Even a thought of if you ever got lost in a foreign terrain, you know how difficult it can be to find your way when nobody speaks or understand your language.
The good thing is that a few French words can assist you to ask for directions and most people understand the answer.
Here is certain thing you must know to ask for directions in French.
Begin with “excusez-moi”
Prior to asking for directions, make sure you begin your sentence with “excusez-moi”.
Otherwise, people will feel you are impolite and are unlikely to help you.
Once you said “excusez-moi”, you can ask the below sentences:
Seven ways to ask for directions in French:
Est-ce que vous savez où est
If there is just one sentence you need to remember, it’s this one.
You can use it in any given situation and only have to add the name of the place you are looking for after “où” and “est”.
If you have a hard time pronouncing the complete sentence or want to go quickly (something the French do a lot while they speak), you can simply say “où est” followed by the name of the destination.
Où sont
“Où est” is a brilliant and simple manner to ask for directions using the language of French, but one can only use it if the name of the place he/she looking for is singular.
If it is plural, you must use “où sont” rather.
Où est-ce que je peux trouver
This is a good sentence if you are lost in a French city and wonder where you can get a bank or an ATM.
Est-ce qu’il y a…près d’ici
If you are looking for something, but are not sure whether you can find it nearby or not, say this.
All you have to do is add the name of what you are looking for between “il y a” and “près”.
How to Ask How Far a Destination is in French?
The majority of the time, if you are looking for something that is far, people will tell you:
C’est loin d’ici, mais il y a une station de métro pas loin d’ici (It is far from here, but there is a subway station near here).
In certain case though, you may need to ask whether something is far or not. Here is how to do it:
Est-ce que c’est loin/proche?
It literally means “is it far/near?”.
Est-ce que je peux y aller à pied ?
One can say “est-ce que je peux y aller à pied” to ask if something is within the walking distance.
How to Understand Directions in French
Have you ever asked for directions simply to realize you are totally unable to understand the answer?
That is very frustrating, but also totally avoidable if you learn and know the most common methods to indicate directions using French.
A droite: on the right
A gauche: on the left
Tout droit: straight
La première à droite: the first street on the right
En face de: in front of
A côté de: next to
Au bout de la rue: at the end of the street
La rue suivante: the next street