Bonjour! From ordering a café au lait in Paris to making new friends in the Loire Valley, it helps to speak some of the native tongue. Rick Steves, bestselling author of travel guides to Europe, offers well-tested phrases and key words to cover every situation a traveler is likely to encounter. This handy guide provides key phrases for use in everyday circumstances and comes complete with phonetic spelling, an English-French and French-English dictionary, the latest information on European currency and rail transportation, and even a tear-out cheat sheet for continued language practice as you wait in line at the Louvre. Informative, concise, and practical, Rick Steves' French Phrase Book and Dictionary is an essential item for any traveler's sac à dos.
Rick Steves has spent 100 days every year since 1973 exploring Europe. Rick produces a public television series (Rick Steves' Europe), a public radio show (Travel with Rick Steves), and an app and podcast (Rick Steves Audio Europe); writes a bestselling series of guidebooks and a nationally syndicated newspaper column; organizes guided tours that take thousands of travelers to Europe annually; and offers an information-packed website (RickSteves.com). With the help of his hardworking staff of 80 at Europe Through the Back Door—in Edmonds, Washington, just north of Seattle—Rick's mission is to make European travel fun, affordable, and culturally broadening for Americans.
| Getting Started | 1 | |
| French Basics | 4 | |
| Meeting and Greeting | 4 | |
| Essentials | 5 | |
| Where? | 6 | |
| How Much? | 6 | |
| How Many? | 7 | |
| When? | 7 | |
| Struggling with French | 8 | |
| Handy Questions | 9 | |
| Le Yin et le Yang | 11 | |
| Big Little Words | 12 | |
| Quintessentially French Expressions | 13 | |
| Counting | 14 | |
| Numbers | 14 | |
| Money | 17 | |
| Money Words | 19 | |
| Time | 20 | |
| Timely Expressions | 21 | |
| About Time | 22 | |
| The Day | 22 | |
| The Week | 23 | |
| The Month | 23 | |
| The Year | 24 | |
| Holidays and Happy Days | 24 | |
| Key Phrases: Money | 19 | |
| Key Phrases: Time | 20 | |
| Traveling | 26 | |
| Flights | 26 | |
| Making a Reservation | 26 | |
| At the Airport | 27 | |
| Getting to/from the Airport | 27 | |
| Trains | 28 | |
| The Train Station | 28 | |
| Getting a Ticket | 29 | |
| Reservations, Supplements, and Discounts | 31 | |
| Ticket Talk | 32 | |
| Changing Trains | 33 | |
| On the Platform | 33 | |
| On the Train | 34 | |
| Reading Train and Bus Schedules | 36 | |
| Going Places | 37 | |
| Places within France | 37 | |
| Buses and Subways | 39 | |
| At the Bus Station or Metro Stop | 39 | |
| Taking Buses and Subways | 40 | |
| Taxis | 42 | |
| Getting a Taxi | 42 | |
| In the Taxi | 43 | |
| Driving | 45 | |
| Rental Wheels | 45 | |
| At the Gas Station | 46 | |
| Car Trouble | 47 | |
| Parking | 48 | |
| Finding your Way | 49 | |
| Route-Finding Words | 50 | |
| The Police | 51 | |
| Reading Road Signs | 51 | |
| Other Signs You May See | 52 | |
| Key Phrases: Trains | 31 | |
| Key Phrases: Buses and Subways | 41 | |
| Key Phrases: Taxis | 42 | |
| Key Phrases: Driving | 45 | |
| Sleeping | 54 | |
| Places to Stay | 54 | |
| Reserving a Room | 54 | |
| L'Alphabet | 56 | |
| Using a Credit Card | 57 | |
| Just the Fax, Ma'am | 59 | |
| Getting Specific | 59 | |
| Families | 61 | |
| Mobility Issues | 61 | |
| Confirming, Changing, and Cancelling Reservations | 62 | |
| Nailing Down the Price | 63 | |
| Choosing a Room | 64 | |
| Breakfast | 65 | |
| Hotel Help | 65 | |
| Chill Out | 67 | |
| Hotel Hassles | 67 | |
| Checking Out | 68 | |
| Camping | 69 | |
| Key Phrases: Sleeping | 55 | |
| Eating | 70 | |
| Restaurants | 70 | |
| Types of Restaurants and Cuisine | 70 | |
| Finding a Restaurant | 71 | |
| Getting a Table | 72 | |
| The Menu | 74 | |
| Ordering | 75 | |
| Tableware and Condiments | 77 | |
| The Food Arrives | 78 | |
| Complaints | 78 | |
| Compliments to the Chef | 79 | |
| Paying for Your Meal | 79 | |
| Special Concerns | 80 | |
| In a Hurry | 80 | |
| Dietary Restrictions | 81 | |
| Children | 82 | |
| What's Cooking | 84 | |
| Breakfast | 84 | |
| What's Probably Not for Breakfast | 84 | |
| Snacks and Quick Lunches | 85 | |
| Hors d'Oeuvres | 86 | |
| Sandwiches | 87 | |
| If You Knead Bread | 88 | |
| Say Cheese | 88 | |
| Soups and Salads | 89 | |
| Seafood | 90 | |
| Poultry | 91 | |
| Meat | 91 | |
