is… Italian! At least that’s what his accent implies , with his rolled R’s – for example in “ Y’a l’pour et y’a l’contre ” (= “There are pros and cons,” casual spoken French) Can you hear it?

Other works used the same “trick” of turning a French character (in the original version) into an Italian one (in the French dubbed version), like Pepe le Pew / Pépé le Putois.

2) “Mon ami” in French: what it really means

Mon ami(e) is used for very close friends.

You can use it in a sentence. To introduce your friend, for example: Je te présente mon amie Marie. = “I introduce you to my friend Marie” / “Here’s my friend Marie.”

But using it on its own, such as Bonjour, mon ami, comment ça va ? to mean “Hello my friend” , is a cliché.

When I was working in Leeds, England on July 14th, kind people would wish me a “Happy Bastille day” in French. That’s very nice! But “Le jour de la Bastille” does NOT exist in French – it’s just “ Le 14 Juillet ” . Another misconception!

You can find more in my lesson: Le 14 Juillet

3) “Mon ami” : What you can say instead

Instead of “ mon ami ”, you can simply use your friend’s name. For instance: Je suis là, mon ami ! → Je suis là, Marc ! = I’m here, my very close friend! → I’m here, Marc!

Or you can also just say… nothing!

Bonjour, mon ami. → Bonjour. = Hello, my friend. → Hello.

The scary thing is, this is a common mistake you might be making without even realizing it. And it’s not the only one!

You’ll find more examples of common French mistakes in this short playlist , like using “ Bien fait ” for “ well done ” (when it actually means “ Serves you right ”), or saying “ bonjour ” twice in the same day to the same person!

À tout de suite. I’ll see you in the next video!

Want to save this for later ?

→ If you enjoyed this lesson (and/or learned something new) – why not share this lesson with a francophile friend ? You can talk about it afterwards! You’ll learn much more if you have social support from your friends 🙂

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Allez, salut 🙂

Join the conversation!

Hi, Is it old fashioned to call a group of people mes braves?

Indeed, it is not a very common way to call a group of people.

Fabien Comme une Française Team

Ok what I have understood from this is ‘mon ami’ is suitable to use strictly for a close friend…and not for ‘just anyone’ Thank you . I am actually enjoying your lessons

That is a great lesson. But in New Orleans we call our friends, friend or my friend or my girl or my boy. Like we say “Hey Friend!” We use it as a term of endearment. So we do use my friend quite a lot in our dialogue whether it’s French or English! I will have to remember not to do that if I ever visit France!

The name’s Gambit, mon ami! Remember it!

Mon amie, je ne suis pas d’accord 🙂

I don’t agree with this opinion about using « mon ami ». This article, as well as the author’s responses in the comments, is not researched; it is a personal opinion.

First of all, there is no language rule against using clichés, or against using an expression with a twist of irony or humor (see this comment’s first line).

Second, the use of « mon ami » will not sound cliché depending on what country you are in and on the immediate context. French is widely and correctly spoken in many places outside France, although many French-speakers have trouble accepting that reality.

I am a native mother tongue French speaker from Quebec, and I hear French used in ways that sound funny even just inside Quebec, including what seems like grammar mistakes from immigrants from France. As long as you get the gender and number of « mon ami » right in your sentence, the rest is all about context.

In France it’s even worse than what the author describes here .

Someone saying “mon ami” should even be seen as a highly hypocritical person .

Saying “my friend” in France is almost equivalent to put an advertisement on oneself where it would be written ” hey , liar and hypocritical person just here , beware ”

Maybe in Quebec or elswhere in french speaking countries it’s okay , but absolutely DON’T USE IT in France .

It shouldn’t be seen as a cliche that “the french do”, but rather it’s simply what we americans will say in english to dear friends that we love. If i say it in my own language (and it’s not a cliche here), why should i all of a sudden change who i am because im speaking a new language? That’s silly. It’s a term of endearment where im from so that doesn’t make sense for me not to use it. Sometimes it feels like some french people look for reasons to judge americans, because it’s really not that serious.

I do not speak French, but I am fluent in 2 languages and lived in different countries. There are things you need to understand/know about the culture you want to immerse yourself in, to engage and conduct yourself properly. there are non-translatable situations/phrases and things, in the case of Spanish to English and vice versa, (and every other country, I am sure) that just are not said/experienced in the same manner, because it’s perceived as weird or simply it does not exist in that particular context. it does not mean that one culture is better than the other, it just means that they are different. And as different we must learn (in my opinion) the do’s and don’t of the culture or language that we wish to communicate/immerse ourselves in. Learning things properly not only expands your knowledge of the language but also of the people and the culture. I think it makes us better humans. We do not have to agree with everything, but my opinion is that we can try to understand and respect it, regardless of our language or culture. It seems that French like many Latin cultures is more structured in its language and “American” culture is more relaxed. I don’t think it’s a judgment issue. It’s just different.

