Introducing yourself in French
Greeting people and asking how they are
There are a few different ways to greet people in French, depending on the time of day.
Here are some examples of what to say during the day, and in the evening:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| salut | hi |
| bonjour | hello / good day |
| bonsoir | good evening |
| bonne nuit | good night |
| au revoir | goodbye |
| à bientôt | see you soon |
To ask someone how they are, you can say the following:
- Ça va ? - How are you?
To respond, you can say:
- Oui, ça va - Yes, I’m fine.
- Ça va (très) bien, merci - I’m (very) well, thank you.
- Pas mal - Not bad.
- Bof - So so.
- Ça va (très) mal - I’m feeling (very) bad.
- Et toi ? - And you?
Asking for and giving your name and age
To ask someone’s name in French, say Comment tu t’appelles ? (literally: How do you call yourself?)
To tell someone your name, say je m’appelle and then your name.
To ask someone how old they are, you ask Tu as quel âge ? (literally: What age do you have?)
To tell someone your age, say j’ai (I have) and then the number of years.
- J’ai onze ans - I am 11 years old (literal meaning I have 11 years.)
Saying where you live and asking others where they live
To ask someone where they live, say Tu habites où?
To tell someone which town/city you live in, say j’habite à.
- J’habite à Preston - I live in Preston.
To tell someone the country you live in, say j’habite en… for feminine countries, j’habite au… for masculine countries and j’habite aux… for plural countries.
- J’habite en Angleterre - I live in England. (England is a feminine country in French.)
- J’habite au pays de Galles - I live in Wales. (Wales is a masculine country in French.)
- J’habite aux États Unis - I live in the USA. (The USA is a plural country in French.)
Asking for and giving nationalities
To ask someone what their nationality is, say Tu es de quelle nationalité?
To tell someone your nationality in French, you say je suis and then give your nationality.
- Je suis français – I am French (for a boy).
- Je suis française – I am French (for a girl).
Nationalities in French often change depending on whether you are a boy or a girl. Usually, you add an ‘e’ to the nationality to make it feminine.
Nationalities don’t need capital letters in French, except at the start of sentences.
Here are some nationalities with their masculine and feminine forms:
| Masculine | Feminine | English |
|---|---|---|
| britannique | britannique | British |
| anglais | anglaise | English |
| écossais | écossaise | Scottish |
| gallois | galloise | Welsh |
| irlandais | irlandaise | Irish |
| espagnol | espagnole | Spanish |
| canadien | canadienne | Canadian |
| indien | indienne | Indian |
| américain | américaine | American |
| français | française | French |
| polonais | polonaise | Polish |
| pakistanais | pakistanaise | Pakistani |
| russe | russe | Russian |
If you want to say you are half one nationality and half another, you can use the word moitié to mean half:
- Je suis moitié écossais(e), moitié polonais(e) - I’m half Scottish, half Polish.
Saying please and thank you
To be polite in French, say merci for thank you, or merci beaucoup for thank you very much.
To say please, use s’il vous plaît if you are talking to more than one person, or in a formal situation, such as ordering food in a café. Choose s’il te plaît when talking to one person in an informal situation, for example when talking to a friend or family member.
Quiz
Listen to the conversation below and find out how much you know about introducing yourself in French with this short quiz.
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