LinguaJe voudrais: the polite way to order
At the counter or at your table, an order opens with je voudrais (I would like) – a frozen, polite form of the verb vouloir, which you will study later; for now learn it as one word, “je voudrè”. It is softer than je veux (I want), which sounds rude to a waiter. After it comes the item with un / une, because at a café you count cups and glasses: je voudrais un café, deux cafés – never “du café”: that partitive belongs to the kitchen at home. Close with s’il vous plaît and you have said everything a French café needs. The waiter’s side is just as fixed: Bonjour, vous désirez ? (what would you like?), et avec ça ? (anything else?) and sur place ou à emporter ? (to have here or to take away?).
| The waiter says | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Vous désirez ? | What would you like? |
| Et avec ça ? | Anything else? |
| Sur place ou à emporter ? | To have here or to take away? |
| Ça fait sept euros. | That comes to seven euros. |
| Voilà ! | Here you are! |
– Bonjour, vous désirez ? – Je voudrais un café et un jus d’orange, s’il vous plaît.– Hello, what would you like? – I would like a coffee and an orange juice, please.
Un café, un crème, un thé: what you can order
Ask for un café and you get an espresso, small and black. For coffee with milk say un crème (short for un café crème): the drink is masculine, even though la crème (cream) is feminine. Then un thé, un jus d’orange, une eau gazeuse (sparkling – the still one is une eau plate), une bière and un verre de vin (rouge or blanc: red or white). To eat, un croissant in the morning and un sandwich at noon – un sandwich au fromage, au jambon (ham): the au you know from au marché here means “with”. Watch the genders: most drinks are masculine, but water and beer are feminine – une eau gazeuse, une bière.
| Drink or food | Gender | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| un café | masculine | an espresso |
| un crème | masculine | a coffee with milk |
| un thé | masculine | a tea |
| un jus d’orange | masculine | an orange juice |
| une eau gazeuse | feminine | a sparkling water |
| une bière | feminine | a beer |
– Un thé et une eau gazeuse, s’il vous plaît. – Sur place ou à emporter ? – Sur place, en terrasse.– A tea and a sparkling water, please. – To have here or to take away? – Here, on the terrace.
L’addition, s’il vous plaît: paying and choosing your seat
When you have finished, catch the waiter’s eye and say l’addition, s’il vous plaît – the bill. To ask the price, use the questions you already know: c’est combien ? or ça fait combien ?; the answer comes as ça fait quatre euros cinquante. Service is included in France (service compris), so a tip is a gesture, not a duty. Two words choose your seat: en terrasse (outside, on the pavement) or à l’intérieur (inside) – on a sunny day everyone wants la terrasse, and the same coffee may cost a little more there. Sur place means you stay; à emporter means the coffee leaves with you in a paper cup.
– L’addition, s’il vous plaît ! – Voilà, ça fait neuf euros vingt.– The bill, please! – Here you are, that comes to nine euros twenty.
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| je voudrais | I would like (polite) | Je voudrais un jus d’orange, s’il vous plaît. I would like an orange juice, please. |
| le café | the coffee (an espresso); the café | Le matin, Karim prend un café en terrasse. In the morning, Karim has a coffee on the terrace. |
| le crème | the coffee with milk (un café crème) | Un crème pour moi, et un thé pour Zoé. A coffee with milk for me, and a tea for Zoé. |
| le thé | the tea | Un thé avec du lait, s’il vous plaît. A tea with milk, please. |
| le jus d’orange | the orange juice | Les enfants prennent un jus d’orange. The children have an orange juice. |
| l’eau gazeuse | the sparkling water | Une eau gazeuse ou une eau plate ? Sparkling water or still water? |
| la bière | the beer | Le soir, mon oncle prend une bière avec ses amis. In the evening, my uncle has a beer with his friends. |
| le vin | the wine | Un verre de vin rouge, s’il vous plaît. A glass of red wine, please. |
| le croissant | the croissant | Je mange un croissant avec mon café. I eat a croissant with my coffee. |
| le sandwich | the sandwich | À midi, je prends un sandwich au fromage. At noon, I have a cheese sandwich. |
| l’addition | the bill, the check | Mon père paie l’addition. My father pays the bill. |
| sur place | to have here, on the premises | Je mange mon sandwich sur place. I eat my sandwich here at the café. |
| à emporter | to take away, to go | Deux cafés à emporter, s’il vous plaît. Two coffees to take away, please. |
| la terrasse | the terrace (the café’s outdoor tables) | Le soir, la terrasse est très sympa. In the evening, the terrace is very nice. |
Exercises
This lesson has 10 exercises in the app:
- multiple choice: 3
- fill the gap: 2
- match the pairs: 1
- build the sentence: 1
- translate the sentence: 2
- listen and type: 1
Try the first one
You want to open your order politely. Which phrase means “I would like”?
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.