In American English it would be like saying trust me. An innocent comment with conflicting undertones. If you have to tell someone they are your friend you might come off as disingenuous.the same as telling someone they can trust you. Generally a phrase overused by people you can’t trust.

This entitlement is typical and terrifying

We say my friend to everyone in New Orleans even strangers. We call people baby, honey, etc. it’s our culture. I can see how people would think it’s over the top or scammy but we really feel that in our hearts. We are just fun loving people down here in Cajun country! Lol

THANK YOU FOR THIS (these) useful, informative videos. I’ve found your “insider”/native guidance quite helpful. You packed a lot into such a short video. BUT,,, what about using “MES AMIS”? When, for example, you arrive for a dinner with friends, all of whom arrived before you, to address the table? Merci

Mes amis can sound formal, as in saying ‘Friends…’ except if they are people you know well, in which case it will sound cute/warm depending on how you say it and what follows.

If you’re calling out to a group in an informal way, you might say ‘Les amis’, which sounds something like ‘You guys’

Very interesting,thank you

How about Poirot in Agatha Christie’s films? does he says “mon ami” because he is Belgian and not French? LOL

How about n’est pas, which I hear and read a lot from non-French speakers? Isn’t it n’est ce pas and therefore pronounced somewhat differently? (I am not French and I am not a wannabe. I can barely speak English. I’m an American.)

“n’est-ce pas” is like “isn’t it”, used as part of a question. “n’est pas” is the modifier “not”.

Like the details for the (e.i.n’est pas—–n’est -ce pas )very close ,similar, modifiers;!expression differs slightly .

Merci our vos cours… Often in films I hear a girl or young woman addressed <>, why not <>?

Bonjour Geraldine et Arthur, In Quebec my teen and 20-something children use “ma blonde” or “mon chum” to refer to a girlfriend or boyfriend informally, in the casually dating sense. I think it’s adorable as it can be tricky to introduce or talk about someone that’s more than a friend, but not long term relationship that everyone knows. What would be a similar ‘label’ for a person you’re dating in France, I’m not “copain” would always work. Maybe these Canadian French words are more specific to the generation as well…

Bonjour Mélanie, In France, you would use “copain” or “copine” or “petit copain” or “petite copine” and there is no direct equivalent to “ma blonde” or “mon chum” unless one wishes to use “mon amoureux” or “mon amoureuse”. You can also use “mon Jules” or “ma Julie” which may get closer to the “blonde” and “chum” in Québec. Fabien Comme Une Française Team

Are you in México?

No, I am at your house…

Is there some form of saying “mon ami/e” to refer to your boyfriend/girlfriend? Or is that “mon petit”?

Bonjour Sara,

You can use “mon copain” or “ma copine” in reference to a boyfriend or a girlfriend, even though it has the meaning of a pal/buddy as well.

Belle journée,

Fabien Comme Une Française Team

Hi Fabien, What about “mon compagnon/ma compagne” in reference to a boyfriend and girlfriend? Or are those nouns used only by “older” people? ☺️ Merci bien!

Bonjour Kiki, Oui, “un compagnon” est celui ou celle qui partage la vie de quelqu’un comme époux/épouse ou comme concubin. Merci et belle journée, Fabien Comme Une Française Team

Mon amie la Rose – d’aprés Françoise Hardy, caused me some difficulty, but Géraldine sorted it:

This is so informative. I got used to Cajun French but never learned the ral French.

Instead of using bonjour more than once, try doing and saying as mon chien “BOOZER”…..He says…”BONE APPETIT ” all of the time. many times a day !! Just stumbled onto your site, Geraldine, and it’s terrific, as are all the comments and questions. Kudos !

This just makes me really sad, like I’m a fool for even trying to speak french. Why even try if you’re going to be this judgmental for trying to call someone “my friend”? 🙁

Dear Alexander,

On Comme une Française, I guide students in the language to make them avoid the common mistakes of the language and the culture. It’s not a matter of being judgmental.

Love your tips, always! There’s clearly no judgement happening there and the information is very useful for those truly making an effort to speak with proper pronunciation as well as for those wanting to speak as locals do. If that’s not important I think it’s always been made clear on this site that your efforts are always appreciated by French speakers and it’s up to you how deeply you want to dive. 🙂

Don’t give up, my friend! I teach English as a second language, and I have made my way in Survival Spanish and Fractured French in various countries. Just enjoy the people you are with and take a light-hearted view of mistakes. If you are kind and well-meaning, people will look at that much more than your actual words.

