Caro: Bienvenue ! Welcome to Parlez Away, our new podcast for beginner French learners! I’m Caroline, language expert at Babbel in Berlin, Germany. I am French, I come from Nantes, in the northwest of France. And today I will be hosting my colleague Ted, who decided to start learning French. Hello!

Ted: Bonjour Caro !

Caro: Oh, you know something in French already, nice! Before we get started, would you like to introduce yourself to our listeners?

Ted: Sure. Je suis Ted, I’m from Wisconsin, I live in Berlin, and I also work at Babbel, because I’m a language freak...

Caro: And could you tell me and our listeners why you decided to learn our beautiful language?

Ted: Sure. Um... so, my girlfriend is from Paris, and her family doesn’t really speak so much English, so I’d really like to improve my French so I can communicate with them better when we visit. I also think it’s pretty tiring for my girlfriend to have to translate between us all the time, so I’d also like to give her a little break.

Caro: Sweet! There is no better reason to learn a language, isn’t it? But please don't break up in the middle of the podcast.

Ted: Oh, come on!

Caro: Haha. So I will help you to get really conversational and we will follow your progress episode after episode! We’re gonna talk about French language and culture and we will learn useful expressions. Maybe a little bit of grammar too, but not too much, promis (I promise)!

Ted, I am curious... If I ask you, what is France for you, which French words come to mind?

Ted: Well, probably a lot of food. Like baguette, croissant, fromage, of course. I love cheese.

Caro: OK, I think you really know the main words to get around Paris! As it is our first episode, I thought we could start with the basics: greetings.

So let’s summarize the greeting words you know. When we greeted each other and our listeners at the beginning, we said…

Ted: Bonjour.

Caro: Exactly. And now imagine you have an emergency and you need to leave the room. Would what you say?

Ted: Au revoir.

Caro: Yes! Au revoir. So you already know "bonjour" for hello, "au revoir" for goodbye.

Ted: [sighs] There’s all these damned "r"s in these words.

Caro: Yes, it's a bit difficult to pronounce for English speakers, but I think you’re doing okay. Bonjour, au revoir.

That English “r” can be part of your American charm so no pressure, but in case you want to pronounce it correctly, here’s a tip: the French “r” comes from the back of the mouth, where the throat begins, and the tongue stays at the bottom of the mouth. So it’s a bit like pronouncing a “ck” but instead of blocking the way, you push a little bit of air through. So you can try it, Ted.

Ted: [practicing]

Caro: Yeah, exactly. So it's at the same place. You do "ck" and you push some air. Exactly. You also have it in "merci" – thank you.

Ted: OK, so... au revoir. And merci.

Caro: Great job Ted! So now that you’re familiar with the basic words, let’s play a game. We will listen to different situations and see what you can understand.

Ted: Alright, I'm ready!

- Bonjour madame !
- Bonjour. Une baguette, s’il vous plaît !
- Oui. Et voilà. Un euro.
- Merci, au revoir !
- Au revoir, merci.

Caro: So Ted, did you understand the situation a bit? Do the people know each other? Where are they?

Ted: Um... it sounds like they don't really know each other. It sounds like they're in a bakery. And... the one woman is buying a baguette and the other woman tells her that it costs one euro.

Caro: Oh. Nice. I think you came across this situation already.

Ted: Yes, like I said, France is food for me, so there's lots of food involved when I go there.

Caro: That's the way. This is a typical situation that you encounter every day in France. So if you enter a boulangerie (a bakery), to buy a baguette, or any shop or restaurant, you would say “bonjour” and “au revoir”.

Ted: OK. I do have a little question about greetings though… My girlfriend’s friends always say "salut” instead of "bonjour". Can I say that to the baker too?

Caro: No! Haha, that's quite inappropriate in France. Salut is more informal, it's a bit like “hi” in English. And you can also use it when leaving, to say “bye”. But if you don’t know the person and it’s not a friend of a friend, you should stick to bonjour and au revoir.

Ted: Alright, then I’ll stick with those with strangers then.

Caro: Yes. Did you hear what expression the person said when she ordered the baguette, the polite word?

Ted: Yeah, s’il vous plaît! I used it a lot already when I was in France to order things in bakeries and cafés.

Caro: Yes, you can say it to order pretty much everything. What was your favorite order when you were in Paris? Let's do a little role play! How would you order if I were the waiter?

Ted: I would say, "Une bière, s'il vous plaît ."

Caro: Oui, parfait ! Perfect. Or "un vin rouge" – red wine.

Ted: I know that beer is not the French drink of choice, but I'm a beer guy, so...

Caro: OK. And “merci” for “thank you”. Let’s see how you get around with the next situation.

- Eh, Laure ! Salut !
- Salut ! (2 bises) Ça va ?
- Ça va, et toi ?

Caro: So Ted, who do you think these people are in relation to each other?

Ted: Well, they sound like they're pretty close friends. They know each other well, because they say "salut".

Caro: Oui, very good. And did you get how they said, “How are you?”

Ted: Yeah, they say, “Ça va ?”

Caro: Yes, I’m sure you heard it a lot in Paris. Can you answer it? Salut Ted, ça va ?

Ted: Ça va.

Caro: Super. “Ça va” is the easiest way to ask “how are you”. It means “how is it going”. And it can be both the question and the answer, to say you’re fine!

Ted: That’s really great that there is no difference between the question and the answer. It makes it so easy.

