The five French phrases that do 80% of the work

Bonjour

bohn-ZHOOR

Hello / good day. The first word into any shop, café, lift or waiting room in Romandie. After about six in the evening it becomes bonsoir.

Merci

mehr-SEE

Thank you. Merci beaucoup for a bigger one. Listen for the answer — here it is usually Service!

S'il vous plaît

seel voo PLEH

Please. Tack it onto the end of everything and you sound raised right.

Excusez-moi

ehk-skew-zay-MWAH

Excuse me / sorry. To squeeze past someone on the boat, or to catch a waiter's eye.

Vous parlez anglais?

voo par-lay ahn-GLEH

Do you speak English? Ask it after the bonjour, never instead of it. The answer is usually yes.

First time? Do this

Audio is built in. Tap any phrase to hear it in a native voice — pre-recorded and cached, so it just works offline, no setup. (The voice bar can still pick a phone voice as a backup.)
Phrases — drilled by situation: the buvette, cafés, directions, the lake boat. Hit play, then say it back out loud.
Sounds — nine letters unlock almost everything. Ten minutes here pays off the most.
Customs — the unspoken rules. This is where tourists actually give themselves away.
Practice — hear / read / recall / speak. Use it on the plane.

Situational French

Right thing, right moment.

Tap a chip to jump to a scene — or just search. Common holds the go-anywhere basics (hello, thanks, where's the toilet); a few phrases like drinks live under more than one scene.

Common — useful everywhere · greetings · basics · the toilet

Bonjour

bohn-ZHOOR

Hello / good day. The first word into any shop, café, lift or waiting room in Romandie. After about six in the evening it becomes bonsoir.

Merci

mehr-SEE

Thank you. Merci beaucoup for a bigger one. Listen for the answer — here it is usually Service!

S'il vous plaît

seel voo PLEH

Please. Tack it onto the end of everything and you sound raised right.

Excusez-moi

ehk-skew-zay-MWAH

Excuse me / sorry. To squeeze past someone on the boat, or to catch a waiter's eye.

Vous parlez anglais?

voo par-lay ahn-GLEH

Do you speak English? Ask it after the bonjour, never instead of it. The answer is usually yes.

Où sont les toilettes?

oo sohn lay twah-LET

Where's the toilet / bathroom / restroom? The signs read WC (say "vay-say"), and in stations you'll usually need a coin or a card.

Où est...?

oo EH

Where is...? Drop in any place — Où est la pharmacie?, Où est le bancomat? (the cash machine, and yes, that's its Swiss name).

Vous pouvez m'aider?

voo poo-vay meh-DAY

Can you help me?

C'est combien?

say kohn-BYAN

How much is it?

Je ne comprends pas

zhuh nuh kohn-prahn PAH

I don't understand.

Plus lentement, s'il vous plaît

plew lahnt-MAHN, seel voo PLEH

Slower, please. Your secret weapon — and Romandie is already the slowest French there is.

Ça joue

sah ZHOO

That works / all good. The Romand all-purpose yes. As a question, ça joue? = "does that suit you?" — you'll hear it ten times a day.

Greetings & manners · the social handshake

Bonsoir

bohn-SWAHR

Good evening. From late afternoon on — the switch happens earlier than you'd expect.

Salut

sah-LEW

Hi / bye — casual, for people you know. In Valais and Fribourg you'll hear adieu used exactly this way; it isn't a farewell forever.

Comment allez-vous?

koh-mahn tah-lay-VOO

How are you? (polite). Among friends: ça va?

Ça va, merci

sah VAH, mehr-SEE

Fine, thanks. Add et vous? to hand the question back.

Service!

sehr-VEES

You're welcome. Short for à votre service, and the reply to merci you'll hear all over Romandie. De rien works, but this one is local.

Enchanté

ahn-shahn-TAY

Pleased to meet you. A handshake with it. Between friends here it's three kisses, alternating cheeks — not two. (A woman writes enchantée; it sounds the same.)

Au revoir

oh ruh-VWAHR

Goodbye. Said at every till, on the way out of every shop, even if you bought nothing.

Bonne journée

bun zhoor-NAY

Have a good day. The standard sign-off before six; the cashier will say it first and you say it back.

