Text conversation
Meeting at the station: texting to find each other in French
You're at a busy French station and can't find your friend. Text to describe where you are: under the clock, near the exit, next to the café.
- A1
- 3 replies to choose
- Phone-style thread
- Learn this in the A1 notebook →
In short
Describe a landmark with a place word: Je suis devant la boulangerie, sous l'horloge, à côté de la sortie 3. Ask T'es où ? (casual for tu es où ?) and confirm with Je te vois !
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learnRed watch out
- Je suis arrivé ! T'es où ?I've arrived! Where are you?
- Devant le tableau des départs. Et toi ?In front of the departures board. And you?
Say you're under the big clock
- Il y a deux horloges 😅 Celle près de la sortie ou du quai ?There are two clocks. The one near the exit or the platform?
Near exit 3, next to the café
- Je te vois ! Je suis le gars avec le sac rouge 👋I can see you! I'm the guy with the red bag.
Answer
Phrases from the conversation
| French | English |
|---|---|
| T'es où ? | Where are you? (casual) |
| Je suis devant… | I'm in front of… |
| sous / sur / dans | under / on / in |
| à côté de | next to |
| Je te vois ! | I can see you! |
| J'arrive ! | I'm coming! |
T'es où ? is the spoken and texted form of Tu es où ?: the u of tu disappears in casual speech. Big French stations have numbered exits (sorties) and halls (hall 1, hall 2), so giving a number saves a lot of messages.
- Je suis dessous l'horloge.Je suis sous l'horloge.
Dessous is an adverb; before a noun use sous.
- Je suis en face la sortie.Je suis en face de la sortie.
En face de.