Learn how to ask where the restrooms are and how to understand directions
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Sam: Hello and welcome back to FrenchPod101.com. “Restroom, Please. Hello, Alex!” |
| Alex: Hello, Sam! Hello, Céline. |
| Céline: Bonjour, Alex. Bonjour, Sam. |
| Sam: Hey, guys, welcome back. So what’s the focus of today’s lesson? |
| Alex: The focus of this lesson is giving directions in French. |
| Sam: Oh, fantastic. |
| Céline: Yes, and this conversation takes place in a department store. |
| Sam: And I think the conversation is between, Clever Robert and a woman. |
| Alex: The speakers will be speaking in formal French. |
| Sam: Ok. Shall we start? |
| Céline: C’est parti. |
| Sam: Let’s go! |
| DIALOGUE |
| Céline: Où se trouvent les toilettes, s’il vous plaît? |
| Alex: Elles sont là, euh... tout droit. |
| Céline: Et pour les toilettes des dames? |
| Alex: En face des toilettes des hommes! |
| Sam: One more time, slowly. |
| Céline: Où se trouvent les toilettes, s’il vous plaît? |
| Alex: Elles sont là, euh... tout droit. |
| Céline: Et pour les toilettes des dames? |
| Alex: En face des toilettes des hommes! |
| Sam: Now once more with the English translation. |
| Céline: Où se trouvent les toilettes, s’il vous plaît? |
| Sam: Where are the restrooms, please? |
| Alex: Elles sont là, euh... tout droit. |
| Sam: They’re there, straight ahead. |
| Céline: Et pour les toilettes des dames? |
| Sam: And the ladies’ restrooms? |
| Alex: En face des toilettes des hommes! |
| Sam: In front of the men’s restrooms! |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Céline: Did you know, Sam, that in Belgium and in Quebec, we don’t say “les toilettes?” |
| Sam: So what do you say in Belgium and Quebec? |
| Alex: Ok, in Belgium you say, “la toilette” et “les cabinets”. |
| Sam: How about in Quebec? |
| Céline: “Salle de bains” ou “salle de toilette”. So it’s a little bit different. The French is different than in France. |
| Sam: But it all means the same thing, right? |
| Céline: Exactement. |
| Sam: So, Céline, if I’m in France or other French-speaking countries outside of Belgium, and I say “les toilettes” or “les cabinets” will the people understand me? |
| Céline: If you’re in France and you use the French from Quebec, it’s a little bit-- yeah. Maybe they will make fun of you a little bit, but they will understand. |
| Sam: Oh, ok. Great. Because the toilet is an important place. |
| Céline: Très important. Very important. How about “dame pipi”? Do you remember? |
| Sam: “Dame pipi”? Who is she? |
| Céline: Alex, who is “dame pipi”? |
| Alex: Alors la dame pipi c’est, ce sont les dames qui travaillent aux toilettes. |
| Sam: Oh! The lady that works in the toilet. Or the cleaning staff. |
| Alex: Voilà! |
| Céline: Yeah. And we call them “dame pipi.” |
| Sam: Ok. |
| Céline: What’s the translation for “dame pipi” in English? |
| Sam: Custodian. |
| Céline: Oh. But the literal translation? Lady... |
| Sam: Lady peepee? |
| Alex: Lady pee. |
| Céline: Lady pee. Lady woowoo. |
| Sam: I think the best word might be “custodian”. |
| Céline: Oh, d’accord. So why don’t we check the vocabulary? |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Sam: Ok, let’s go. The first item is? |
| Alex: Où. |
| Sam: Where. |
| Alex: Où. Où. |
| Sam: Next. |
| Céline: Toilettes |
| Sam: Restrooms or toilets. |
| Céline: Toilettes. Toilettes. |
| Sam: Next is a phrase. |
| Alex: Où sont les toilettes? |
| Sam: Where are the restrooms? |
| Alex: Où sont les toilettes? Où sont les toilettes? |
| Sam: Next. |
| Céline: Là. |
| Sam: There. |
| Céline: Là. Là. |
| Sam: Next. |
| Alex: Tout droit. |
| Sam: Straight ahead. |
| Alex: Tout droit. Tout droit. |
| Sam: Next. |
| Céline: Dames. |
| Sam: Ladies. |
| Céline: Dames. Dames. |
| Sam: Next. |
| Alex: En face. |
| Sam: In front of. |
| Alex: En face. En face. |
| Sam: Next. |
| Céline: Hommes. |
| Sam: Men. |
| Céline: Hommes. Hommes. |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Sam: Now guys, let’s look at the usage of some of these items from the lesson. |
| Céline: The first word is... |
| Alex: Toilettes. |
| Sam: Restrooms, loo. |
| Céline: Oui. Toilettes. It’s an interesting word as we always use it at the plural in French to talk about restrooms. |
| Alex: And you have “toilettes pour dames” and “toilettes pour messieurs”. |
| Sam: Toilets for ladies and toilets for men. |
| Alex: Voilà. |
| Céline: Yes. Always separated in France. |
| Sam: How would you say, “I want to go to the restrooms?” |