Bonne soirée

bun swah-RAY

Have a good evening. The after-dark version.

À la buvette · ordering & dining

buvette boo-VET — a simple lakeside or mountain refreshment stand

Une table pour deux, s'il vous plaît

ewn TAH-bluh poor DUR, seel voo PLEH

A table for two, please.

La carte, s'il vous plaît

lah KAHRT, seel voo PLEH

The menu, please. Le menu means the set lunch, not the list — ask for la carte.

Qu'est-ce que vous nous conseillez?

kess-kuh voo noo kohn-say-YAY

What do you recommend? The question that gets you the real food.

Quelle est votre buvette préférée?

kel eh voh-truh boo-VET pray-fay-RAY

What's your favourite buvette? Everyone in Romandie has one — usually an hour uphill — and most people will draw you the path.

Vous avez quelque chose de la région?

voo zah-vay kel-kuh SHOHZ duh lah ray-ZHYOHN

Do you have something local? Magic words. Every canton has a sausage, a cheese and a wine it is quietly proud of.

Une fondue moitié-moitié

ewn fohn-DEW mwah-tyay-mwah-TYAY

A half-and-half fondue. Gruyère and Vacherin fribourgeois in one pot — the standard mix. Ordered for the whole table, and drunk with white wine or tea rather than cold water.

Des filets de perche, s'il vous plaît

day fee-LEH duh PEHRSH, seel voo PLEH

Lake perch fillets, please. The classic order at any table on Lac Léman, with fries and a glass of Chasselas.

Un café renversé

uhn kah-FAY rahn-vehr-SAY

A coffee with milk. Milk in the glass first, espresso poured in after — renversé, "the other way round". It is the Romand everyday coffee.

Bon appétit

bun nah-pay-TEE

Enjoy your meal. Said to your table and to the strangers at the next one before anyone picks up a fork.

Je suis végétarien

zhuh swee vay-zhay-tah-RYAN

I'm vegetarian. (A woman says végétarienne, "vay-zhay-tah-RYEN".)

Je suis allergique à...

zhuh swee zah-lehr-ZHEEK ah

I'm allergic to... e.g. aux noix (nuts), au gluten, au lactose.

Une carafe d'eau, s'il vous plaît

ewn kah-RAHF DOH, seel voo PLEH

A carafe of tap water, please. The tap water here is superb — but unlike over the border in France, nothing obliges a Swiss restaurant to give it to you free. Many charge two to five francs for the carafe and some will only sell you a bottle, so add c'est payant? ("is there a charge?") if it matters.

L'addition, s'il vous plaît

lah-dee-SYOHN, seel voo PLEH

The bill, please. Nobody will bring it unasked — leaving you alone with your table is the courtesy.

On peut payer séparément?

ohn pur pay-YAY say-pah-ray-MAHN

Can we pay separately? Completely normal here; the waiter will go round the table one by one.

Un trois décis de rouge

uhn trwah day-SEE duh ROOZH

A 3 dl carafe of red. A déci is a decilitre, and this little carafe is how Vaud has always measured wine.

Un verre de blanc

uhn VEHR duh BLAHN

A glass of white. Unless you say otherwise it'll be Chasselas, and that's the right answer.

Cette place est libre?

set PLAHSS eh LEE-bruh

Is this seat free? Ask before you sit — sharing a table is fine, taking one isn't.

Santé!

sahn-TAY

Cheers! Clink with every single person, say their name if you know it, and hold eye contact through the clink.

À la vôtre!

ah lah VOH-truh

To yours! — your health. The warmer second toast.

Un verre de fendant, s'il vous plaît

uhn VEHR duh fahn-DAHN, seel voo PLEH

A glass of Fendant, please. The Valais white — the pour that arrives with raclette.

Où est une bonne buvette?

oo eh ewn bun boo-VET

Where's a good buvette? Asked of anyone local, this gets you off the lakefront promenade and onto a terrace with a view.

Je peux payer par carte?

zhuh pur pay-YAY par KAHRT

Can I pay by card? Nearly always yes — the phone in your pocket works too.