I noticed your examples are all cases of one individual speaking to another individual, but does it still applies in more general statements? Like if a public speaker says it to a group to imply a more general intimacy, or maybe in fiction literature where a character is talking more directly to the reader. For example, I think I’ve heard the phrase ‘Au contraire, mes amis’ used a couple of times, but that was in English language fiction, so I’m wondering if that would still come off as cliche if it was part of a full French sentence to a speaker.

Bonjour Danielle, You can use it, knowing that it’s a cliché. What matters here is knowing that it is one. Then you can make what you want of it. Because it adds a certain effect to your sentence.

Like “Hello Old Chap” in English.

Why isn’t it ‘ma amie’ for female friends? Or is it the fact that you’d have two vowels right next to each other?

Bonjour Alex,

Thanks for your question. Mon, ton or son are used before a feminine word starting with a vowel or silent -h. This is to help with pronunciation. Thus, you will have mon amie (even though it is a feminine noun).

I hope this helps.

Bonne journée,

So helpful!

Dear Friends at Comme une Française, I enjoy your blog and find it helpful. Having lived in Paris for three years as a professor, I do cringe when one makes blanket statements like “no one in France says _________________ (fill in the blank.) In my experience, French is fluid, at least in Paris, and French people speak with a variety of vocabulary, word choices, et cetera. Yes, there are some absolutes. However, it is a danger to make blanket linguistic statements. These types of statements might be taken as arrogant and elitist. When I moved to France in 2018, I was informed that “No one says , enchanté”, only to be greeting countless times with, enchanté. Thank you!

So, what could you say when seeing a french friend after many, five, years besides just saying their name? We had a French foreign exchange student, a young woman, live with us years back. She has visited us many times since, our daughter stayed with her family in Paris several times, we have had dinner at her parents house in Paris … anyhow, she is like another daughter to me. We are all meeting up in Dublin soon (hopefully covid continues to settle down) and I wanted to joyfully express my affection for her in french when we first see her …

Bonjour Alan, Saying her name and being cheerful is great! It will convey what you want to share with her. You can also say “je suis tellement content de te revoir” or “tu nous as tellement manqué !”

How would you pronounce the French last name of my family Bolduc in French language???

Bolduc = /boldyk/ – u pronounced like in salut

i’m a American trying to learn french is realy nice

I love everything about this! My family is francophone northern Ontario/Quebec border. I’ve been speaking Acadian English? French? Back and forth? My whole life? So much slang, so many interpretations. Geraldine, thank you for clarifying.

Hello! I just found this article and I love the comment section! I have a question, this man I have been speaking with (dating?) for months now has referred to me as his girlfriend in many occasions. But then he wrote “ma très chère amie” to me that got me confused. Does that mean just a friend? Thank you for your help!

Thanks for your question, Mia. This would translate as “My very dear friend”.

What should you say instead of saying bonjour twice to the same person on the same day?

You could use “rebonjour” in certain situations.

Another drawn out way for the French to incessantly criticize Americans- even if they are trying to speak the language and say something pleasant.

Can I use Bon appetite mon amis ??

Bonjour Viktoria,

Oui, or simply, “bon appétit”.

Bonnes fêtes,

Mes amies in France say mon ami or mon Cher ami quite often, oddly enough more to be polite to acquaintances than dear friends

is there a French word for ‘heck’, the American expression?

Zut could work. It’s like drat or heck. https://www.wordreference.com/fren/zut

Yes, you can say “mince, zut” or even “sacré”. A lot of options based on the context.

In British English we are continually using terms of endearment with strangers – most commonly “mate” (also pal, love, pet, duck, hinny, fella, chum, mucker and many more, with some being gendered terms). Basically just for anyone whose name we don’t know.

Is there a French equivalent?

Bonjour Bob,

Oui, tout à fait ! We also have terms of endearment in French, I included a few of them at the end of this message.

Bien à toi,

Mon amour: my love Mon chou: My cabbage, but chou can also be short for a French cream puff called chou chantilly or chou à la crème. Chouchou: Derived from chou Mon ange: My angel Mon bébé: My baby Doudou: What kids call their favorite toy or blankie Mon coeur: My heart Mon trésor: My treasure Ma chérie (F), mon chéri (M): My darling Ma puce: My flea

Thanks Fabien, but I was referring to terms you might use with a stranger or someone with whom you were not close.

