Thank you and hello in FrenchWith pronunciation, and the replies you'll hear back
French written down looks nothing like French spoken, which is why travellers freeze. Learn the greeting ritual first, because in France that matters more than vocabulary. Here are 18 phrases people actually use in France, Belgium, Switzerland and Quebec, in the order worth learning them. The replies you will hear back are included too.
"Thank you" in French
Merci
mehr-SEE
Merci beaucoup (mehr-SEE boh-KOO) for something bigger.
Thank you
Merci
mehr-SEE
Hello
Bonjour
bohn-ZHOOR
Switch to Bonsoir (bohn-SWAHR) from about 6pm.
Excuse me / sorry
Pardon
par-DOHN
Excusez-moi (ex-kew-zay-MWAH) when you need to interrupt someone.
Yes / No
Oui / Non
WEE / NOH
The n in Non hums in your nose. Your tongue never touches the roof of your mouth.
Please
S'il vous plaît
seel voo PLEH
The respelling is an approximation. French has two sounds English simply does not have: the r made at the back of the throat, and nasal vowels where air comes out of your nose. A respelling can only get you near them, not to them. That is fine, you will still be understood, and a visible attempt is what people actually respond to. Do not worry about silent letters, because most of what you see at the end of a French word is not pronounced.
Five phrases is genuinely enough for French
You do not need to work through a phrasebook before you go. Almost everything a traveller says falls into these five shapes, and they are listed under "Start with these five" above.
- Thank you … The one you will use most. If you learn a single word, make it this one.
- Hello … Said the moment you walk into a shop. Whether you say it changes how you are treated.
- Excuse me … Some languages split calling someone over and apologising into different words. Check the list above.
- How much is it? … Needed for every purchase and every meal. If you miss the number, ask them to show it.
- I don't understand … Without this you end up nodding along and walking off in the wrong direction.
Getting these five automatic beats memorising twenty. Twenty phrases you have to search your memory for are worth nothing at the moment you need them.
Say Bonjour before anything else, every single time
In France, walking into a shop or approaching a counter and starting with your question is read as genuinely rude, roughly like barging in mid-conversation. The fix is one word: say Bonjour first, wait for the reply, then say what you need. Add Monsieur or Madame and you are doing better than most visitors. On the way out, say Au revoir or Bonne journée. This one habit is the difference between the French being cold and the French being warm, and almost every story about Parisian rudeness starts with a tourist who skipped it.
The hard part is not speaking, it is understanding the reply
Almost every phrasebook only covers what you say. What actually stops people is the second after they finish talking, when the other person answers. How many of you. For here or to go. Card or cash. Go quiet and the exchange dies. Nod along and you get the wrong thing.
The good news is that the replies are a small, predictable set. Choose "You hear" in the list above and you will see only the ones that actually come back at you in France, Belgium, Switzerland and Quebec. Reading them once before you go is most of the work.
If you still cannot catch it, ask them to write it down. Numbers and place names are far easier to read than to hear.
Say it clearly rather than say it perfectly
French has two sounds English simply does not have: the r made at the back of the throat, and nasal vowels where air comes out of your nose. A respelling can only get you near them, not to them. That is fine, you will still be understood, and a visible attempt is what people actually respond to. Do not worry about silent letters, because most of what you see at the end of a French word is not pronounced.
The usual failure is not a wrong vowel, it is going quiet because you are unsure. Keep it short, say it at normal volume, and finish the phrase in one breath. Everyone can tell you are a visitor attempting French, and if it does not land they will simply ask again. Copy the written form to your phone so you have something to show when speaking does not work.
Other languages
FAQ
Q.How do you say thank you in French?
Merci, pronounced roughly mehr-SEE. Merci beaucoup (mehr-SEE boh-KOO) for something bigger. If you learn one word before you travel, make it this one. It works at the till, when someone gives you directions, and when someone gives up a seat.
Q.Will the pronunciation guide alone get me understood?
French has two sounds English simply does not have: the r made at the back of the throat, and nasal vowels where air comes out of your nose. A respelling can only get you near them, not to them. That is fine, you will still be understood, and a visible attempt is what people actually respond to. Do not worry about silent letters, because most of what you see at the end of a French word is not pronounced.
Q.How much should I learn before I go?
Five phrases. Thank you, hello, excuse me, how much is it, and I don't understand. That covers nearly every situation a traveller hits. Getting those five automatic matters far more than adding a sixth, because at the moment you need them there is no time to think.
Q.Why bother when I have a translation app?
For getting something done, the app wins. People still learn a few words because it changes how they are treated. In a 2025 Preply survey of 1,526 US adults, 47 percent of those who used the local language said locals treated them better, 80 percent said learning phrases before a trip is important, and 58 percent actually did it. A greeting is less about transferring information and more about signalling that you made an effort.
Q.I can ask the question, but I cannot understand the answer.
That is the most common way this goes wrong, and it is why this page includes the other side. Choose "You hear" in the list above to see only what gets said back to you in France, Belgium, Switzerland and Quebec. There are not many variations: how many of you, eat in or take away, card or cash. Reading them once removes most of the surprise.
Q.Does this work offline?
Yes. Everything runs in the browser, with no account and nothing sent to a server. Open it once before you fly and it will usually still be there on the plane or in a dead zone. You can copy any phrase and show the screen when speaking does not work.
Reading a phrase is not the same as saying it
You can recognise every phrase on this page and still freeze at the counter, because there is no time to think. Inko lets you say French out loud to an AI for 60 seconds a day, and afterwards it shows you what you could have said instead. A week before you fly is enough to make a difference.