C'est bon comme ça

say bohn kohm SAH

That's fine as it is — keep the change. Say it as you hand over the rounded-up amount; that is the whole transaction.

Bars & apéro · your evening

On prend l'apéro?

ohn prahn lah-pay-ROH

Shall we have an apéro? The invitation you say yes to — a drink and something small, around six.

Une pression, s'il vous plaît

ewn preh-SYOHN, seel voo PLEH

A draught beer, please. Beer is ordered by the decilitre here: trois décis is the small one, cinq décis the big.

C'est ma tournée

say mah toor-NAY

This round's on me.

Vous fermez à quelle heure?

voo fehr-may ah kel UR

What time do you close? Worth asking early — outside the big city centres it's earlier than you think.

Un sirop, s'il vous plaît

uhn see-ROH, seel voo PLEH

A cordial, please. Fruit syrup with water — what every child drinks, and the standard non-drinker's order at an apéro.

At the winery · tasting & buying

On peut faire une dégustation?

ohn pur fehr ewn day-gew-stah-SYOHN

Can we do a tasting? Say it at a caveau, the village tasting cellar the local growers take turns running.

Quel vin vous conseillez?

kel VAN voo kohn-say-YAY

Which wine do you recommend?

C'est du chasselas?

say dew shahss-LAH

Is this Chasselas? The white grape of the Lavaux terraces and, in Valais, of Fendant. Asking by name says you did your homework.

Vous avez du Dôle?

voo zah-vay dew DOHL

Do you have any Dôle? The Valais red, Pinot Noir blended with Gamay.

Sec ou doux?

sek oo DOO

Dry or sweet?

On peut visiter les vignes?

ohn pur vee-zee-TAY lay VEEN-yuh

Can we walk in the vineyard? In Lavaux the paths between the terraces are public and the lake is below you the whole way.

On peut acheter une bouteille?

ohn pur ahsh-TAY ewn boo-TAY

Can we buy a bottle? Almost none of this wine ever leaves the country — if you like it, this is where you get it.

Excellent, ce vin!

ehk-say-LAHN, suh VAN

This wine is excellent! Say it to the grower and you'll be poured something better.

Finding your way · asking directions

Pour aller à...?

poor ah-LAY ah

How do I get to...? The whole question, exactly as short as it looks: Pour aller à la gare?

C'est loin?

say LWAN

Is it far? Expect the answer in minutes rather than kilometres.

À gauche

ah GOHSH

Left.

À droite

ah DRWAHT

Right.

Tout droit

too DRWAH

Straight ahead. Careful: tout droit is straight on, à droite is right.

Où est la gare?

oo eh lah GAHR

Where's the station? In any Swiss town it is the centre of gravity — buses, boats and the post bus all leave from outside it.

Où est l'embarcadère?

oo eh lahn-bar-kah-DEHR

Where's the boat pier? The word on every lakeside sign and timetable.

Où est le téléphérique?

oo eh luh tay-lay-fay-REEK

Where's the cable car? A télécabine is the small gondola, a funiculaire the one that climbs on rails.

Je suis perdu

zhuh swee pehr-DEW

I'm lost. Say it, then show the map on your natel; pointing at the screen turns a stranger's directions into something you can actually follow.

Taxis & trains · rides & tickets

Je voudrais un taxi

zhuh voo-DREH uhn tahk-SEE

I'd like a taxi. Expensive, and rarely hailed in the street — you book one, or you take the tram.

À l'aéroport, s'il vous plaît

ah lah-ay-roh-POR, seel voo PLEH

To the airport, please.

À cette adresse, s'il vous plaît

ah set ah-DRESS, seel voo PLEH

To this address, please. Say it as you hand over the address, written down or on the screen of your natel — the Swiss word for a mobile phone.

Combien ça coûte jusqu'à...?

kohn-BYAN sah koot zhews-KAH

How much is it to...? Meters are standard and honest — this one is for your own planning.

Arrêtez-vous ici, s'il vous plaît

ah-reh-tay-VOO ee-SEE, seel voo PLEH

Stop here, please.

Un billet pour Montreux, s'il vous plaît

uhn bee-YEH poor mohn-TRUR, seel voo PLEH

A ticket to Montreux, please. Swap in any town. Un aller-retour is a return, un aller simple a single.

