1 – How To Say “Would You Like To Go Out With me” in French?
To say “would you like to go out with me”, we say:
- Tu veux sortir avec moi ?
Watch out though that “sortir” has the same double meaning as in English: it can mean to go out socially or romantically. The context will make the difference… or can lead to misunderstanding…
- Tu veux sortir avec nous – go out with “us”, so group of friends going out socially.
- Tu sors avec elle ? – Are you going out with her ? Probably talking about romance here…
Now, there are some very important differences between dating in France and dating in the US for example. I wrote a whole article named French Women don’t date – make sure you read it should you intend to date in France.
2 – How to Say Boyfriend / Girlfriend in French?
Actually, here we run in our first problem. Even saying girlfriend/boyfriend is problematic in French!
- The typical word for a boyfriend in French is “un petit-ami/ un petit-copain”.
- The typical word for a girlfriend in French is “une petite-amie / une petite-copine.”
That’s fine when you are a teen, or when it’s a new and casual relation. But just as in English, the French wouldn’t use this to describe a long-lasting relationship. We are more likely to use:
- Un ami, une amie (strong N liaison/gliding “Nami”) – a friend, or a boyfriend/girlfriend.
This is not specific however, but is the word grown-ups would use. So how to know whether we’re talking romantic friend? Most of the time, it’s the context. We often add a possessive adjective – mon amie(e). But really, if you wanted to make it clear, you’d say:
- Je te présente Pierre, un de mes amis – Let me introduce you to Pierre, one of my friends
- Je te présente mon ami Pierre – let me introduce you to my friend Pierre – it’s not set in stone, but likely to be romantic, especially among not-married people. (I mean I’m married, so it’s Ok to introduce my friends using a possessive adjective, no one would wonder whether they are romantic friends or not…)
For homosexual relationships, we tend to use “mon/ma partenaire”.
The French sometime use the word “un compagnon / une compagne” for long-term adult relationships.
If you are engaged, it’s “mon fiancé, ma fiancée”.
And if you are married “mon mari” (husband – or sometimes “mon époux” for spouse) and “ma femme” (wife – pronounced “fam” – sometimes “mon épouse” for spouse)
3 – What Does “Être Célibataire” Means in French?
Not what you think!
It means to not be in a relationship. It doesn’t mean to be celibate.
It’s also the marital status of someone who is not married.
4 – How to Ask Someone to be Your Girlfriend / Boyfriend in French
If you want to be more specific, you’ll ask
- Tu veux être ma petite-copine / mon petit-copain ? would you like to be by girlfriend/boyfriend?
But only young teens would use that line… Adults would use more standard pick-up lines.
5 – Common French Pick-up Lines
T’as d’beaux yeux, tu sais
Ah… the pick-ups lines… Of course we have some traditional ones, like the actor Jean Gabin saying “T’as d’beaux yeux, tu sais” (Tu as de beaux yeux, tu sais = you know you have gorgeous eyes) in the movie “Quai des Brumes”.
This line became a classic, and French people use this pick-up line in a humoristic kind of way – but still paying you a compliment of course.
Bonjour Belle Blonde
I have no idea where this one comes from. It means “hi pretty blond” but can be used with a brunette… it doesn’t matter. It’s humorous as well, it is to be said with an exaggerated seducing look, kind of “hey gooooorgeous” or “how you’ doing?”… and is a smooth way to make fun of yourself and actually pay a compliment to “la belle”.
Now of course, we have our shares of terrible pick-up lines:
- Pour toi bébé, je décrocherai la lune – for you baby, I’ll get the moon
- La beauté a ses limites, mais tu les a dépassées – beauty has limits, but you went over them
- J’aimerais être une de tes larmes pour naître dans tes yeux, vivre sur tes joues et mourir sur tes lèvres – I’d like to be one of your tears to be born in your eyes, live on your cheeks and die on your lips.
- Tes yeux sont comme des étoiles – your eyes are like stars…. pleeeease!
6 – Typical French Sentences Used To Flirt in France
- Excuse-moi, tu as l’heure ? Excuse me, do you have the time?
- Pardon, tu aurais du feu/une cigarette ? Sorry, would you have a lighter/ a smoke (yep, a lot of people smoke in France)
- Tu es avec quelqu’un ? Are you with someone ?
- Tu veux (aller) boire un verre ? Would you like (to go for) a drink?
- Je peux t’offrir un verre ? May I buy you a drink ?
- Tu viens souvent ici ? Do you come here often ?
- Tu veux aller faire un tour ? Do you want to get out of here ?
- On pourrait peut être aller… au cinéma/au restaurant/faire une balade… Maybe we could go… to the movies/to a restaurant/take a walk
- Tu es libre pour le dîner samedi ? Are you free for dinner on Saturday?
- Tu me donnes ton numéro ? Could you give me your phone number ?
- On peut peut-être échanger nos numéros ? Maybe we can exchange phone numbers
7 – French Flirting Vocabulary
- Draguer – to seduce/to flirt (common slang)
- Un dragueur – a seducer (common slang)
- La drague – seduction (common slang)
- Séduir – to seduce
- Un séducteur, une séductrice – a seducer
- La séduction – seduction
- Flirter – to flirt
- Un beau-parleur – someone who speaks to seduce you
- Un tombeur – a (very successful) seducer – often said of someone who has a lot of success with the ladies
- Aborder/accoster quelqu’un – to address someone in order to flirt
- Un Kéké – a seducer – young adult vocabulary – a seducer
- Un macho – a macho guy
- Une pétasse – a skank
8 – French Video About Flirting
Here are a slap-stick videos about flirting. “Samantha”, a popular TV sketch featuring a guy dressed as a woman (French people find that very funny for some reason).
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If you liked this article, I may also like:
- French Women Don’t Date – the French Dating System Explained
- French Sex Vocabulary (watch out, explicit content)
- French Valentine’s day
- How to Nuance “je t’aime” in French
- All About French Kissing
- French love nicknames (with audio)
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