Learn how to refuse politely
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| Introduction |
| Becky: Refusing politely. In this lesson, you’ll learn how to politely refuse an invitation. in French. |
| Body |
| Becky: Here's the informal way to say 'No, thank you.' in French. |
| Yasmine: [Normal] Non merci. |
| Becky: First is a word meaning 'no' |
| Yasmine: [Normal] non [Slow] non |
| Becky: Last is the word meaning 'thank you' |
| Yasmine: [Normal] merci [Slow] merci |
| Becky: Listen again to the informal phrase meaning 'No, thank you.' |
| Yasmine: [Slow] Non merci. [Normal] Non merci. |
| Becky: Ok, now let's take a look at the formal way to say 'No, thank you.' |
| Yasmine: [Normal] Sans façon. |
| Becky: First is a word meaning 'without' |
| Yasmine: [Normal] sans [Slow] sans |
| Becky: Last is the word meaning 'fuss' |
| Yasmine: [Normal] façon [Slow] façon |
| Becky: Listen again to the formal phrase meaning 'No, thank you.' |
| Yasmine: [Slow] Sans façon. [Normal] Sans façon. |
| Becky: Next up is the formal way to say 'Sorry, but I already have plans.' |
| Yasmine: [Normal] Désolé(e), mais je suis indisponible. |
| Becky: First is a word meaning 'sorry' |
| Yasmine: [Normal] désolé(e) [Slow] désolé(e) |
| Becky: Next is the word meaning 'but' |
| Yasmine: [Normal] mais [Slow] mais |
| Becky: Next is the word meaning 'I' |
| Yasmine: [Normal] je [Slow] je |
| Becky: Next is the word meaning 'am' |
| Yasmine: [Normal] suis [Slow] suis |
| Becky: Next is the word meaning 'unavailable' |
| Yasmine: [Normal] indisponible [Slow] indisponible |
| Becky: Listen again to the formal phrase meaning 'Sorry, but I already have plans.' |
| Yasmine: [Slow] Désolé(e), mais je suis indisponible. [Normal] Désolé(e), mais je suis indisponible. |
| Becky: Finally, here is an informal way to say 'Sorry, but I already have plans.' |
| Yasmine: [Normal] Désolé(e), je suis déjà occupé(e). |
| Becky: First is a word meaning 'sorry' |
| Yasmine: [Normal] désolé(e) [Slow] désolé(e) |
| Becky: Next is the word meaning 'I' |
| Yasmine: [Normal] je [Slow] je |
| Becky: Next is the word meaning 'am' |
| Yasmine: [Normal] suis [Slow] suis |
| Becky: Next is the word meaning 'already' |
| Yasmine: [Normal] déjà [Slow] déjà |
| Becky: Last is the word meaning 'busy' |
| Yasmine: [Normal] occupé(e) [Slow] occupé(e) |
| Becky: Listen again to the informal phrase meaning 'Sorry, but I already have plans.' |
| Yasmine: [Slow] Désolé(e), je suis déjà occupé(e). [Normal] Désolé(e), je suis déjà occupé(e). |
| Cultural Insight |
| Becky: Now it's time for a quick cultural insight. |
| Yasmine: Non merci (no thank you) can seem a bit strong, so if you want to sound more polite, it's good to use désolé(e) mais... meaning “sorry but…”, and then give some reason when you’re refusing something. |
Outro |
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| Becky: And that’s all for this lesson. Don’t forget to check out the lesson notes, and we’ll see you in the next lesson! |
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