Le train part de quelle voie?

luh TRAN par duh kel VWAH

Which platform does the train leave from? Voie is the word on the board and in the announcement.

Le prochain train pour Genève?

luh proh-SHAN TRAN poor zhuh-NEV

The next train to Geneva? There will be one within the half hour, and it will leave at the minute printed.

On the lake boat · piers & timetables

Un billet pour le bateau, s'il vous plaît

uhn bee-YEH poor luh bah-TOH, seel voo PLEH

A ticket for the boat, please.

Le bateau part à quelle heure?

luh bah-TOH par ah kel UR

What time does the boat leave? At that time exactly — the gangway comes in before it.

Ça s'arrête à Chillon?

sah sah-RET ah shee-YOHN

Does it stop at Chillon? Swap in any pier. Half the lakeside villages are easier to reach by boat than by road.

C'est un bateau à vapeur?

say tuhn bah-toh ah vah-PUR

Is this a steamer? Lac Léman keeps a fleet of restored Belle Époque paddle steamers in ordinary daily service, and the brass engine room is open to look down into.

On peut monter sur le pont?

ohn pur mohn-TAY sewr luh POHN

Can we go up on deck? Yes — and the top deck is where the Alps are.

Il fait le tour du lac?

eel feh luh toor dew LAHK

Does it go round the lake? Many crossings touch the French shore — take your passport.

Le dernier bateau part quand?

luh dehr-NYAY bah-TOH par KAHN

When does the last boat leave? Ask before you settle in on the far shore, not after.

Shops & getting by · everyday

Je regarde, merci

zhuh ruh-GAHRD, mehr-SEE

Just looking, thanks — in a shop, with a smile.

C'est en action?

say tahn nahk-SYOHN

Is it on special offer? Action is the word on every red supermarket sticker, borrowed straight from the German side.

Un cornet, s'il vous plaît

uhn kor-NEH, seel voo PLEH

A carrier bag, please. A cornet is a bag here, not an ice cream cone. You pay for it.

Désolé, je ne parle pas français

day-zoh-LAY, zhuh nuh parl pah frahn-SEH

Sorry, I don't speak French. The graceful exit — after the bonjour, not instead of it.

Je peux recharger mon natel?

zhuh puh ruh-shar-zhay mohn na-TEL

Can I charge my phone? A mobile phone is a natel in Switzerland — the same word in French, German and Italian, where France would say portable. Ask it in a café, a hotel or a station kiosk and everyone knows what you mean.

Lake & mountains · quick vocab

le lac

luh LAHK

The lake.

la montagne

lah mohn-TAH-nyuh

The mountain.

le sommet

luh soh-MEH

The summit.

le sentier

luh sahn-TYAY

The footpath. The yellow signposts along it are the national hiking network.

un bisse

uhn BEESS

An irrigation channel — the old water courses that carry meltwater across the Valais slopes. The flat path beside one is the gentlest walk in the Alps.

la cabane

lah kah-BAHN

The mountain hut. Bunks, one hot dish, a long shared table.

le glacier

luh glah-SYAY

The glacier.

Numbers 1–100 · prices & ordering

uhn

deux

dur

trois

trwah

quatre

KAH-truh

cinq

sank

six

seess

sept

set

7 The p is silent.

huit

weet

neuf

nurf

dix

deess

vingt

van

20 The g and the t are both silent.

cinquante

san-KAHNT

septante

seh-TAHNT

70 Not soixante-dix. Romandie counts in plain tens, and this is the difference everybody knows about.

huitante

wee-TAHNT

80 In Vaud, Valais and Fribourg. Geneva, Neuchâtel and the Jura say quatre-vingts — both correct, twenty minutes apart.

nonante

noh-NAHNT

90 Not quatre-vingt-dix. Nonante-cinq is 95, and nobody here does the arithmetic.

cent

sahn

100

Formal default: Vous is the default with anyone you haven't been introduced to — the shopkeeper, the waiter, the person on the next chairlift — and it holds longer here than it would in Paris; tu arrives when it is offered, usually along with a first name.

Hearing & reading French

It's French. It just isn't in a hurry.

