25 mots et phrases indispensables pour les débutants en Français

5 years ago
 
The List: Conversational Phrases to Keep You Talking

1. Ça va? / Ça va (How’s it going? / OK)
This is one of the first phrases most people learn. Consequently, it’s easy to dismiss its importance and incredible versatility. Basically, ça (it, that) is a handy noun and aller (to go) is a handy verb.
Ça va? (literally “it’s going?”) asks someone how things are. The usual response is ça va, which means things are fine. Ça ne va pas, on the other hand, indicates things are perhaps not going so well.
There are a ton of expressions that can be added on to ça va. It’s a sort of general-meaning template that other words are slapped onto. Knowing how to use this template may help you work out many common expressions even if you don’t immediately understand them. Here are just a few examples:

Ça va de soi. (It goes without saying.)
Ça va mal finir. (It’s going to end badly.)
Ça te va bien! (That suits you!)
Ça ne va pas, non? (What’s wrong with you?)
Keep this in mind whenever a conversation arises, and you should have no trouble understanding related expressions.

2. Ça y est! (There we go!)
Ça y est is somewhat similar in meaning and usage to voilà. It often signifies that something is present or finished. Here are a few possible translations:
“There it is!”
“Finally!”
“It’s done!”

3. C’est ça? / C’est ça (Is that it? / That’s it)
You’re probably noticing a pattern. There’s no getting around it, ça is a word that comes up over and over in French conversation. Trying to talk without it is like trying to prepare a three-course meal without a knife.
C’est ça, along with ça va and ça y est, can be a simple way of checking for a confirmation.
C’est ça? (Is that right?)
Oui, c’est ça. (Yes, that’s right.)
This little word is going to help you in all kinds of unexpected ways.

4. Bon / Ah bon? (Good / Oh really?)
You’ll hear the word bon a lot. Literally, it means “good.” In spoken French, though, it’s often used as an interjection. It can signify decisiveness, similar to “right” or “OK” when used at the beginning of a sentence in English.
When you tack an ah on to the front of it and voice it like a question, ah bon means, “Oh, really?”

5. Alors (So)
Alors, depending on the context, can mean “so,” “then” or “while.” Don’t be too intimidated by the specifics, though, as it’s usually pretty easy to figure out what it means from the context. It’s often just used as a filler or transition word along the lines of “well” or “so.”
Et alors? means “So?” or “So what?”
Good to know when you want to totally dismiss someone’s point or ask for further info.

6. Bien / Eh bien (Well…)
The word bien translates pretty, well…well into English. Like the word “well,” it can signify an overall positive state or hesitance, though not so much a deep hole in the ground. (That would be un puits, just in case you were curious.)
Eh bien is a common interjection that just means “so” or “well” but can often add emphasis to a question or statement.

7. Ben oui / Ben non (Well, yeah / Well, no)
Ben is a variation on bien that has become very common. As with bien, it can be used to indicate hesitance or also emphasis. If you think about it, “well” can also be used this way to some extent in English.
Tu veux aller au cinéma ce soir? (Do you want to go to the movies tonight?)
Ben, oui! (Well, yeah!)

8. Mais oui! / Mais non! (Absolutely! / Absolutely not!)
Putting mais in front of oui or non is another way of boosting emphasis for those occasions when you really need it.
Tu me trouves grosse? (Do you think I’m fat?)
Mais non! (Of course not!)

9. Ça m’est égal (Doesn’t matter to me)
Sometimes a little casual indifference can be just as useful to French speakers as to English speakers.
Tu veux voir quel film? (Which film do you want to see?)
Ça m’est égal. (I don’t care.)

10. Ce n’est pas grave (No big deal)
Things often seem like a big deal when they’re really not. You can use this to quickly disarm a tense situation in which someone thinks you’re upset with them, or just to comfort someone who’s having a hard time. Notice that the n’ is usually left off in spoken French.
J’ai oublié notre rendez-vous. Tu m’en veux? (I forgot about our date. Are you mad at me?)
Mais non! C’est pas grave. (Of course not! It’s no big deal.)

