Transcript

Instead, we'll say "what do you like to eat?"

How are you doing? I'm doing fine...

In France, the people who still use the word "discotheque" are rather the grandparents.

Hello everyone! Welcome to another French lesson. Today, we are going to talk about words and expressions that you may have learned in your French classes, but that native speakers do not use. Expressions, words that French people don't use in their everyday life in France. We will look at five of them together.

If you are new to this channel, I am Elisabeth. Every week, I post videos to help you progress in French, to help you learn French that is really used and spoken by the French.

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Let's go back to those vocabulary words or expressions that you may have learned in your French classes, but which are hardly used in France.

If you say them, of course, you will be understood. Of course, these words exist, but in use, they are not much used. The first word is the word discotheque, the discotheque. If you use this word, people will certainly see right away that you are not French. In France, the people who still use the word discotheque are rather the grandparents. Today, the word that is really used in everyday life is the box or the nightclub. We will say "go to a club" and not "go to a disco".

The second word that we hear very often among foreigners, but which is a bit outdated in the current language in France, is "boyfriend" for a boy and "girlfriend" for a girl. It's really very, very rarely used. It's a very cute word. If you say it, everyone will understand you. But it's true that in everyday language, we don't use this expression too much. We say "my boyfriend" or "my girlfriend". You will tell me that boyfriend and girlfriend can be confusing.

Indeed, because we also use boyfriend and girlfriend to talk about a friend. Often we will understand that we are really talking about my boyfriend or girlfriend, thanks to the context of the conversation. In colloquial language, we also say my boyfriend and girlfriend. Here, it's slang, it's colloquial language, but it's used a lot when young people talk to each other. When you're a little older, when you're over thirty, you say my partner, or you can also say my partner and my spouse.

Third word, food, food. This is a word that is used to talk about all food in general, but in reality, it is not used much in everyday language. We're usually a little more specific in what we mean. I know that in English, the word "food" is used a lot, but in French, we are going to be a little more specific. For example, in French, we don't say "what food do you like?" Instead, we'll say "what do you like to eat?"

We're going to turn the phrase around in a different way. Again, food is said, but it's more a question of usage here that I'm explaining to you. For example, if you go to a restaurant with Chinese food or Italian food, you're going to say it's a Chinese restaurant or it's an Italian restaurant. We will use this formulation instead.

In French, the word food is used in many expressions, maybe because it is shorter, simpler to say. For example, we will say "fast food", we will talk about "street food" and not about fast food or street food. In colloquial language, with family, with friends, we use a word that is really a synonym for food, but that we will use more often. It's food.

You may have heard it before in TV shows or movies. What are we eating tonight? What food do you have planned for dinner? It's a word that is often used with family and friends.

The next expression is "comme ci comme ça". It's a really cute expression, but I think the only time I've ever heard it was from strangers. If you say it, of course you'll be understood. Some French people use it, but it's not the norm. There are expressions to say the same thing that are more often used. This expression is not naturally used by a French person.

If I ask someone how they're doing, instead of answering like this or like that, they can simply say "I'm fine", but in a somewhat neutral tone, a tone that shows it's not great or very bad. How is it going? Ça va... To say that you are doing moderately well, you can also use the colloquial expression "bof", which is heard much more often than "comme ci comme ça", but which is a little more negative. How is it going? Bof. Another expression that is also used is "so-so". How's it going? Couci-couça. It's a perfect synonym for Comme ci, comme ça, but it's a little more used in France.

Now let's move on to the fifth expression, the fifth wording, which is "isn't it". Often, foreigners are taught to end certain questions with n'est-ce pas. When do we end with n'est-ce pas? It's when you ask a question and you think you know the answer. For example, I mean, "You're learning French, aren't you?" "It's cold, isn't it?" "You cook well, don't you?"

However, in everyday life, in the real use of French, it is very, very rare to hear this expression. Instead, we will use other little words that can be complicated to understand for foreigners. Instead, we'll say "il fait froid, non?" Or "it's cold, right? "You cook well, don't you?" You cook well, right? In reality, the French are going to use these formulations a lot more than they do, aren't they?

That's it for today. Tell me in comments, if there are other expressions that you have learned in your French classes, but that are not used much in reality.

I say to you soon and especially put a like to the video if you liked it.