The French phrase for "please reply" is "Répondez s'il vous plaît," most commonly seen as the abbreviation RSVP, which literally means "respond if it pleases you" and requests confirmation for an invitation. While RSVP is standard in English, the French now often use "Réponse souhaitée" (response desired) with a date or contact, as RSVP can sound formal and old-fashioned in France.
interjection. French. if you please; please.
"RSVP" is an initialism of the French phrase "répondez s'il vous plaît." This directly translates to "Respond, if you please." The initialism is often used to confirm attendance for an event, such as a wedding, birthday party or baby shower.
RSVP is an initialism derived from the French phrase "répondez s'il vous plaît", meaning "please respond" (literally "respond if it pleases you"). It is typically used to request confirmation of an invitation.
To respond to "Ça va?", use simple, context-dependent answers like "Ça va bien, merci, et toi/vous?" (Very well, thanks, and you?) for positive, polite replies, or "Pas mal" (Not bad), "Bof" (Meh/So-so), or even "Ça va mal" (Not well) for more nuanced feelings, often followed by asking back "Et toi?" (informal) or "Et vous?" (formal).
Yes, the French absolutely say "je voudrais" (I would like), and it's the standard, polite way to order or make requests, especially in shops and restaurants, though native speakers often use alternatives like "je vais prendre" or "je prendrai" for ordering food to sound more natural, while "je veux" (I want) is considered too direct or demanding.
Srx. Just as we say “Seriously?” in English, the French have their own version too for conveying disbelief: srx = sérieux.
Mieux vaut tard que jamais.
Translation: “Late is worth more than never.” Actual meaning: “Better late than never.” This is another French saying that is also very common in English. You can use it to tell someone that is better to do something late than not to do it at all.
MDR. MDR in French stands for Mort de rire. The phrase literally means “Dead from laughter” but a more appropriate translation is “laughing out loud” or the more text-friendly “LOL”.
In fact, "Il n'y a pas de quoi" and its shorter version "Pas de quoi" are used quite often in daily life and are some of the most popular ways to express "You are welcome" in French.
Je vous en prie
The phrase literally means “I pray you for it”, though it's only used to say “you're welcome” in French. It uses the formal pronoun vous, which serves to show respect when speaking to someone you don't know very well.
Je suis fou de toi : I am crazy about you.
French phrase
sēl-vü-ple. : if you please : please.
The "5 to 7 rule" in France, or le cinq à sept, traditionally refers to a secret, after-work rendezvous (5 PM to 7 PM) with a lover for an illicit sexual encounter before returning home to family, but it's also used more broadly for discreet romantic meetings or even just a casual happy hour, though its meaning varies by region, with Québec using it more for social gatherings than affairs.
Don't butter your bread!
Nibble it or use it to mop up your plate at the end of a dish. Other than with bread, be wary of eating with your hands – watch what the others do. Eating with your hands is generally considered to be bad manners in France, except in very casual settings.
French people say "voilà" because it's a versatile, common expression derived from "vois là" (see there), meaning "here it is," "there you go," or "ta-da," used to present something, conclude a thought, confirm an agreement, or introduce a person/idea, functioning like a verbal pointer or summary in everyday speech. It literally means "see there," but its usage is much broader, functioning as a presentative to introduce things or show completion.
The 80/20 rule (Pareto Principle) in French learning means focusing on the 20% of vocabulary, grammar, and phrases that handle 80% of everyday conversations, allowing for rapid progress in real-life situations like the bakery or with neighbors, rather than getting bogged down in less-used details. This involves prioritizing high-frequency words, essential sentence structures, and common tenses to achieve practical fluency faster, using comprehensible input (listening/reading) for the majority of study time and targeted output (speaking/writing) for the rest.
"RSVP, regrets only" means you need only to respond if you are unable to attend the event. If you do not respond, it is proper for the host to assume you will be at the event and you should follow through and attend the event.