Eight phrases to help with everyday small talk in France

Learning French in a classroom can only take you so far. In everyday conversations with friends and strangers, you are likely to come across little phrases that you have not heard before but that are an integral way to how natives express themselves. 

As these are oral expressions (or used in text messages), they are not always grammatically correct and they often make no sense at all when translated into English. Learning them will give you the tools needed to navigate most forms of small talk. 

Below, we list eight such phrases and explain how to use them. En route ! 

On se tient au courant

When watching two friends say goodbye to each other, you will often hear them say ‘on se tient au courant’. It means ‘let us keep each other updated’. 

Originally, the expression was se tenir au courant des affaires and meant to keep up to date with general affairs, but the ‘des affaires’ was dropped. 

A less widely used alternative is on se tient au jus. Jus is juice but the expression derives from a play on words. Courant is also the word for electric current, and jus is an informal synonym (like juice in English to mean power), so on se tient au courant became on se tient au jus. 

Prendre un verre

One of your French friends may ask you: ‘Est-ce que tu veux prendre un verre un de ces jours ?' (Would you like to grab a drink one of these days?) 

Literally, it means “take a glass” but it is a simple way to ask someone if they want to go out for a drink. It can be romantic or just friendly. 

An alternative expression meaning the same thing boire un coup. 

Read more: Five things to know to understand the French mindset

Ca te dit?

This expression literally translates to “It tells you?” but it actually means, “Would you like that?”

You could combine it with the previous expression, for example, and ask someone ça te dit de prendre un verre ? 

Quoi de neuf?

You will hear this at a café when friends are greeting each other. It means “What is new?” and will often be used straight after the initial greeting. 

A typical conversation might go: “Salut” “Salut, ça va ?” “Ca va bien. Alors, quoi de neuf ?” (‘Hello’ ‘Hello, you alright?’ ‘Not bad. So, what’s new?’) 

It is informal and you should not use it with your boss.

Read more: Seven useful informal French expressions you don’t learn at school

Ca me dit quelque chose

This is the French equivalent of ‘it rings a bell’. It literally translates to ‘it tells me something’. 

Ca me dit un truc can also be used, and the two versions mean the same. 

C’est pas vrai

If a French person is told a shocking piece of news, they are likely to answer ‘c’est pas vrai !’ in a surprised tone, often with a sharp intake of breath forehand.

It means ‘it is not true’, although English equivalents include ‘no way’ and ‘I do not believe it’. 

Technically, the expression should be ce n’est pas vrai but the negation ‘n’ is dropped orally. 

Comme d’hab

You may have heard this expression, understood it from context but been confused about what it actually means. Comme d’hab is the shortened version of comme d’habitude, which means ‘as usual’. 

It will be used as an answer to a question, such as ‘how is work’: “ça va comment le travail ?” “Ah, tu sais, comme d’hab” (‘how is work going?’ ‘Oh, you know, the usual’)

Lots of French expressions shorten words or sounds like this. 

Read more: Eating faux-pas: habits to avoid when dining in France

Tant pis 

This expression is used to express indifference or sympathy at something going wrong. 

For example, if you are enjoying a drink on a terrace with your friend and he informs you that the third friend who is supposed to meet you both cannot come, you could answer ‘tant pis’. 

Pis is a form of pire, meaning ‘worst’ while tant is a notion of quantity. The English equivalent to the expression would be ‘oh well’ or ‘too bad’. 

You could also say c’est comme ça (that is how it is) or c’est la vie (that is life) to the same effect.