Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index Here are some examples of French phrases used by English speakers. There are many words of French origin in English, such as croissant, baguette, naive (sometime spelled with an accentuated i), police, routine, machine, and hors d'œuvres, but this article covers only words and phrases that remain identifiably French. That said, the phrases are given as used in English, and may seem more French to English speakers than they do to French speakers. The general rule is that if the word or phrase looks better in italics, it has retained its French identity, but if it doesn't need italics, it has probably passed over into English. Note that these phrases are pronounced using the French rules, and not the English ones. Thus, the stress most often falls on the final syllable, the final letter is silent (unless it's "r" or "à" or "é"), consequent words are pronounced without a pause between them, unaccented "e" is usually pronounced as [ @ ], and final "n" is nasalized as /~/ (see SAMPA for a guide to phonetic symbols). à bientôt! -- See you later! à la -- in the manner of à la carte -- each item separately à la mode -- fashionable (or, in North America, "with ice cream") Adieu! -- Good bye! Au revoir! -- See you again! (or) Good bye! Bon appétit! -- Have a good meal! Bonne chance! -- Good luck! Bon voyage! -- Have a good trip! Bonjour! -- lit., Good day! but also means Hello! carte blanche -- unlimited authority (literally, blank card) cause célèbre -- an issue arousing widespread controversy or heated public debate c'est la vie! -- That's life! c'est magnifique! -- That's great! comment allez-vous? -- How are you? croître -- to grow (or) to increase (or) to wax (as in the moon)) d'accord -- "agreed, okay" (mostly Canadian) douceur de vivre -- sweetness of life escargots -- snails l'esprit d'escalier -- thinking of the right answer too late (literally "staircase wit"), originally a witticism of Rousseau faux amis -- false friends (used to refer to similar words in French and English that have different meanings). joie de vivre -- joy of living merci beaucoup! -- Thank you very much! né (or) née -- born (past participle of naître -- to be born), often used to give someone's former or maiden name n'est-ce pas? -- isn't it? Used after a statement, as in, right? non -- no mirepoix -- a cooking mixture of two parts onions and one part each of celery and carrots (see mirepoix at foodreference.com) oui -- yes répondez s'il vous plaît (R.S.V.P.) -- please reply Le roi est mort. Vive le roi! -- The king is dead. Long live the king! s'il vous plaît (S.V.P.) -- please (or) if it pleases you (or) if you please (formal). soupe du jour -- the soup of the day vive la différence -- Long live the difference (between England and France, or between the sexes) vive la France -- Long live France voilà! -- There you go! Table of contents 1 Seemingly French phrases used in English, but not in French 2 French phrases in international air-sea rescue 3 External Link 4 Quotation Seemingly French phrases used in English, but not in French auteur -- in French it just means "author", but in English it means "film director who controls everything about the film, or other controller of an artistic situation". double entendre (pronounced dubble ontondr' or dooble ontond)-- double meaning, for which the French say double entente or double sens crème de la crème -- the very best (Literally: "cream of the cream"); not used in French le mot juste -- the right word. (means the same literal thing in French, but isn't used in the particular context English-speakers use it). French phrases in international air-sea rescue International authorities have adopted a number of words and phrases from French for use by speakers of all languages in voice communications during air-sea rescues. Note that the "phonetic" versions are presented as shown and not in SAMPA. SECURATE (securité, "safety") -- the following is a safety message or warning, the lowest level of danger PAN PAN (panne, "breakdown") -- the following is a message concerning a danger to a person or ship, the next level of danger MAYDAY (m'aider, "help me") -- the following is a message of extreme urgency, the highest level of danger. MAYDAY replaced SOS in this function. SEELONCE (silence, "silence") -- keep this channel clear for air-sea rescue communications. SEELONCE FEE NEE (silence fini, "silence is over") -- this channel is now available again. PRU DONCE (prudence, "prudence") -- same as SEELONCE FEE NEE. MAY DEE CAL (médical, "medical") -- medical assistance needed It is a serious breach in most countries, and in international zones, to use any of these phrases without justification. External Link Communications Instructions, Distress and Rescue Procedures Combined Communications-Electronics Board of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States. PDF document. See also common phrases in different languages. Quotation Déjeuner: the breakfast of an American who has been to Paris. Variously pronounced. - Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.