11. Ça marche? / Ça marche (Does that work? / That works)
Another ça phrase in the neighborhood of ça va, ça marche can just be generally used to check if someone is okay with something. You can also say “comment ça marche?” to ask how something works (like a vending machine or a cell phone).

12. Pas de problème (No problem)
Just a way to say “no problem” or “no worries.” Quick reassurances are important.

13. Ça ne fait rien (Never mind)
Another reassurance. Ça ne fait rien (or just ça fait rien), along with ce n’est pas grave, is a good way of just saying that something doesn’t really matter.

14. C’est-à-dire? / C’est-à-dire (What do you mean? / In other words)
This is a good phrase to clarify or to ask for clarification. If you hear what someone says but it doesn’t make sense to you, you can get them to rearrange their thoughts using different French you might better understand.

15. Franchement (Honestly)
This one tends to be popular on reality television, on which it’s very important for participants to emphasize the sincerity and validity of their (scripted or not) feelings.
Franchement, j’ai pas de sentiments pour lui. Il a une nouvelle copine? Je m’en fous, franchement.
(Honestly, I don’t have feelings for him. He has a new girlfriend? I don’t care, honestly.)

16. Quand même (Really, all the same)
The traditional meaning of quand même is along the lines of “all the same,” or “still,” and it’s used this way. But it also tends to be used as a filler word quite often, to the point where it’s difficult to say exactly what its function is. A lot of the time. you’ll find that it’s used for emphasis.

17. Enfin (Well, finally)
Enfin can be confusing. It can mean “finally” or “after all,” or it can just be a pure filler word. It can also be used to indicate impatience or frustration. When used as a filler word, it’s often reduced to ‘fin.
Like alors or quand même, though, the meaning can often be deduced from the context. The important thing is to start listening for it and recognizing it when you hear it.

18. Ça te dit? / Ça vous dit? (How does that sound?)
Another ça phrase for good measure. This phrase has a more specific usage, as it usually falls into the category of making plans. Plans are important because they mean more opportunities for conversation! You don’t want to miss or misunderstand someone asking if you want to hang out again.
Ça te dit d’aller voir ce film? (Want to go see this film?)
Desolée, non. Je n’aime pas Godard. (No, sorry. I don’t like Godard.)

19. À cause de (Because of)
This phrase is useful to have on deck because you can build sentencesaround it. You can continue what started out as a short sentence by extending the thought.
Je n’ai pas dormi à cause de ce bruit infernal. (I didn’t sleep because of that horrible noise.)
Use à cause de in situations where the cause is something negative. You can use grâce à (thanks to) for more positive causes. To remain neutral, stick with en raison de (because of).

20. D‘ailleurs (Incidentally)
This is good phrase for transitions between two sentences, giving you a moment to catch your breath and collect your thoughts. It’s another word that’s often used as filler, but when used as a transition it usually translates more directly to “incidentally” or “by the way.”

21. En tout cas (Anyhow)
This translates as “in any case,” “anyhow” or “anyway.”
En tout cas, nous ne sommes pas allés au cinéma. (Anyhow, we didn’t go to the movies.)

22. Tout à fait (Exactly)
This can be used by itself as a response to let someone know that you agree with them. It’s also convenient to use as an adjective for emphasis.
C’est tout à fait ça! (That’s exactly it!)

23. Et puis (And what’s more / and then)
Another useful transition that will help you keep conversation flowing.
Et puis, il m’a dit que j’avais mauvais goût en matière de film. 
(And what’s more, he told me I had bad taste in film.)

24. En fait (Actually)
This one is used as a contradiction but also kind of a filler phrase, actually. While writing up this list, I was actually listening to a French television show in the background, and I actually heard en fait about twenty times, actually. I actually did.

25. Je n’en sais rien (I don’t know anything about it)
When in doubt, disavow all knowledge! This phrase can be used to get out of an uncomfortable discussion, or just to honestly proclaim your ignorance on a subject. You will usually hear this phrase spoken without the n’.
Où est mon portable? (Where’s my phone?)
J’en sais rien. (I have no idea.)


Source :  https://www.fluentu.com/blog/french/how-to-speak-french-for-beginners/ 