Same spelling and same grammar as across the border, with a slower tempo, longer vowels, and a handful of words — septante, cornet, action, ça joue — that will not be in your phrasebook. Nine sounds cover nearly everything on these cards.

Start here — the five worth practising

Knowing what a letter sounds like isn't the same as being able to make it. These five are where English mouths actually go wrong: what to do, what to stop doing, and a native recording you can slow down and copy.

The r lives in your throat

What your mouth doesThe back of your tongue rises toward the soft palate and the air scrapes gently past — the place you gargle, not the tongue tip. Keep it small and soft: merci is "mehr-SEE" with that light scrape, not a growl.

The mistakeThe English R, tongue bunched in the middle of the mouth — the single loudest tell of an anglophone. Rolling it on the tip is just as foreign.

mercithank you

Au revoirgoodbye — two soft scrapes

u ou

Two different oo's

What your mouth doesou is the easy one, the oo of food: the tout of Tout droit. For u, say "ee" and — keeping your tongue exactly where it is — round your lips into a tight whistle: salut ends on it.

The mistakeUsing the food-oo for both. French keeps whole pairs of words apart on this one vowel.

saluthi — ends on the tight u

Tout droitstraight ahead — the plain oo

an en on

Vowels that go through your nose

What your mouth doesSay the vowel and let the air escape through your nose, and never close the n — your tongue stays down. blanc is "blahn"; Santé! starts the same way.

The mistakeLanding the n like English "blank". The written n or m is a flag telling you to nasalise the vowel, not a letter to pronounce.

blancwhite — "blahn"

Santé!cheers — nasal start, crisp finish

-s -t -x -d

The last letter is usually silent

What your mouth doesFinal s, t, d and x almost never sound, and a final e mostly just softens what came before: trois is "trwah", deux is "duh". Say the word, then stop one letter early.

The mistakeSounding them out — "troyss", "ducks". The written ending is grammar for the eye; the spoken word ends on the vowel.

troisthree — "trwah"

deuxtwo — "duh"

ch gn

sh and the hidden y

What your mouth doesch is always "sh", never a k: chasselas, the lake's own grape, is "shahs-LAH". gn is the "ny" of canyon: la montagne is "mohn-TAHN-yuh".

The mistakeA hard k in chasselas, or saying the g in montagne — both add sounds the words never had.

chasselasthe local white — "shahs-LAH"

la montagnethe mountain — "mohn-TAHN-yuh"

Every letter that isn't obvious

"ee" with your lips pushed into a whistle — never "oo"

e.g. salut — hi

scraped at the back of the throat, like a soft gargle

e.g. merci — thank you

"ay" as in dAY, cut short

e.g. café — coffee

è / ê

"eh" as in bEd — and here it is held a beat longer

e.g. bière — beer

the "ur" in hER, lips forward, no r at the end

e.g. deux — two

"wah", always

e.g. trois — three

"sh" like SHip — never the English "ch"

e.g. chasselas — the local white grape

ille

"ee-y" — the ll melts into a y

e.g. bouteille — bottle

an / on / in

nasal: the vowel goes up your nose and the n is never actually said

e.g. blanc — white

A few rules that explain the rest

The lift lands on the last syllable. French has no fixed word stress the way English does — the phrase simply rises at its end. That is what the CAPS on these cards mark: bonjour is "bohn-ZHOOR", merci is "mehr-SEE".
…except here, where it drags on the one before. The Romand accent stretches the second-to-last syllable and lets the last one fall away, which is exactly why it sounds sung rather than clipped. Copy that and you'll be placed on this side of the border.
Final consonants are written, not spoken. petit, vous, trop, sept — the last letter is silent. An e after it wakes it back up: petit is "puh-TEE", petite is "puh-TEET".
Words hand off to each other. That silent ending reappears when the next word starts with a vowel, and the two run together: vous avez is "voo-zah-VAY", c'est en action is "say-tahn-nahk-SYOHN". Gaps between words are the tell.
Vowel length still means something. Paris has flattened it; Romandie has not. ami and amie, perdu and perdue are told apart by holding that last vowel — which is part of why the speech is slower, and why you get time to catch it.

Don't-be-that-tourist

The rules nobody prints on the menu.

