France talking to people · Talking to people in France
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Talking to people in France
Talking to people in France
If you try to use your French to address people be careful about the use of "tu" (informal, friendly, and called tutoyer; which is a verb, to call someone "tu") and "vous" (formal, respectful, and called vouvoyer; vb. to call someone vous) forms. Using tu can be demeaning to people, since this is the form normally used for addressing children or close friends.
People who do not know each other well seldom use their first name to introduce themselves. Refrain from using someone's first name unless you are invited to do so or if you are with people used to dealing with foreigners. Actually French people will use the "tu" and the "vous", "first name" or "surname" depending on their relationship and the code is not easy to learn.
If that's confusing (or not confusing enough) the key is that it's all about distance. For example a bartender is vous up until the moment that he or she gives you a complementary drink, at which point tu becomes more appropriate, and the use of vous would be a bit off-putting.
For foreigners, the best way to deal with the "tu" and "vous" problem is to address people using "vous" until invited to say "tu", or until addressed by the first name. Doing so will look perhaps a shade old fashioned, but always respectful, while doing otherwise can be pretty rude and embarrassing in some situations. Always use the "vous" form to a law enforcement officer (or other person of authority), even if he may (though he ought not) use the "tu" form to talk to you.
Simplified: Use vous unless:
the person is genuinely your friend;
the person is under 16; or
you've been explicitly told to use "tu"
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