Typically, you will not use those terms of endearment with someone with whom you are not close. You may use the name or the title instead (Monsieur, Madame, etc.)

Flea..??????are you serious 😅😅😅😅 nobody likes fleas in England….sounds insulting. Might as well say my cockroach….lol

I agree. The Great Plague of London, the epidemic that ravaged London, England, from 1665 to 1666 has city records to indicate that some 68,596 people died during the epidemic, though the actual number of deaths is suspected to have exceeded 100,000 out of a total population estimated at 460,000. The plague was caused from fleas living on rodents. The fleas would bite humans and spread the disease, so no wonder no one in England would want to use the word flea as a term of endearment. I never heard about this great pandemic until I studied world history as a freshman in college. It had to be horrifying for all of London and the undertakers couldn’t even keep up with burials.

I have a dear friend who is fluent in French. She studied at Sorbonne in Paris. Speaking with her will help me learn faster. I love French and the country and people! Can I say to her Tres Chere Amie? Merci!

You can certainly use this expression with your friend, however particularly so in writing.

What does Ma douce amie mean? is it romantic or sweet. a man said it to me after bouts of flirting and giving mixed signals.

Bonjour Rose,

Indeed, even though “ma douce amie” means “my sweet/precious friend”, it can have a bit of a romantic connotation.

That being said, this is very common in Cajun French culture and used very often. That also being said Cajun French is completely foreign to French spoken in France as it’s a broken dialect of Canadian French.

Really like your Website. I have met a frensh man that I really like so now I am trying to pick up some frensh words. Did I understood you right, that I can use “mon ami” if it is a close/special friend like the man I met ;-)? We are not at the point yet were I would call him “mon cheri” 🙂

Yes, oui, tout à fait, it is possible to use “mon ami” for a close friend.

This is literally the first and only page I’ve read from your lesson thus far. So when I engage in some more, it is then I will comment on something. Merci beaucoup

I do like this but am from Oklahoma and. Am afraid no one could understand my french. I ha e a very slow and southern drawl.some people in us can’t understand my english.

I’m trying to learn French and I came across this when trying to figure out what “ami” means and I love this website already!

Thanks Venus!

Keep browsing around on the website, lessons and courses, and have a wonderful day 🙂

– Arthur, writer for Comme une Française

You may present your friend as in “voici mon ami Pierre,but you dont say “bonjour mon ami to a close friend ,perriod!

Love the way you explain it – am sold on the concept already!

Merci, mon ami!

I think the use of “my friend” in English is also a bit odd. It’s can be used in introducing someone and not sound weird (“Hi, John, this is my friend, Sharon”) or it can sound strangely old-fashioned or even anachronistic (“Hello, my friend”). Most people don’t use “my friend” in a standard greeting. I had a professional acquaintance who said it often to me in phone conversations but I would never say it to an actual close friend. So I can see the subtleties in using “mon ami” in French.

Now that I think of it, I’ve heard it said by people, in English, but they are usually foreign and I’m wondering if it’s commonly used in Spanish. Mi amigo for example.

The usage of mi amigo – or similar – is common in Spanish, but the context is different. It is extremely regional what is used, for me (I speak Columbian Spanish) I would be comfortable talking with acquaintances with the opening ‘Bienvenidos, mi Amigo.’ but I would not say that to a stranger. If I was talking to a stranger, I would most likely use ‘Bienvenidos, señor.’ or ‘Bienvenidos, señora/señorita’ for their respective gender/age. Another option for saying this would be to just drop the honorific and use implied target with ‘Bienvenidos’. I hope this helps!

*Colombian. Also, Bienvenidos is plural, so you would need to use Bienvenido with all the examples you presented.

Hi Harise. Yes, it is used in some parts of México. The intention is to make anyone feel welcome. There are other words that can be used with the same purpose depending of the region the person is from: pariente (relative), primo (cousin), etc.

Those were the days, my friend, we thought they’d never end, we’d sing and dance, forever and a day 🙂 When I use “my friend” in English (because I’m English) in that context, it’s either in a jovial manner (and toward a genuine friend), or a very serious manner toward a friend. The only reason I found this article was because i just told a friend to “kip well mon ami” and then I wondered what the full French for “sleep well my friend” was (dors bien mon ami, apparently). I think in any situation I’d use “mon ami” in French, it would be exactly the same as I’d use “my friend” in English. So yeah, in films it’s overused as the sole bit of French a French character might use, and that certainly isn’t going to be common. But as a jokingly formal (to a close friend), or very serious matter, I suspect it’s exactly the same as in English.