Caro: Yeah. Actually there is a little bit of a difference in the intonation. Listen: “Ça va ? Ça va.”

Ted: Ah, I see, OK. So in the question the accent goes up at the end.

Caro: Yeah. Ça va ? And in the answer it goes down: Ça va.

Ted: So the question is "Ça va ?" and the answer is "Ça va."

Caro: Yes.

Ted:  OK. I’d like to go back to the kissing sound that we heard. When I went to Paris or have met my girlfriend's friends everybody started kissing me, and I'm always a little bit confused about this. Do I – is this something that I would do with strangers for example?

Caro: Ah, la bise! Yeah, actually it can be a bit confusing for us too, because normally we do two, but sometimes it can be one, or three, or four... Yeah, depending on the region... But you may have noticed, it's just the cheeks touching, right, it's not the lips, the lips are just kissing the air. So don't start French kissing everyone!

Ted: Haha, OK, I'll try not to. Alright, but can you explain this to me: for most of my female friends, I'm OK with it, but some of my male friends also go for the kiss, but some of them just give me their hand to shake. Is there a rule about this?

Caro: Well, normally you shake hands with men and do the bise with women. And women also kiss each other hello and goodbye among each other. But there is no strict rule except that it is only something you do with friends, or friends of friends or family. So if you want to greet your new boss, don't present your cheek!

Ted: OK, but I guess I'll just go around kissing everybody for fun.

Caro: Haha. OK, let’s here a last short situation.

- Bonsoir !
- Salut ! Comment tu t’appelles ?
- Charles. Et toi ?
- Je m’appelle Charlotte.

Caro: So what’s the situation here? Who are they, where are they?

Ted: Well, it sounds like they're at a party or maybe in a club or something. I think that they're strangers, but they say "salut".

Caro: Yes.

Ted: So I'm not really sure.

Caro: So, yes, they don't know each other, they are introducing themselves. Charles and Charlotte. You can say "salut" because it's an informal situation. There's a party, so, yeah, it's really informal, and there you can say "salut", and maybe they're friends of friends, or you don't know. And can you guess what time of the day it is?

Ted: I guess that it's in the evening, or at night, because they say "bonsoir".

Caro: Yes, so they say "bonsoir", and also it's a party, so that's the evening. "Bonsoir" literally means "good evening". Basically, we use "bonjour" during the day, and "bonsoir" after 6 pm.

Ted: Alright, well that makes it simple! I like it!

Caro: And by the way, you know what? We don’t have “good morning” like you guys!

Ted: Oh yeah?

Caro: No, we only say bonjour, like "good day", or salut, "hi", from the very beginning of the day!

Ted: Alright, easy peasy!

Caro: And tell me, did you get the expression to ask someone's name?

Ted: Yeah, it's "Comment tu t'appelles ?"

Caro: Exactly. “Comment tu t’appelles ?,” literally “how do you call yourself”: comment (how) tu (you) t’appelles (call yourself). So, if I don’t know you and I meet you at a party I would say, “Comment tu t’appelles ?” And you answer…

Ted: Je m’appelle Ted.

Caro: Very good. And to ask back, you can say, "Et toi ?" So: "Je m'appelle Caroline. Et toi ?"

Ted: Je m'appelle Ted.

Caro: Great job. Bien joué ! OK then, do you feel ready for a quiz to wrap it up?

Ted: OK!

Caro: So, imagine Ted, we are at the Cannes festival. Do you know it?

Ted: Yeah, I've heard of it.

Caro: Yeah, the very glamorous Cannes festival. And I am Marion Cotillard.

Ted: Alright.

Caro:  And you are the journalist. How do you greet me? With "bonjour" or "salut"?

Ted: Bonjour. It's a very formal situation.

Caro: Yeah, exactly. You wouldn't say, "Eh, salut Marion !" No. And because I am Marion Cotillard, I am having dinner at the very luxurious restaurant in Cannes “La Palme d’Or”. What do I say to the waiter when leaving? "Salut" or "au revoir"?

Ted: Au revoir.

Caro: Yes, it's also formal. So I say "au revoir". Bravo ! Great. Then a sweet little fan sitting at the table next to mine recognizes me and asks for an autograph. But I don’t know her name! So how do I ask that?

Ted: You would say, "Comment tu t'appelles ?"

Caro: Yes, perfect! And finally after a beautiful party on the beach I go home and say hello to my boyfriend Guillaume Canet. How do I greet him?

Ted: If he's your boyfriend, you can say, "Salut !"

Caro: Yeah – salut. "Salut chéri, ça va ?" Bien joué Ted ! Well done! How did you find it?

Ted: Well, you were such a great teacher, so I found it pretty easy!

Caro: Ah, thank you. But you were well trained.

Alright, that was it for today! I hope you enjoyed our very first episode! And you Ted, I hope you learned something?

Ted: Definitely. I am feeling much more confident now. I think the next time I meet some French-speaking friends I'll try to greet them in French instead of in English.

Caro: Cool, until then, merci, thanks for coming! And to our listeners, thanks for listening, merci! We hope you enjoyed and learned something too. And we would also love to hear your feedback! So don’t hesitate to email us at podcasting@babbel.com. And if you want to learn more French at a beginner level you can of course check out our Newcomer lessons in the Babbel app.
Au revoir !

Ted: Merci, au revoir !

Caro: Salut Ted !

Ted: Salut Caro !