Languages › French Common French Phrases Essential French Phrases and Expressions to Continue the Conversation Share Flipboard Email Print Michael Blann / Getty Images French Vocabulary Pronunciation & Conversation Grammar Resources For Teachers By ThoughtCo Team Updated on September 08, 2019 To keep up a conversation in any foreign language, it's important to familiarize yourself with common phrases and expressions. Odds are that they'll come up more often than not. In French, some of the most common phrases like pas de problème ("no problem") are similar if not identical to their English equivalent. These expressions are usually taught in class and tend to be relatively easy for students to grasp and recall. Not all common French phrases are simple. A good example of a more confusing expression is revenons à nos moutons, which directly translates to "let's get back to our sheep" but actually means "let's get back to the subject at hand." Expressions like these are often used conversationally among native French speakers but are often neglected in classrooms. Whether you're planning your first trip to a French-speaking country or you just want to improve your speaking skills, here is a list of common phrases (both simple and more elaborate) that are essential to keeping the conversation going. Affirmatives and Agreements en effet: indeed, that's right pas de problème: no problem tant mieux: it's just as well, even better tout à fait: absolutely, exactly bien entendu: of course, obviously bien sûr: of course ça marche: that works ça m'est égal: it's all the same to me Courtesies and Salutations à la vôtre!: cheers! à tes souhaits: bless you Bon anniversaire!: Happy birthday! Bon appétit!: Enjoy your meal! ça va (?): how's it going?, I'm fine de rien: you're welcome grâce à: thanks to si ce n'est pas indiscret: if it's not too personal a question si tu veux: if you will tiens: here you go, there you are Causality, Comparison, and Condition à cause de: because of, due to à la fois: at the same time au fur et à mesure: as, while au lieu de: instead of, rather than avoir l'air (de): to look (like) du coup: as a result à la limite: at most, in a pinch à la rigueur: or even, if need be à peine: hardly au cas où: just in case au fait: by the way vis-à-vis (de): facing, in relation to Debate and Discussion à mon avis: in my opinion ah bon (?): oh really? I see au contraire: on the contrary d'ailleurs: moreover, might I add a priori: at first glance, in principle en fait: in fact entendre dire que: to hear (it said) that entendre parler de: to hear (someone talk) about par contre: whereas, on the other hand par exemple: for example, such as; oh my, well really! revenons à nos moutons: let's get back to the subject at hand Duration and Time à peu près: about, approximately, nearly du jour au lendemain: overnight en retard: late entre chien et loup: at dusk, twilight faire le pont: to make it a long weekend tout à l'heure: in a moment, a moment ago tout à coup: all of a sudden tout de suite: right away, immediately Exclamations and Expressions allons-y!: let's go! à la française: in the French style or manner à la une: front-page news ça alors: how about that, my goodness c'est-à-dire: that is, i.e., I mean c'est parti: here we go, and we're off ce n'est pas grave: it doesn't matter, no problem dis donc / dites donc: wow, by the way enfin: well, I mean et j'en passe: and that's not all et patati et patata: and so on and so forth fais gaffe: watch out, be careful fais voir: let me see figure-toi: guess what, get this 'fin: well, I mean il y a quelque chose qui cloche: something's amiss J'arrive!: I'm on my way! je t'aime: I love you on ne sait jamais: you never know Vive la France!: Long live France! plus ça change...: the more things change... métro, boulot, dodo: the rat race tu connais la musique: you know the routine tu m'étonnes: tell me something I don't know du loup: speak of the devil voilà: there is, that's it Negatives and Disagreements ça ne fait rien: never mind, it doesn't matter c'est pas vrai!: no way! J'en peux plus: I can't take (it) anymore Je n'en reviens pas: I can't believe it Je n'y peux rien: There's nothing I can do about it. Je n'y suis pour rien: It's got nothing to do with me n'importe quoi: whatever oh là là: oh dear, oh no pas du tout: not at all pas terrible: not that great, nothing special rien à voir: nothing to do with tant pis: oh well, too bad, tough tu connais la musique: you know the routine tu m'étonnes: tell me something I don't know Quantity/Amount de trop: too much/many du tout: not/none at all il y a: there is, there are Questions n'est-ce pas?: right? isn't that so? On y va?: Shall we go? Ready? tu te rends compte?: can you imagine? ah bon?: oh really? ça va?: how's it going? Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Team, ThoughtCo. "Common French Phrases." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/most-common-french-phrases-1371064. Team, ThoughtCo. (2023, April 5). Common French Phrases. 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