I really enjoyed my first look at commeunefrancais.com – can’t wait to dig deeper

Merci Lisa!

Good evening Geraldine I just had to comment. You look like a young Judy Garland. So sweet! Hope to visit France soon once this health crisis is over and we can fly in comfort with good food and French wine! Regards Tommy

Absurdité! Pure Merde, eh, Mon Amie!

Thank you for your lessons Geraldine. In the meantime, I am wandering, when I have to use in French “au revoir” and when “a la prochaine” or “a bientot” (sorry, I can’t use the french characters easily on my computer)? What is the difference between these words?

From my point of view, “au revoir” is always used whenever you are not so close to the person or that you don’t know when you might meet him again. Like for a doctor, a medical person or the owner of a shop you’re going often. For this last example you can also used “à la prochaine” or “à bientôt” as you like to see him again soon or regularly (but not for a doctor), like a friend or a good Office colleague we also say “A plus”, A pronounced “Ah” like in M”a”m”a” and written A+ in messages. Hope it’s more clear for you this way.

Hi Mike, ‘Au revoir’ and ‘À la prochaine’ are interchangeable. However, I would NOT use ‘À bientôt’ if I’m not expecting to see or talk (even on the phone) with that person again within a week, since “soon” cannot be weeks or months! ;=)

On most computers, you can use the Windows symbol and the space bar to toggle between languages.

I usually type in English and then toggle to French for just some of the letters I need to appear as French characters. For example, I type

ca va, Mike

then press Windows and space bar together which brings up French characters, hover over the c of ca va, and press the cedilla key; which is the number 9 on the keyboard. Then I toggle back to English characters.

So, I get ça va

Remember to toggle back to English or you will get this. çq vq: ?ike

Hope this helps

So very helpful, thank you!

Terrible article. So I shouldn’t use Mon Ami to refer to my friend, I should just use their name or nothing at all? than what do I say when I want to point that they are my friend who is not my best friend? 2/10, have had better French lessons on Google translate

You just say “Mon pote”. French here, this article is very true. You can refer to a friend as Mon Ami(e) but I would never use these words in a direct conversation with said friend. There might be some cultural aspects here which means that the scope of what friend means in France’s French is different to what it means in English (or even in French speaking places outside of France). No need to be insulting, just accept that there are some untold meanings behind words and that not all words have the exact same meaning in all languages. Cheers

PTDR I’m French and no this article isn’t true. Nothing EVER prevents you from saying “mon ami”. You might just sound a bit old timey but not everyone is familiar enough to say Mon pote or Poto

No need to be insulting. Napoleon. Geraldine is French and is absolutely correct.

But what if I was introducing a friend? Like ¨This is my friend!¨ would I use something different or just like ¨this is (friendsname)¨?

Good question 🙂

1 – You CAN use “Je te présente Claude, c’est mon ami / amie.” (= Here’s Claude, he/she is my friend.) You would be understood – but a French person would assume there are cultural differences between you. A French person wouldn’t really say that – it would be really intimate, and/or it could even be a euphemism for “lover.”

2 – As a French person, if I were to introduce a friend, I’d say something like “C’est Martin, on se connaît de la chorale.” (= Here’s Martin, we know each other from the choir club.) or “C’est Martin, un pote de lycée.” (= Here’s Martin, a friend from high school.) –> “Pote” is a more informal, less intimate, synonym for “friend.” It can apply to women too, but we would rather use “une copine.”

The extra mile for advanced learners: The show Bref (= “In short,” 2-min episodes) did a beautiful story on the subject. How “un pote” can become “un ami.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbGrzgcO68A

Have a great day, – Arthur, writer for Comme une Française

Thank you, that was really helpful

Thank you Arthur, it is really helpful.

I am French Canadian. When I reply “mon ami” in an email , it simply means “my friend” (usually someone you consider as a friend be it personal or at work) Merci mon ami! … Thank you my friend! (Feminine: Mon amie!)

So hercule poirot is stupid for saying mon ami all the time?

Hi Penny! Hercule Poirot is speaking old-fashioned French, with a bit of extra cliché to make him “sound French.” That works well for his settings! That’s not something we’d recommend doing for speaking in France, or something that French people do in everyday life 🙂

Keep in mind, Poirot is Dutch…maybe that changes the tone of his quirks.

Poirot is Belgian!

Remember that Hercule Poirot speaks French but is Belgian not Dutch ! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hercule_Poirot

Very concise explanation!

Not really, if it’s someone he knows well (my friend) same rule as in english!