| Meat, but | 92 | |
| How Food is Prepared | 92 | |
| Veggies | 95 | |
| Fruits | 96 | |
| Nuts | 97 | |
| Just Desserts | 97 | |
| Creme de la Creme | 99 | |
| Drinking | 100 | |
| Water, Milk, and Juice | 100 | |
| Coffee and Tea | 101 | |
| Wine | 102 | |
| Wine Words | 103 | |
| Wine Labels | 104 | |
| Beer | 104 | |
| Bar Talk | 105 | |
| Picnicking | 107 | |
| At the Grocery | 107 | |
| Tasty Picnic Words | 108 | |
| Key Phrases: Restaurants | 72 | |
| Key Phrases: What's Cooking | 86 | |
| Avoiding Mis-Steaks | 92 | |
| French Regional Specialties | 93 | |
| French Cooking Styles and Sauces | 96 | |
| Key Phrases: Drinking | 101 | |
| Menu Decoder | 110 | |
| French / English | 110 | |
| English / French | 121 | |
| Activities | 132 | |
| Sightseeing | 132 | |
| Where? | 132 | |
| At the Sight | 133 | |
| Please | 133 | |
| Tours | 134 | |
| Entrance Signs | 135 | |
| Discounts | 135 | |
| In the Museum | 135 | |
| Art and Architecture | 136 | |
| Castles and Palaces | 137 | |
| Religious Words | 138 | |
| Shopping | 139 | |
| French Shops | 139 | |
| Shop Till You Drop | 141 | |
| Street Markets | 142 | |
| Clothes | 143 | |
| Colors | 144 | |
| Materials | 144 | |
| Jewelry | 145 | |
| Sports | 146 | |
| Bicycling | 146 | |
| Swimming and Boating | 147 | |
| Sports Talk | 148 | |
| Entertainment | 149 | |
| Entertaining Words | 149 | |
| Key Phrases: Sightseeing | 133 | |
| Key Phrases: Shopping | 139 | |
| Connect | 151 | |
| Phoning | 151 | |
| Telephone Words | 152 | |
| Cell Phones | 153 | |
| E-Mail and the Web | 154 | |
| 154 | ||
| Web Words | 155 | |
| On-Screen | 155 | |
| Mailing | 156 | |
| Licking the Postal Code | 156 | |
| Key Phrases: E-Mail | 155 | |
| Key Phrases: Mailing | 157 | |
| Help! | 158 | |
| Theft and Loss | 159 | |
| Helpful Words | 160 | |
| Help for Women | 160 | |
| Key Phrases: Help! | 158 | |
| Services | 161 | |
| Laundry | 161 | |
| Clean Words | 162 | |
| Haircuts | 162 | |
| Repair | 163 | |
| Filling Out Forms | 164 | |
| Health | 165 | |
| Ailments | 167 | |
| Women's Health | 168 | |
| Parts of the Body | 169 | |
| Healthy Words | 172 | |
| First-Aid Kit | 173 | |
| Contacts and Glasses | 174 | |
| Toiletries | 175 | |
| Makeup | 176 | |
| For Babies | 176 | |
| More Baby Things | 177 | |
| Key Phrases: Health | 165 | |
| Chatting | 178 | |
| Nothing More Than Feelings | 179 | |
| Who's Who | 180 | |
| Family | 180 | |
| Work | 180 | |
| Chatting with Children | 182 | |
| Travel Talk | 183 | |
| Map Musings | 184 | |
| Favorite Things | 188 | |
| Thanks a Million | 189 | |
| Weather | 190 | |
| Smoking | 191 | |
| Responses for All Occasions | 191 | |
| Conversing with Animals | 192 | |
| Profanity | 192 | |
| Sweet Curses | 193 | |
| Create Your Own Conversation | 194 | |
| Who | 194 | |
| What | 195 | |
| Why | 195 | |
| You Be the Judge | 196 | |
| Beginnings and Endings | 197 | |
| The French Political Scene | 198 | |
| A French Romance | 199 | |
| Words of Love | 199 | |
| Ah, l'Amour | 199 | |
| Key Phrases: Chatting | 179 | |
| Dictionary | 203 | |
| French / English | 203 | |
| English / French | 226 | |
| Tips For Hurdling the Language Barrier | 250 | |
| Don't Be Afraid to Communicate | 250 | |
| International Words | 252 | |
| French Verbs | 253 | |
| French Tongue Twisters | 256 | |
| English Tongue Twisters | 257 | |
| French Songs | 258 | |
| French Gestures | 260 | |
| Numbers and Stumblers | 260 | |
| Appendix | 262 | |
| Let's Talk Telephones | 262 | |
| Country Codes | 263 | |
| Useful Phone Numbers | 264 | |
| Embassies | 264 | |
| Tear-Out Cheat Sheet | 265 | |
| Hotel Reservation Fax Form | 267 | |
| Illustrations | ||
| Standard Road Signs | ||
| Parts of the Body | ||
| Human Temp Thermometer | ||
| Weather Thermometer | ||
| Maps | ||
| Major Rail Lines in France | ||
| France | ||
| Europe | ||
| The United States | ||
| The World |
Overview
Bonjour! From ordering a café au lait in Paris to making new friends in the Loire Valley, it helps to speak some of the native tongue. Rick Steves, bestselling author of travel guides to Europe, offers well-tested phrases and key words to cover every situation a traveler is likely to encounter. This handy guide provides key phrases for use in everyday circumstances and comes complete with phonetic spelling, an English-French and French-English dictionary, the latest information on European currency and rail ...