Greetings – French Story & Translation & Audio Pronunciation

Juliette greets Natasha, an American friend who is in Paris for a short visit.

Remember that when in France, you need to shake hands or do a French style kiss on the cheeks – there is absolutely no hugging in France!

1 – How to Study With This French Audio Dialogue

1. Don’t read the transcript!
   Fist only listen to the audio. Listen to the slower speed : an overly enunciated audio recording.
2. Study the vocabulary and repeat it out-loud – mimic my voice, my intonation, how I group the words, where I pause and breathe.
3. Listen to the modern spoken French recording. This is how French people would speak today in a regular environment, among friends. You may not need to speak that fast at first, but you need to train your ear to be able to understand it.

All my French audiobook novels have French audio recordings featuring both enunciated and modern spoken French pronunciation.

🎧 Enunciated French story recording

🎧 Modern spoken French recording

2 – French Greeting Dialogue

Use the floating blue icon in the bottom right to hide/reveal the English translations below or just click here.

Juliette : Bonjour Natasha, bienvenue à Paris.

Hi Natasha, welcome to Paris.

Natasha : Bonjour Juliette, merci beaucoup de m’inviter chez toi.

Hi Juliette, thank you so much for inviting me to your house.

Les filles s’embrassent.

The girls kiss each others.

J : Ce soir, je voudrais te présenter aux membres de ma famille.

Tonight, I would like to introduce you to the members of my family.

N : J’ai hâte de faire leur connaissance.

I can’t wait to meet them.

J : N’oublie pas d’embrasser mes sœurs et ma maman deux fois.

Don’t forget to kiss my sisters and my Mom twice.

N : Et ton papa ?

And your Dad?

J : Tu peux l’embrasser ou lui serrer la main, comme tu veux.

You can kiss him or shake his hand, as you wish.

N : Et comment dois-je m’adresser à tes parents?

And how should I address them?

J : Et bien, tu dois les vouvoyer tous les deux.  Et dire, «Bonjour Monsieur, bonjour Madame, enchantée de faire votre connaissance».

Well, you need to use “vous” with both. And say “Hello Sir, Hello Ma’am, it’s nice to meet you.”

N : Et tes sœurs ?

What about your sisters?

J : Tu peux les tutoyer.

You can say “tu” to them.

N : Et qu’est-ce que je fais avec tes grands-parents ?

And what should I do with your grand-parents?

J : Et bien, tu devras leur serrer la main et les vouvoyer bien sûr.

Well, you’ll shake their hands and use “vous” of course.

N : Et quand je pars ?

And what about when I leave?

J : Tu peux dire «Au revoir, à bientôt, merci», et embrasser tout le monde. Ma famille est assez décontractée.

You can say: “goodbye, talk to you soon, thanks” and kiss everybody. My family is quite relaxed.

N : Merci Juliette, maintenant je suis prête.

Thank you Juliette, now, I’m ready.

This homework was done by my French student by Skype Eric after studying my audiobook French greetings and politeness. Merci Eric!

You may also like my articles about:

• French Kisses – Vocabulary, grammar, cultural tips
• Tu vs Vous guide – which one to use, how to switch etc…

If you enjoy learning French in context, check out French Today’s downloadable French audiobooks: French Today’s bilingual novels are recorded at different speeds and enunciation, and focus on today’s modern glided pronunciation. 

You’ll find exclusive mini lessons, tips, pictures and more daily on French Today’s Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest pages – so join me there!