Remember that Hercule Poirot speaks French but is Belgian. In Belgium they have other subtile things that they say.

So hercule pioirot is stupid for saying mon ami all the time?

Merci les leçons sont très divertissants et utiles. Vous avez le style, aussi.

But, was it that way or just today’s French? Like, Disney’s Lumiere was around 1480s. Maybe that era’s “mon ami” differs than today’s? Of course it was made recently and for today’s audience lol, but I’m curious that perhaps in historical perspective what sounds wrong today might sounded okay back then. Maybe not in your expertise, I mean, history, but aren’t you curious about this? 😉 Thanks.

So Fabo! With the cartoons included in the lesson. Tellement excellent avec les bd ajouté dans le leçon

Thanks Mary!

(- Arthur, auteur pour Comme une Française)

Merci Géraldine ce leçon est très utile merci Anne

Bonjour tous ! I hope I can say that. Great practical lesson – i never knew not to use that. Could anyone help…. regarding Bonjour… if we bump into the same person/shop assistant/work colleague etc again…. then what are we meant to say…?

Rebonjour…

Now THAT is funny!

could one also say just RE?

The English speaking world is awash with expressions believed to be used by the French ~ mon brave, mon vieux, mon ami, mon cher, mes amis and goodness knows what else .. But the movie Frenchman ~ Englishman Claude Rains does it brilliantly as Captain Louis Renault in that timeless classic Casablanca, and all in an impeccable English accent … “I’m shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here.” “Your winnings sir.” “Oh, thank you very much.” Just fabulous 😀 A great lesson Géraldine, and I love the old cartoons.

Merci, Geraldine. J’aime beaucoup vos commentaires et votre maniere d’explication.

Salut Geraldine You say never use “Mon ami” ? What about if you qualify it? “Merci, ma chère amie” It is OK? My friend in Burgundy uses “mon ami” a lot in messages like “Merci mon ami pour ta magnifique carte” or ” Belle journée mon cher ami ” I am not sure I have understood when you should not use it…. Bisous Brian

Hi Brian W., As long as it’s part of a ‘long context’ and qualify it, you can use ‘Mon ami(e)’ like in English with ‘my dear friend’, etc. But not in expression(s) with only ‘hello,’ or ‘bye, bye’. Then it might sound sarcastic or pedantic, even. Just, as suggested, use their name, ‘Mark’, or Marie’ etc. if you really want to add something to that concise (but totally appropriate and sufficient) ‘hello’ (= ‘bonjour’) or ‘see you’ (= ‘au revoir’). Hope this helps.

Can you use bien fait for work that is done well?

Short answer: no.

Long answer: Not on its own. You can say “C’est un travail bien fait.” (= It’s well done work), but the expression “Bien fait !” on its own wouldn’t mean that. (French people would probably understand your mistake and your intention, though, and not be offended for it.)

Can I say “un travail bien fait monsieur” ?

Beautiful blouse Geraldine!

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Introducing yourself or someone

Chapter 14 - Vocabulary classified by themes

• J'ai 28 ans. I am 28.

So, a good introduction would probably be:

Bonjour, je m'appelle [your name] . J'ai [your age] ans et j'habite à [your town] .

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The Easy Guide to Talking About Your Family in French

It probably doesn’t sound that difficult to converse without mentioning family.

Think about it, though. How often in a conversation do you say something like, “Sorry, my dad keeps texting me.”

“Oh, you like my sweater? Thanks! My husband gave it to me for Christmas.”

The list of ways our family members come up in conversation is endless, so we’ve put together this post to help you out. Ready to start talking about family in French?

French Vocabulary Related to Family

Your immediate family, your extended family, introducing family members in french, formal introductions, informal introductions, practice talking about family in french.

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

Before we get into situations and phrases, let’s start with the basics. What is the French translation for terms related to family members?

• Les parents (parents, or in a more generic sense, relatives of any kind)
• La mère (mother)
• Le père (father)
• La maman (mom or mommy)
• Le papa (dad or daddy)
• Le frère (brother)
• La sœur (sister)
• Les frères et sœurs (siblings)

That’s right, there’s no word for “siblings.” You just have to say “brothers and sisters.”

• La fille (daughter)
• Le fils (son)
• Les grands-parents (grandparents)
• La grand-mère (grandmother)
• Le grand-père (grandfather)
• La mémé (grandma)
• Le pépé (granddad)
• Les petits-enfants (grandchildren)
• La petite-fille (granddaughter)
• Le petit-fils (grandson)
• L’époux / l’épouse    (spouse)
• Le mari (husband)
• La femme (wife)
• La belle-mère (mother-in-law)

The “in-laws” literally translate to “beautiful mother,” “handsome father,” etc. This translation really removes the negative stigma typically associated with in-laws!