Your French rarely outs you. These do. Read once, and you'll move differently.

Greet first, and use the name

Into a shop, a lift, a waiting room, or passing anyone on a trail — you greet before you speak: Grüezi (GREW-eht-see) in Zurich, Bonjour (bohn-ZHOOR) in Geneva, Buongiorno (bwohn-JOR-noh) in Lugano. With someone you've met, the surname comes with it: "Grüezi, Herr Meier".

On time means on the minute

A 09:04 train leaves at 09:04 and the doors lock before it. Invited for 19:00, you ring the bell at 19:00 — not 19:15, and not 18:45 either. Being late is read as a comment on the other person.

Know

Tipping is rounding up, and no more

Service has been included in the price by law since the 1970s. Round the bill up to the next franc or five and say the total as you pay; ten percent is generous and fifteen looks like a misunderstanding.

Avoid

Don't make noise on Sunday, or after ten

Quiet hours run 22:00 to 07:00 and all day Sunday: no drilling, no shared laundry machines, no bottles into the glass bank. This is written into the house rules and a neighbour will genuinely knock.

Avoid

Don't put the rubbish out in the wrong bag

Most communes only collect household waste in the official taxed bag you buy at the supermarket. Anything else gets opened, traced back to you and fined. Glass, PET and aluminium go to the collection point, sorted by colour.

Know

It's francs, and the francs are the point

Switzerland is not in the euro. Tourist tills near the borders may take euros and hand back francs at a rate you won't enjoy; cards and phone payments work almost everywhere, so there is no reason to change money badly.

Avoid

Don't treat the mountain as a theme park

Weather turns in an hour, the yellow signs give walking times rather than distances, and the last cable car down is a hard deadline. Rescue is superb and it is billed to you — check the forecast and the timetable before you start up.

Say yes to the apéro

Apéro (ah-peh-ROH) — a drink and something small to eat, at five or six, before dinner or before anything official — is the country's real social form. It is how colleagues become friends, and turning one down reads as turning down the people.

Know

The greeting kiss is three, not two

It is three — right cheek, left, right again — and it is cheeks brushing with a sound, not lips on skin. It belongs to friends, family, and social introductions where at least one of the two is a woman; two men who are not close relatives shake hands instead. At work, in a shop, or meeting a stranger, the hand comes out and la bise (lah-BEEZ) stays out of it.

Food & drink to try

The plates and glasses worth going out of your way for — each with the name as you'd say it out loud.

German-speaking Switzerland

Rösti RUSH-tee

grated potato pressed flat in the pan and fried into a crisp golden cake

Älplermagronen ELP-ler-mah-groh-nen

macaroni and potato baked in cream and cheese under fried onions, with apple purée alongside

Cervelat SER-vuh-lah

short pink pork sausage, ends slit into a cross, grilled over a fire and eaten with bread

Rivella ree-VEL-lah

pale fizzy soft drink made from milk whey, pulled cold out of every station kiosk

Romandie (the French west)

fondue moitié-moitié fon-DEW mwah-tyay-mwah-TYAY

Gruyère and Vacherin melted with white wine, dipped into with bread on long forks

raclette rah-KLET

half a wheel of cheese melted at the cut face and scraped over potatoes, pickles and onions

Fendant fahn-DAHN

dry Valais white from Chasselas grapes, the standing order with anything melted

Abricotine ah-bree-koh-TEEN

clear apricot eau-de-vie from the Valais orchards, poured ice-cold after dinner

Ticino (the Italian south)

polenta e brasato poh-LEN-tah eh brah-ZAH-toh

beef braised slowly in red wine, spooned over cornmeal cooked soft in a copper pot

formaggini for-mah-JEE-nee

small fresh goat cheeses served whole with olive oil, black pepper and bread

torta di pane TOR-tah dee PAH-neh

dark dense pudding of soaked bread with raisins, pine nuts and cocoa, cut into squares

Merlot del Ticino mer-LOH del tee-CHEE-noh

soft local red brought to the table by the carafe and poured into small glazed jugs

Make it stick

Test the four channels.

Understanding French by ear, reading, recall, and your own mouth. Quick rounds — do them twice.