{"id":8954,"date":"2011-08-08T06:17:24","date_gmt":"2011-08-08T10:17:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=8954"},"modified":"2014-06-16T15:19:34","modified_gmt":"2014-06-16T13:19:34","slug":"how-to-ask-for-street-directions-in-french-and-understand-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/how-to-ask-for-street-directions-in-french-and-understand-them\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Ask for Street Directions in French"},"content":{"rendered":"

Unless you’re planning on constantly using a GPS<\/strong> to find your way in a French-speaking country, you will have aucun autre choix <\/em><\/strong>(no other choice)\u00a0but to learn how to ask people for directions in French—and, equally as important, be able to understand them!<\/span><\/p>\n

You can randomly choose un passant <\/em><\/strong>(a passerby), preferably one who doesn’t look to be in a particular hurry, politely apologize for stopping him or her by saying something like: “Je vous demande pardon monsieur\/madame<\/em><\/strong>.<\/em>“<\/span><\/p>\n

Once you’ve got their attention, you may continue by saying: “Puis-je\u00a0vous<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>demander mon chemin<\/em>?<\/strong>”\u00a0(“May I ask you for directions?”) Or you could be even more specific by saying: “Savez-vous\u00a0o\u00f9 se trouve…<\/em>?<\/strong>” (“Do you where… is located?”)<\/span><\/p>\n

If the person you asked notices that you’re desperately lost, there is a chance that he or she may decide to go along with you and show you the way (Yes, even in Paris<\/span><\/a><\/strong>, it’s still possible!)<\/span><\/p>\n

If you’re really having a hard time finding l’endroit<\/em><\/strong> (the place), you could ask the person to come with you and show you where it is: “Pouvez-vous me montrer o\u00f9 \u00e7a se trouve<\/strong><\/em>?<\/strong>” (“Could you show me where that is?”), or “Pouvez-vous m’y conduire s’il vous plait?<\/em><\/strong>” (“Could you please take me there?”)<\/span><\/p>\n

Usually, when the hypothetical\u00a0bon samaritain <\/strong><\/em>(the good samaritan) shows you the place, he or she would end up saying: “la voil\u00e0<\/strong><\/em>” or “le voil\u00e0<\/strong><\/em><\/em><\/strong>” (“here it is”)!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The following list contains the street directions most frequently used in French-speaking countries:<\/span><\/p>\n

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