{"id":118922,"date":"2023-10-30T15:57:56","date_gmt":"2023-10-30T19:57:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/how-to-text-in-french\/"},"modified":"2025-01-29T04:53:01","modified_gmt":"2025-01-29T09:53:01","slug":"how-to-text-in-french","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/french\/how-to-text-in-french\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Text in French"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sometimes, it can seem like the French you learn in textbooks and the colloquial French most native speakers actually use on a daily basis are two different languages.\u00a0In spoken French, this can manifest with idiomatic expressions<\/a> and slang<\/a>. As far as written French is concerned, this is perhaps no clearer than when you receive a text message from a French person.<\/p>\n

Being concise is more important than being grammatically correct, and finding shortcuts to say what you want to say quickly is the key.<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

French Words and Phrases to Describe Texts and Texting<\/h2>\n

Before you even start texting in French, there are a few useful words you\u2019ll need to talk about texting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
French<\/strong><\/th>English<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Un portable<\/em><\/td>a cell phone<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Un SMS\/Un texto\/Un message<\/em><\/td>a text<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Un forfait<\/em><\/td>a texting\/cell phone plan<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Une batterie<\/em><\/td>a battery<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Un chargeur<\/em><\/td>a charger<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Envoyer un SMS<\/em><\/td>to send a text<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Recevoir un SMS<\/em><\/td>to receive a text<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Here are a few practice sentences that show these words in action:<\/p>\n

Tu pourrais me pr\u00eater ton chargeur<\/strong> ? Je n\u2019ai plus de batterie<\/strong>. <\/em>(Could you lend me your charger? I don\u2019t have any more battery power.)<\/p>\n

Tu m\u2019envoies<\/strong> un texto<\/strong> quand tu arrives ? <\/em>(Will you send me a text message when you get there?)<\/p>\n

D\u00e9sol\u00e9 \u2013 je ne t\u2019ai pas envoy\u00e9 de message<\/strong> car je n\u2019avais plus de forfait<\/strong>. <\/em>(Sorry, I didn\u2019t send you a text because my plan had run out.)<\/p>\n

Your 5-Step Guide to Texting in French<\/h2>\n

1. Use Colloquial French<\/h3>\n

The first thing you’ll likely notice when texting in French is that you won’t be using textbook or standard French<\/strong>, but rather colloquial French or the\u00a0registre familier\u00a0<\/em>(familiar register). This way of speaking and writing is characterized by a number of things that are frowned upon in standard French. For example:<\/p>\n