Text conversation
Moving a date by text, in French
Something came up and you need to move Saturday's date. Text in French so it sounds like 'I really want to see you', not 'I'm not interested'.
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In short
Apologise early, give a short real reason, and immediately propose a new time, so it doesn't sound like an excuse: Je suis vraiment désolé·e, j'ai un imprévu samedi. Est-ce qu'on peut décaler à dimanche ? J'ai vraiment envie de te voir.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn
- Hello Camille ! Je suis vraiment désolée, j'ai un imprévu samedi : ma sœur arrive de Lille.Hi Camille! I'm really sorry, something's come up on Saturday: my sister is coming from Lille.
Propose a new time right away
- Ah dommage ! Dimanche je ne peux pas… mardi soir ?Oh, shame! I can't do Sunday… Tuesday evening?
Accept enthusiastically
- Ça marche, j'ai hâte 😊Deal, can't wait.
End on a warm note
Phrases from the conversation
| French | English |
|---|---|
| un imprévu | something unexpected came up |
| décaler | to push back / move |
| reporter | to postpone |
| J'ai envie de te voir. | I want to see you. |
| Ça marche. | Deal / That works. |
| arrangeant·e | accommodating, flexible |
Décaler is the everyday word for moving an appointment a little; reporter is slightly more formal. Inclusive spelling like désolé·e or arrangeant·e is common in messages when you don't want to assume someone's gender. A vague une autre fois (another time) is often understood as a soft refusal.
- On peut bouger le rendez-vous ?On peut décaler le rendez-vous ?
Décaler is the natural verb.
- J'ai un imprévu chose.J'ai un imprévu.
Un imprévu is already a noun.