Hello? Do you want to know how to talk on the phone in French and know useful expressions to use on the phone? Ok, let's do it!
Today, we'll see how to speak on the phone in French.
We will see useful expressions that can be used in several situations: when you phone a friend, when you make a doctor's appointment and when you get a call for a job interview.
Calling a friend in French:
Let's analyze this dialogue in detail!
Firstly, we are in an informal situation. Two friends call each other, the language register is going to be familiar and we are going to be on familiar conversation.
When someone calls us and we pick up the phone, we will answer in French by saying “Allo”. No matter who calls us, we will usually answer “Allo”.
When our call is not planned, we can ask if we are not disturbing the person in French:
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“Je te dérange pas ?”
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“Est-ce que je te dérange ?”
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“T’as un moment ?”
We can to take news of his relatives in French by saying :
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“Qu’est-ce que tu deviens ?” used especially when it's been a long time since you've spoken to the person.
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“Quoi de neuf ?”
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“Qu’est-ce que tu racontes ?”
When the phone line has problems, there may be cuts. This can be indicated by saying :
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“Allo ? Je ne t’entends plus.”
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“Ça coupe.”
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“Je crois qu’il y a un problème de réseau, je t’entends mal.”
To end a phone conversation in French with a friend, you can say :
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“Bisous !”
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“À bientôt !”
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“À *le jour où on va se voir*” → *À lundi !”
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“À la prochaine !”
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“À plus !”
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“Salut !”
Be careful, these formulas are to be used only with close friends or family.
Make an appointment with the doctor by phone in French:
Let's analyze this dialogue!
Here we use a common language register, the vocabulary is for you I think quite easy to understand.
No "Allo." Generally, when you call professionals, they say the name of their company or organization on the phone and "Bonjour".
To make a request in French, we can say :
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“Ça serait pour…”
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“J’appelle pour …”
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“J’aimerais savoir si c’est possible de …”
In this type of call, we will ask for your contact information in French.
Feel free to rehearse well before the call if this is something that stresses you out.
To make sure that the person on the phone understands, I advise you to spell your first or last name using the aeronautical alphabet: A for alpha, B for bravo, etc.
To give a phone number in French, normally we give two numbers each time: 01 23 45 67 89. If you really don't feel like doing it, it's okay. Give one number each time: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9.
Receive a call for a job interview in French:
Let's analyze this dialogue!
To indicate who is talking on the phone in French, we can say in a more formal and professional way:
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*First name + last name* à l’appareil : Jeanne Moulin à l’appareil.
More informally, we'll just say:
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C’est + *First name* : C’est Jeanne
To ask who we are talking to, if you are not sure or if you are calling for the first time, you can say:
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Est-ce que je m’adresse bien à *First name + last name* ? : Est-ce que je m’adresse bien à Claire Dupont ?
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Puis-je parler à *First name + last name* ? : Puis-je parler à Claire Dupont ?
More informally, we would say:
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C’est bien + *First name* : C’est bien Claire ?
In this type of call, we need to write information to make an appointment.
If you need to write down information, the person may ask you:
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Est-ce que vous avez de quoi noter / écrire ?
If she/he doesn't ask you, don't hesitate to say:
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Pouvez-vous attendre quelques secondes, s’il vous plait ? Je vais prendre de quoi noter.
When you are ready, you can say:
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Je vous écoute
If you are not sure how to write a word, ask the person to spell the word in French, i.e. to say the letters that make up this word. We will ask in this way:
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Pouvez-vous épeler Turenne s’il vous plait ?
Most of the time, it's true that French people use French names to spell. For example: T for Thomas or N for Nathalie.
This is mostly done for letters that are very close in pronunciation: T, P, B, D, etc. Or N, M and L.
In the same way, if you can't hear well, you can ask to repeat, by saying :
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Est-ce que vous pouvez répéter, s’il vous plaît ?
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Pouvez-vous répéter s’il vous plaît ?
It's important to avoid asking for too much repetition if you don't understand, especially if you meet someone who is not patient.
The best thing to do is to ask for confirmation of all information in writing, by email. Normally, in this day and age, people do this automatically, but it is better to ask to be sure.
I'll see you soon for new adventures, in French of course! 🇫🇷