• Le beau-père (father-in-law)
• Le beau-frère (brother-in-law)
• La belle-sœur (sister-in-law)
• La belle-fille (daughter-in-law)
• Le beau-fils (son-in-law)
• La belle-mère (stepmother)

You’ll notice that the “in-laws” and “steps” both translate to the same word. Confusing, isn’t it?

• Le beau-père (stepfather)
• Le beau-frère (stepbrother)
• La belle-sœur (stepsister)
• La belle-fille (stepdaughter)
• Le beau-fils (stepson)
• Le demi-frère (half-brother)
• La demi-sœur (half-sister)

• La cousine (female cousin)
• Le cousin (male cousin)
• Les cousins / les cousines (male or mixture of male and female cousins/female cousins)
• L’oncle (uncle)
• La tante (aunt)
• Le neveu (nephew)
• La nièce (niece)

These are the phrases you would whip out at those work and social events, when having people over to your family’s home or if you run into someone you know on the street while out with a family member.

You would use these phrases when introducing family members at an event, or to elders and people you respect.

• Je vous présente… (I present to you…)

Remember to use vous to talk to people who are older or in a position of authority. For example, you might use this phrase when you introduce a family member to your boss or to a friend’s parent.

Monsieur, je vous présente mon mari, Daniel. (Sir, I present to you my husband, Daniel.)

Bonjour, Madame Thierry! Je vous présente ma mère.  (Hello, Mrs. Thierry! I present to you my mother.)

• Je te présente… (I present to you…)

Use the tu form when speaking to a friend, an equal or someone younger than yourself. In this case, you are introducing a family member to someone who fits this profile, but while using a more formal structure:

Salut, Brigitte! Je te présente mon beau-frère, Charles. Charles, Brigitte est ma camarade de classe. (Hi, Brigitte! I present to you my brother, Charles. Charles, Brigitte is my classmate.)

• Il s’appelle… / Elle s’appelle… (His/her name is…)

Je te présente mon oncle. Il s’appelle Nico.  (I present to you my uncle. His name is Nico.)

Bonjour, madame. Je vous présente ma tante. Elle s’appelle Esther. (Hello, ma’am. I present to you my aunt. Her name is Esther.)

You would use these informal introductions with your close pals. Sometimes people use these terms as quick introductions if they are in a hurry or distracted. Let’s say your mom randomly walks into the room while you guys are playing video games. You don’t have time for formalities, you’ve got dragons to kill!

• C’est… (This is…)

C’est is a casual way to say, “This is.”

Salut! C’est mon cousin. (Hi! This is my cousin.)

• Voilà… (Here is…)

This would be used in a situation when you are surprised to see someone. For example, if you weren’t expecting a family member to walk in at that moment, you use voilà  as a quick announcement of their arrival.

Oh, voilà  ma femme!  (Oh, here is my wife!)

I bet you didn’t even think about how many family members existed until you saw that list. But don’t be overwhelmed! There are plenty of free online learning tools where you can practice memorizing all this vocabulary. Check out these simple exercises on The French Experiment . 

Even watching videos in French can help you get used to new vocabulary. There are limitless videos to be found on YouTube .

Of course, you can talk in-depth about your family for hours.

But hopefully these basics will get you started!

This way, when a date or coworker asks you about your family, you won’t have to go hide out in the bathroom to avoid the conversation.

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How to make friends in college: 8 tips from real students

Is one of your biggest concerns how to make friends in college? You aren’t alone. Every college student wants to find their people who they can comfortably confide in and enjoy spending time with. Keep reading to learn from some real University of Northern Iowa students about their experiences making friends in college.

How to make friends in college

Have a positive outlook on making friends.

If you go into your college experience believing you can’t make friends in college, you may find it more challenging to foster new connections. But if you believe that you will make friends and you put in the proper effort, you’ll be more likely to leave your time in college with fulfilling relationships.

“When I was a freshman, I was very nervous to make friends here at UNI,” said William Palma, a third-year student majoring in computer science. “I had the belief, however, that I would find meaningful people, and I was able to meet great people with this positive mindset.”

