Using the phone in French can be difficult because it is not always easy to understand what is being said. For advanced French speakers, here are some helpful tips and common phrases.
1. Answer the phone.
Hello is the best way to answer a personal call. In an office or business setting, you might say something like this:
Librairie Bertrand, this is Christiane. (Bertrand bookstore, Christiane speaking.)
Bank of Lyons, Customer Service, this is Jacques Lambert, how can I help you? (Bank of Lyon, Customer Service, this is Jacques Lambert. How can I help you?)
Dr. Schmidt’s Dental Clinic, hello. (Dr. Schmidt’s Dental Clinic)
Notice how the French use to device for “speaking” English
2. Introduce yourself, “My name is…”
Hello, I am Johanne Ledoux from the Clinique Médicale de la Cité. (Hello, this is Johanne Ledoux, calling from La Cité Medical Clinic.)
Hello my Name Is…. (Hello my Name Is…)
3. Ask to speak to someone.
I would like to speak with Mr., Mrs…. (I want to speak with…)
I’d like to speak to Madame Lavigne. (I would like to speak to Madame Lavigne.)
4. Confirm yourself. “Speaking”, “This is him/her”.
It’s me.
5. How to ask who is calling for someone else.
Whose is that? (Who can I ask who is calling?)
do not tell Who calls? This sounds pretty rude in French.
6. How to express the reason for the call.
It’s about your delinquent account. (I’m calling about your overdue account).
I call you from Doctor Gouin. (I’m calling on behalf of Dr. Gouin.)
7. Ask the caller to hold. “Wait”, “Hold the line”.
Hold the line. One second.
8. How to put someone on hold.
Hold the line. I warn you.
9. Take a message.
Mr. Pierre is not there. Do you want to leave a message? (Mr. Pierre is not in. Would you like to leave a message?)
Madame Goyer is in a meeting. I’m forwarding you to her voicemail. (Ms. Gouin is in a meeting. I’ll transfer it to her voicemail.)
10. Transfer a call.
Hold the line. I transfer you
11. Voicemail messages.
This is a typical personal voicemail or answering machine message.
Hi, you’ve reached Jany Pellerin’s voicemail. Unfortunately, I can’t answer her call. Leave me a message with the date and time of your call and I will contact you as soon as possible.
(Hi, you have Jany Pellerin’s voicemail. Unfortunately, I can’t take your call. Please leave a message with the date and time of your call and I’ll get back to you soon.)
This is an example of a commercial message:
You’ve contacted the office of Dr. Colette Mercier. Our office hours are 8 am to 4 pm Monday through Friday. Please leave me a message and I’ll call you back as soon as possible. (You have contacted the office of Dr. Colette Mercier. Our office is open 8 am to 4 pm Monday through Friday. Leave me a message and I’ll get back to you soon.)
12. In the business world, you’ll often have to deal with phone menus. Here are some typical messages:
For service in English, press 1. For service in French, press 2. To communicate in Spanish, press 3.
For Purchasing, press 2. For Accounting, press 4. To speak to an agent, press 9. To listen to this message again, press 0. (For Purchasing, press 2. For Accounting, press 4. To speak to an agent, press 9. To listen to this message again, press 0.)
If you know the extension number of the person you want to talk to, enter it now followed by the pound sign. If not, please stay online and we’ll get back to you shortly. (If you know the extension of the person you want to talk to, enter it followed by the pound sign. Otherwise, wait and they’ll get back to you shortly.)
