Whenever you are travelling to a new country, it is always good to learn some of the phrases in the native language to help yourself get by and communicated with the locals, not only you will learn something, but the locals will be quite impressed and happy with you. You have gone out of your way to learn their language to try and communicate with them.
This article here will teach you some of the most basic and common phrases in French for travelling. It will help you make basic conversation with the locals and help yourself get by easier instead of looking at people weirdly when they try to talk to you in basic French. Nevertheless, all of these phrases are short and simple, though pronunciation may be a little difficult, just practice and you will be ready.
Bonjour. S’il vous plaît… – Hello, please…
Whenever you are visiting France, especially when it is your first time, you will most likely go around and ask the locals for assistance or directions. But when you are planning to ask anyone anything in France, it is incredibly important to say this, since “please” is generally important but in French culture, “bonjour” is just as important. It will also show your effort in trying to speak the language, and whoever you need assistance from will be more likely to help you.
Oui / Non – Yes / No
One of the most basic phrases in a language is to say “Yes” or “No”. It really helps you whenever you are trying to attempt basic communication with of course, a French person. Once they have realized that you don’t have too much vocabulary to form your own sentences, they might take charge of the conversation and start asking the questions, yes and no will be useful for these questions. Hence these are one of the top phrases in French for travelling.
Parlez-vous anglais ? – Do you speak English?
It will be especially nice if you can ask all of your questions in French, but if you really cannot and you absolutely need to speak English, then you will need to say this phrase, it is the key to unlocking that possibility. Most French people do speak basic English. There are some tourists who say that no one in France speaks English, these are the not so savvy travellers, who most likely started a conversation in France in English without even saying “Bonjour”. These are one of the top 10 Phrases in French For Travelling.
Où est-ce que je peux trouver un plan de la ville ? – Where can I find a city map?
One of the first things you absolutely need to get your hands on whenever you are visiting a new city in France is the city map, and with this phrase, you can probably ask any of the locals and they will be happy to point you to the right direction you need to go. Most of these maps are located in tourist offices, but you can also find and buy these maps in shops. These maps are usually only for the nearby area, and can be really helpful to you.
Je cherche le bus/train/métro. Où est l’arrêt le plus près? – I am looking for the bus/train/subway. Where is the nearest stop?
Sometimes even when you have a map, it might not be enough, and it can be very tricky in trying to move around in an unfamiliar new city. It is always importantly useful to be able to ask people how to get to important destinations. The best and most important destination in most French cities, particularly in Paris is the closest bus, train or metro stop. Using these places, you can get to where you need to be more easily.
Où est…? – Where is…?
This next phrase is yet another “Where is?” phrase that can be used to help you find whatever you need to look for. After you have spoken the phrase, you can immediately finish it with the thing or location you are looking for, it can be anything, La Tour Eiffel, Notre Dame, le Louvre, etc. It would be best if you also know the french word of the location you are looking to go to. Don’t forget, les toilettes publiques, that means the public toilets.
Où est le guichet ? – Where is the ticket window?
This next phrase is specially important for tourists, whenever you are visiting a tourist spot in France, you will need to purchase a ticket. So if you do not know where and you are looking for the ticket window, then you can use this phrase. If you really need it to be simplified, you can attempt to say guichet, but the entire phrase isn’t that hard anyways. Just practice a little and you’ll remember it eventually. Don’t worry if you get the pronunciation right, if you keep practising more and more, you will eventually get better at one of the top 10 phrases in French for travelling breeze!
Combien ça coûte? – How much does it cost?
As a tourist, you will be inclined to buy souvenirs for yourself or maybe friends and family who have not been to France. Even if you are not looking to get any souvenirs, this phrase is also useful in all situations where you need to make a purchase and you need to ask for the cost of the item. It can be useful in all sorts of ways, even when you need to buy a ticket for a movie or even the train ticket. Practice and you’d be able to master one of the top 10 phrases in French for travelling ease!
Non, merci. Je regarde pour l’instant. – No thank you. I’m just looking for now.
Even in France, you will surely be entering a store to look for something that might spark your interest, but sometimes you are probably not going to make a purchase and you are just looking around for now. The above phrase will really help you whenever you are in a store and a French salesperson approaches you and asks if you need any help, this will be a polite way to let them know that you don’t need any help for now. When you do need help, be sure to let them know. Therefore “No thank you. I’m just looking for now” is one of the top 10 phrases in French for travelling to France.
J’ai besoin d’aide. Je me sens menacé. – I need help. I feel threatened.
This will come in really handy if you feel you are in trouble or if you are really in trouble. Everyone needs to know the way to seek for police help whenever they are threatened in a foreign country. So if you are ever in any of these situations, then you can just go to any open business and speak this phrase to quickly get yourself some assistance, whenever you feel that you are in danger, being followed or just feeling threatened in general.
Conclusion
Whenever you are visiting a new country, it is always important to know a little bit of the native language, so you can communicate with the locals, so with these top 10 phrases in French for travelling, you will be able to do so with ease. However, don’t be too focused on learning the native language just before your trip and forgetting the most important thing when you are travelling, which is travel insurance. Allianz Travel Care is offering travel insurance from the price of only RM 16/trip, one of the cheapest in the market today, visit PolicyStreet.com to find out more.