350 PHRASE BOOK
Tips for Pronouncing French
The Walloons and other French-speaking Belgians
may display a throaty, deep accent noticeably
different from French spoken in France. The
vocabulary, however, is mostly the same as that used
in France, with a few notable exceptions, such as the
use of septante (instead of soixante-dix) for seventy.
Consonants at the end of words are mostly silent and
not pronounced. Ch is pronounced sh; th is t; w is v; and
r is rolled gutturally. Ç is pronunced s.
In an Emergency
Help! Au secours! oh sekoor
Stop! Arrêtez! aret-ay
Call a doctor! Appelez un apuh-layun
médecin medsañ
Call the police! Appelez la police apuh-lay lah pol-
ees
Call the fire Appelez les apuh-lay leh poñ-
brigade! pompiers peeyay
Where is the Où est le oo ay luh
nearest téléphone tehlehfon luh
telephone? le plus proche ploo prosh
nearest hospital? l’hôpital le oo ay l’opeetal
plus proche luh ploo prosh
nearest police commissariat de oo ay luh kom-ee-
station? police le plus sah-ree-ah deh
proche pol-ees luh ploo
prosh
Communication Essentials
Yes Oui wee
No Non noñ
Please S’il vous plait seel voo play
Thank you Merci mer-see
Excuse me Excusez-moi exkoo-zay mwah
Hello Bonjour boñzhoor
Goodbye Au revoir oh ruh-vwar
Good night Bonne nuit boñ-nwee
morning Le matin matañ
afternoon L’après-midi l’apreh-meedee
evening Le soir swah
yesterday Hier eeyehr
today Aujourd’hui oh-zhoor-dwee
tomorrow Demain duhmañ
here Ici ee-see
there Là-bas lah bah
What? Quel/quelle? kel, kel
When? Quand? koñ
Why? Pourquoi? poor-kwah
Where? Où? oo
How? Comment? kom-moñ
Now Maintenant maynt-noñ
Later Plus tard ploo-tar
Useful Phrases
How are you? Comment allez kom-moñ
vous? talay voo
Very well, thank Très bien, merci treh byañ, mer-see
you
How do you do? Comment ça va? kom-moñ sah vah
See you soon A bientôt byañ-toh
That’s fine Ça va bien Sah vah byañ
Where is/are...? Où est/sont...? ooh ay/soñ
How far is it Combien de kom-byañ duh
to...? kilomètres keelo-metr d’ee-
d’ici à...? see ah
Which way Quelle est la kel ay lah
to...? direction deer-ek-syoñ
pour...? poor
Do you speak Parlez-vous par-lay voo
English? anglais? oñg-lay
I don’t Je ne comprends zhuh nuh kom-
understand pas proñ pah
Could you Pouvez-vous Poo-vay voo
speak slowly? parler plus par-lay ploos
lentement? lontuh-moñ
I’m sorry Excusez-moi exkoo-zay mwah
Useful Words
big grand groñ
small petit puh-tee
hot chaud show
cold froid frwah
good bon boñ
bad mauvais moh-veh
enough assez assay
well bien byañ
open ouvert oo-ver
closed fermé fer-meh
left gauche gohsh
right droite drawht
straight on tout droit too drwah
near près preh
far loin lwañ
up en haut oñ oh
down en bas oñbah
early tôt toh
late tard tar
entrance l’entrée l’on-tray
exit la sortie sor-tee
toilet toilette twah-let
occupied occupé o-koo-pay
free (vacant) libre leebr
free (no charge) gratuit grah-tweeMaking a Telephone Call
I would like to Je voudrais faire zhuh voo-
place a long- un interurbain dreh faire uñ
distance añter-oorbañ
telephone call
I would like to Je voudrais zhuh voo-dreh^
call collect faire un faire oon kom-
communication oonikah-syoñ
PCV peh-seh-veh
I will try again Je vais essayer zhuh vay ess-ay-
later plus tard eh ploo tar
Can I leave a Est-ce que je peux es-keh zhuh puh
message? laisser un les-say uñ
message? meh-sazh
Hold on Ne quittez pas, nuh kee-tay pah
s’il vous plait seel voo play
Could you Pouvez-vous poo-vay voo
speak up a parler un peu par-lay uñ puh
little please? plus fort? ploo for
Local call Communication komoonikah-
local syoñ low-kalShopping
How much does C’est combien? say kom-byañ
this cost?
I would like.... Je voudrais zhuh voo-dray
Do you have...? Est-ce que vous es-kuh voo zavay
avez...
I’m just looking Je regarde zhuh ruhgar suhl-
seulement moñ
Do you take Est-ce que vous es-kuh voo
credit cards? acceptez les zaksept-ay leh
cartes de crédit? kart duh kreh-
dee
Do you take Est-ce que vous es-kuh voo zak-
travellers’ acceptez les sept-ay lay shek
cheques? chèques de duh vwayazh
voyage?
What time do À quelle heure ah kel urr voo zet
you open? vous êtes ouvert oo-ver
you close? vous êtes fermé fer-may
This one Celui-ci suhl-wee see
That one Celui-là suhl-wee lah
expensive cher shehr
cheap pas cher, bon pah shehr, boñ
marché mar-shay
size, clothes la taille tye
colour couleur kool-urr
white blanc bloñ
black noir nwahr
red rouge roozh
yellow jaune zhownh
green vert vehr
blue bleu bluh
orange orange oroñzh