Even if you didn’t have a lot of friends in high school, have the belief that college will be different. “This is a fresh start for you, and you have the ability to control your college experience,” said Meggan Barrow, a third-year student majoring in comprehensive secondary science education.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of constantly scrolling on your phone. This is especially true while you’re in a classroom waiting for a lecture to begin. Challenge yourself to be in the moment and off your phone. For Carissa Demings, a senior accounting and business analytics student, this is one way she has figured out how to make friends in college. Even while she is walking to class, she tries to avoid being on her phone. “People are more likely to approach you or talk to you before class if you aren’t occupied with your phone,” she said.

Remember you aren’t alone

‌ Whether a person is introverted or extroverted, the thought of making new friends in college will be a little nerve-wracking. “I remember feeling very nervous about how I might be perceived if I was the first to start a conversation with someone new,” said Samantha Robinson, a senior majoring in communication sciences and disorders. “What helped me to overcome that feeling was knowing that EVERYONE is feeling nervous about the same thing. I quickly learned that most people starting college are looking around, hoping for someone else to start the conversation. By knowing that everyone is nervous about the same thing, it made me feel a lot better about putting myself out there and making new friends.”

Leave your comfort zone

Perhaps the most important advice you can take when it comes to thinking about how to make friends in college is to be willing to take risks. That may mean getting involved with a group where you don’t know anyone or showing up to a sporting event even though you don’t know all the rules. Put yourself out there! “Leaving your dorm room or apartment to get involved is the first, easiest step to making friends, even when you may not feel like it,” said Robinson. 

“Be open to meeting new people and don’t hesitate to introduce yourself with someone new,” said Lizbeth Garcia Tellez, a senior majoring in strategic public relations. “Embrace the chance to connect with others!”

Put in the work

Friendship is a two-way street. It takes time and effort on the part of both parties to create a lasting relationship. Organize get-togethers with new connections such as movie nights or coffee meet-ups. Even if you aren’t in the same classes, asking someone to study with you is also a great way to further a connection. “Collaborating on study sessions gives us a chance to spend more time together and support each other academically, which deepens our connection,” said Garcia Tellez.

“With being so involved, it’s hard to block off time to make friends or even hang out,” said Barrow. “I have overcome this by allowing myself more breaks in my schedule and not going to everything possible.”

Be the friend you want

It can be hard to make the first move in a friendship by introducing yourself to someone new. But you can’t always be expecting other people to introduce themselves to you first. In general, you will make more friends if you treat others the way you would like them to treat you. “Even if you’ve found your group, be open to it growing,” said Madison Duong, senior majoring in marketing: advertising and digital media. “Invite others to join you when your friends hangout. The small action of including someone in your plans makes all the difference.”

Let your friends increase your connections

Often, when you make a friend, you will have the opportunity to meet their friends, too. This will multiply your connections in college. Don’t be afraid of mixing your friend groups or asking your friends to introduce you to more people. When everyone is helping each other foster community, knowing how to make friends in college gets a lot easier!

Be yourself

Whether you’re conversing with your dorm neighbor or meeting your intramural teammates, make sure you are always your authentic self. “I tried to be someone I wasn’t my freshman year,” said Caleb Brothers, a senior majoring in interactive digital studies and graphic technology. “I had to realize that if people didn’t want to know me for who I really was, what was the point? Don’t be afraid to be who you truly are. The friends will come, so there’s no need to hide behind a mask or a facade.”

Where to make friends

There is no shortage of places where you can make friends at college. According to students, some of the best places include:

• Orientation  - Orientation is really your first chance to start making friends at college. Because it can be overwhelming, it might be a good idea to focus on just one or two people you could become friends with.
• Welcome Week activities   - The first week at UNI is filled with all kinds of events for students. Take advantage of these opportunities.
• On-campus jobs   - Whether you work in an office on campus or the dining centers, jobs are a great way to spend an extended period of time with other students.
• Classes  - Try to converse with your classmates before and after class. It’s usually pretty easy to ask them if they’d like to study for an upcoming test together.
• Campus events - Keep an eye out for events happening on campus throughout the school that you can go to and meet more people. Read your weekly Panther Experience emails, check out the  UNI Calendar and look for flyers and sidewalk chalk signs across campus. You can also follow various departments and student organizations on social media.
• Student organizations - Get involved with student groups right away. These are a great place to find people with common interests.
• Residence halls - Leave your door open whenever possible and look for other open doors on your floor. Don’t be afraid to stop by and say “hello.”
• Dining centers - Ask others in the dining center if you can sit with them, or if you see someone eating alone invite them to sit with you.

Make lifelong friends at UNI

Hopefully, these tips will help you flip your mindset from “I can’t make friends in college” to “I CAN make friends in college.” Remember that making friends gets easier with practice, so if you don’t feel like you’ve made friends in the first few days on campus, just keep trying! It will get better.

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