Learn French & Chill Podcast - Learn French from New York City!
Salut, moi c’est Thomas. In French, we can say the same thing in so many different ways. That's what I want to help you with. This episode is designed to be repetitive. If you ask me why French is so fucked up, well, life is fucked up sometimes... C’est la vie! The transcript is in the description, you might find it super useful if you’re a beginner. So get it and use it.
So how do we ask names in French? Ready? Tu es prête, tu es prêt ?
A few words before we start: the word “nom” means “name”, “nom de famille” stands for “family name”, "prénom" is “ the first name”, “quoi” means “what”, and “comment” is “how”. We will use “ton” as “your” when we speak to a “tu” person, and “votre” when we address to a “vous” person. Now, the sentences you’re about to listen to sound crazy if you translate them literally in English : “Which is your name?” or “How do you call yourself?”. Crazy, right? Think about it this way: a different language is a different vision of life. The English “My name is Thomas” sounds like I’m James Bond if you say it this way in French. And saying “I am Thomas” is also rarely used in French… I am happy, sad, I’m tall, I'm short, but I’m not a f*** name, I’m a person, I’m French, I’m f up. Now let’s go.
Repeat after me.
C’est quoi ton tom ?
C’est quoi ton prénom ?
C’est quoi ton nom de famille ?
Quel est ton nom ?
Quel est votre nom ?
Quel est ton nom de famille ?
Quel est votre nom de famille ?
Quel est ton prénom ?
Quel est votre prénom ?
Tu t’appelles comment ?
Vous vous appelez comment ?
Comment tu t’appelles ?
Comment vous vous appelez ?
Comment est-ce que tu t’appelles ?
Comment est-ce que vous vous appelez ?
Comment t’appelles-tu ?
Comment vous appelez-vous ?
If you already know the first name and want to ask for the family name, like we do in English with “Thomas what?”, ask: Thomas comment ?