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When you’re lost in a conversation
It will happen — someone talks fast, a word you’ve never met lands in the middle of a sentence, your mind blanks. This lesson is the life-jacket: six phrases that keep you in the conversation instead of smiling and nodding your way out of it.
The one idea
Getting lost isn’t failing — it’s part of conversation, and natives get lost too. What matters is the signal. Say « attends », ask, and carry on. The only real mistake is going silent.
Listen first: keeping up with Hugo
Hugo talks fast. Watch how three little questions keep you in the story — and how normal it all feels.
The life-jacket: six phrases
| Say | When | |
|---|---|---|
| Pardon ? | you missed it — the quick “sorry?” | |
| Tu peux répéter ? | “can you say that again?” | |
| Tu peux parler moins vite ? | “can you slow down a bit?” | |
| Ça veut dire quoi, … ? | you heard a word you don’t know | |
| Comment on dit … en français ? | you have the English, need the French | |
| J’ai pas compris. | honest reset — works wonders |
The two ask-abouts
Keep the pair straight: « ça veut dire quoi, “bondé” ? » when the French word is the mystery, « comment on dit “cheeky” ? » when the English one is. Between them, no unknown word can stop you.
Buying time like a native
French speakers stall out loud, constantly and shamelessly. Do the same and the silence never gets awkward:
“Uh… hang on…” — the basic stall.
“How to put it…” — buys a whole sentence of thinking time.
“Wait, I’m looking for the word…” — people will happily wait, or offer it.
“What’s the word again…?” — that déjà means “remind me”, and natives use it for their own language too.
Checking you got it
“So if I’ve understood right, we’re meeting Friday?” Repeat the key fact back — the best insurance there is.
“Is that right?” — tag it onto anything. (The happy answer: « c’est ça ! »)
When they switch to English
Some French people will flip to English to “help”. If you want the practice, smile and hold the line: « Je préfère parler français, ça m’entraîne ! » (“I’d rather speak French — it’s good training!”). It’s taken as a compliment, and it works.
Your turn
Your friend is telling a story at rocket speed. Interrupt — kindly — and slow them down.
Someone just called the concert « ouf » and you have no idea what that means. Ask.
You need the French for “to queue” mid-sentence. Ask for it.
You think the plan is 8pm outside the cinema. Check it.
Quick check
All mean “what?”. Hein ? and quoi ? are for friends — direct and completely normal between mates, a bit blunt elsewhere. Pardon ? or « pardon, j’ai pas entendu » is your safe default with anyone you’d vous.
Same image in French: « je l’ai sur le bout de la langue » — it’s on the tip of my tongue. And a mind blank is « un trou » (a hole): « attends, j’ai un trou ». Both make you sound charmingly fluent about not being fluent.
When the word won’t come at all, point at the idea: « le truc pour ouvrir les bouteilles » — the thing for opening bottles. Truc and machin are the official French words for “whatsit”, and natives lean on them daily. Vague is fluent.