Basic courtesy in French: please, thank you and asking for repetition

Level A1

Basic courtesy in French: please, thank you and asking for repetition

You are meeting someone and want to keep the conversation friendly, even when you miss a word. Learn six ready-to-use formulas for thanking, replying, getting attention and asking for repetition. Choose the formula for what you need to do; you do not need to work out its grammar yet.

Start and finish the contact

A quick reminder from the greetings lesson: Bonjour is a daytime greeting; in our morning scene it means good morning, and Au revoir means goodbye when you leave. Listen to both cards and say each one after the audio, even if this is your first lesson. These open and close a contact; the next formulas help you during it.

Six formulas for everyday courtesy

Merci means thank you, after someone helps you or gives you something. De rien means you're welcome: it answers Merci, rather than replacing it. Listen to the two cards in that order and practise both sides of the exchange.

Excusez-moi means excuse me: use it to get someone's attention politely or ask them to let you pass. S'il vous plaît means please and softens a request. The full request Répétez, s'il vous plaît means please say that again; learn it as one ready-made block, with the please part at the end.

Pardon ? is a shorter way to signal that you did not hear or understand what was said. Listen to its questioning tone, then to the fuller request Répétez, s'il vous plaît; you can use either to ask for repetition. This asks for the words again, which may help you understand them; it does not ask for a different explanation.

In these formulas, vous suits a polite contact with someone you do not know; it can also address several people. English please does not change this way. For now, practise the vous formulas without analysing the verb endings or the parts of Excusez-moi; Merci, De rien and Pardon ? also work with friends.

A greeting you did not catch

A approaches a reception desk in the morning; B answers with a quiet Bonjour that A misses. A asks B to repeat, hears the greeting again and thanks B for the help. Listen once, then take A's part; on a second pass, take B's part. Here De rien answers the thanks, not the request to repeat.

Recognise the familiar versions

With one person they address as tu, such as a friend, speakers use S'il te plaît (please), Excuse-moi (excuse me) and Répète, s'il te plaît (please say that again). These do the same jobs as the vous formulas above, with a different form of address. Unlike English please, the French formula changes between vous and te. Listen and match the intention; you only need to recognise these versions now. Keep using the vous models for this lesson's practice, without learning the imperative or reflexive grammar yet.

Choose a formula, then check

Before reading the examples, say a formula for each situation: someone helps you; someone thanks you; you need a stranger to let you pass; you did not catch what someone said. Next, ask politely for repetition with the longer formula, then say which part of that request means please. Check the six examples in order, listen and try again without looking.

The useful pairs are Merci → De rien and a missed utterance → Pardon ? or Répétez, s'il vous plaît. Excusez-moi gets attention or asks for passage, while S'il vous plaît softens a request. You can now keep a short contact going with formulas, even before you can build longer sentences.

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