| Alex: Je veux aller aux toilettes. |
| Sam: Next we have... |
| Céline: Où sont les toilettes? |
| Sam: Where are the restrooms? |
| Alex: “Où sont” meaning “where are.” You can use this pattern for many things, but only in the plural form. |
| Céline: Example. Où sont les enfants? |
| Sam: Where are the kids? |
| Alex: So you put “où sont” afterwards object or people. As in “Où sont les femmes?” |
| Sam: Where are the women? Hmm. I don’t know. Well, there’s one next to me. |
| Céline: Oh merci Sam. So next is “s’il vous plaît.” “Please.” The magic phrase in French. |
| Sam: “S’il vous plaît” is formal. So in French, can I ask “The restrooms, please?” |
| Alex: Sure. It will be, “Les toilettes, s’il vous plaît?” |
| Céline: So you can say every single word, and if you add “s’il vous plaît” this is the easiest way to ask for something in French. |
| Sam: Great! Thank you for that. Next we have... |
| Alex: Tout droit. |
| Sam: Straight ahead. |
| Alex: “Droit” being straight. |
| Céline: Yes. Don’t confuse it with “droite” meaning “right”. Droite. |
| Sam: Right. |
| Alex: Droit, which means? |
| Sam: Straight. |
| Alex: Où sont les toilettes? |
| Sam: Where are the restrooms? |
| Céline: À droite. |
| Sam: On the right. |
| Alex: Où sont les escaliers? |
| Sam: Where are the stairs? |
| Céline: Tout droit. |
| Sam: Straight ahead. |
| Alex: Next is “les dames.” |
| Sam: Ladies’. |
| Céline: Dame is a refined woman. We hardly use this word now, but we use it for women’s restrooms. |
| Alex: Carla Bruni est la première dame de France. |
| Sam: Carla Bruni is the First Lady of France. |
| Céline: Sympa l’info. Nice information. And finally we have “hommes.” |
| Sam: “Hommes” means “men”. |
| Céline: We also say “Homme” when we talk about the human race, “l’Homme” in general, and in that case the “h” is in majuscule. |
| Sam: So guys, sometimes when I go shopping, I like to test some cheap colognes. I’ve seen the phrase “pour hommes” on the cheap bottles of cologne that I like to sample. What does that mean? |
| Alex: It means “for men.” |
| Sam: Oh! Great. |
| Alex: But not only on the cheaper Eau de Cologne. On all of them for men. |
| Céline: In France, we don’t say “Eau de Cologne”. We say “eau de toilette” ou... |
| Alex: … Eau de parfum |
| Sam: What’s the difference? |
| Alex: Eau de parfum is much stronger than eau de toilette. |
| Sam: Oh, so “eau de toilette” is like a lighter scent. |
| Alex: Yes. |
| Sam: It’s more subtle. |
| Céline: And cologne is totally different. |
| Sam: What’s cologne? |
| Céline: Cologne is maybe after the shower, or-- You should use eau de toilette. |
| Sam: So, are you saying I smell? |
| Céline: No, I just say that you should use “eau de toilette” if you want to be deep inside the French culture. |
| Sam: I’m already deep inside the French culture, right? |
| Céline: Not if you use Eau de Cologne. |
| Sam: Oh. Sorry. I’ll make that change. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Céline: Ok. So, let’s see if we like today’s grammar point. |
| Alex: So, basically, if you’re looking for some place, the clue sentence is “Où” plus “est” plus place name. For example, “où est la station de métro?”. |
| Sam: Where’s the subway station? |
| Alex: Où est la station de métro? |
| Céline: For a plural noun, like in the dialogue, “les toilettes,” that would be “Où sont” plus place name. For example, “Où sont les toilettes?” |
| Sam: Where are the restrooms? |
| Céline: Où sont les toilettes? Or "Où sont les Champs Élysées?" |
| Sam: Where are the Champs Élysées? |
| Céline: Où sont les Champs Élysées? |
| Alex: Là-bas. |
| Sam: Over there. |
| Alex: Là-bas. Où est le magasin? |
| Sam: Where's the store? |
| Alex: Où est le magasin? |
| Céline: En face de la poste. |
| Sam: In front of the post office. |
| Céline: En face de la poste. So don't worry. If you don't understand the answer, you can just say, “Pouvez-vous me montrer sur ma carte?” |
| Sam: Can you show me on my map? |
| Céline: Pouvez-vous me montrer sur ma carte? |
| Alex: That's very useful, if you have a map with you. |
| Céline: Yeah, but you won't go sight-seeing without a map. |
| Alex: Well, I do. I like to get lost in big cities, though. That is the reason. |
| Sam: I think that's more fun. Very insightful, guys. |
| Céline: Yes. |
Outro |
| Sam: Shall we wrap up there? |
| Alex: Sure. |
| Sam: Ok. So until the next time. |
| Alex: Au revoir! |
| Céline: À bientôt! |
| Sam: Bye-bye! |
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