In our previous lesson, we discussed ways to make a friendly and polite request in various situations in French. There is yet another level of formality that requires more sophisticated language, often in the form of set expressions and polite formulas, which we are going to explore in this lesson. 

In addition to the more common ways of saying “please” in French—the informal s'il te plaît and the formal s'il vous plaît—there are yet more formal equivalents of “please." One of them is je vous prie (literally, "I pray you"). As Nelly points out in her video, this kind of “please,” je vous prie, almost sounds too impersonal in a restaurant setting:

Pourrais-je avoir le menu, je vous prie ?

Could I have the menu, please?

Caption 41, Français avec Nelly Alternatives to "je veux" - Part 2

 Play Caption

You are more likely to hear je vous prie in a more formal situation such as in a courtroom, like the judge in this video uses it: 

Asseyez-vous, je vous prie.

Sit down, please.

Caption 54, Le Jour où tout a basculé À l'audience: Détournement d'argent dans le couple ? - Part 1

 Play Caption

In the same video, another judge uses an even slightly more formal expression, veuillez (the imperative form of vouloir, “to want”). The two phrases are pretty much interchangeable, as both are impersonal, although you could argue that veuillez is more of a direct command while je vous prie is more of an invitation:

Veuillez vous asseoir.

Please take a seat.

Caption 24, Le Jour où tout a basculé À l'audience: Détournement d'argent dans le couple ? - Part 1

 Play Caption

It is also possible to combine these two ways of saying “please” in the same sentence. In English, we tend to avoid such repetition, but the second "please," je vous prie, tacked on at the end softens the tone of the request:

Baptiste, veuillez vous présenter à la barre, je vous prie.

Baptiste, please take the stand.

Caption 31, Le Jour où tout a basculé À l'audience - Volé par sa belle-mère ? - Part 6

 Play Caption

On the other hand, when starting a sentence with je vous prie, it has the opposite effect! In the context of this video, where an employee in trouble is asking his boss for forgiveness, je vous prie sounds more like an urgent plea:

Je vous prie de m'excuser.

Please forgive me.

Caption 9, Le Jour où tout a basculé Ma collègue veut ma place - Part 8

 Play Caption

The expression je vous prie de + infinitive can also express an order, an official request to comply with the rules. In this episode of our Zooriginaux series, the officious penguin is asking the lion Sir Tigris to get out or else. So in this case, je vous prie de translates as “I’m asking you to,” said in a firm tone of voice:

Je suis désolé, Sir Tigris, mais le règlement interdit de déranger les artistes. Je vous prie donc de sortir.

I'm sorry, Sir Tigris, but the rules forbid disturbing the artists. So I'm asking you to please get out.

Captions 24-26, Les zooriginaux 6. Tiger Minor - Part 2

 Play Caption

Incidentally, do not confuse je vous prie with je vous en prie, which means something entirely different. It is the formal equivalent of de rien (you're welcome):

Merci infiniment. -Je vous en prie, merci. -À très bientôt.

Thanks a million. -You're welcome, thank you. -See you very soon.

Caption 78, Le Mans TV Mon Village - Malicorne - Part 4

 Play Caption

All the expressions mentioned so far can be used in writing or in formal speech, but there are some formal instructions only found in writing. You may have come across public signs starting with the very impersonal expression prière de (literally, "prayer to"). This expression often features on public signs, notices, and official documents. Since there is no direct translation, its meaning will become clear with an example. If you ever see the road sign Prière de ne pas stationner, it is in your interest to understand it if you want to avoid a parking ticket! 

Prière de ne pas stationner. Emplacement reservé.

No parking. Reserved parking.

There is another public sign that you might like to take heed of: il est interdit sous peine d’amende (it is forbidden under penalty of a fine). In this video, Daniel Benchimol reads the long list of rules on a sign in a public park:

Il est interdit donc sous peine d'amende de marcher sur les pelouses et massifs

So it is forbidden, under penalty of a fine, to walk on the lawns and flowerbeds

Captions 34-35, Voyage en France Soissons - Part 2

 Play Caption

Likewise, it is best not to ignore the words défense de + infinitive, forbidding you to perform certain actions, unless you are willing to break the law. Now that smoking has fallen out of favor in France, you may come across more "No Smoking" signs in cafés:

Défense de fumer

No smoking

There is yet another form of request that is extremely impersonal, the formula ne pas + infinitive. The verb addresses no one in particular and, as in prière de and défense de, remains in the infinitive form instead of the imperative mood used for commands. In the context of this song, the use of the infinitive is a plea for help, as the singer is asking people to stop being indifferent to the plight of starving children in drought-stricken East Africa:

Ne pas les laisser dans l'indifférence et l'oubli

Don't leave them in indifference and neglect

Caption 59, Lesieur Des Ricochets

 Play Caption

Now you know that there is more than one way of saying “please” in French, ranging from very friendly to formal and impersonal. And you are now aware that some formal instructions only appear in writing. Don't fret too much over the differences between some of these expressions, as they are often subtle and subjective. Just be mindful of the level of the formality of a situation and remain respectful when making a request or receiving a request. Merci de bien vouloir consulter les vidéos sur Yabla (please watch our Yabla videos) to help you navigate the nuances and differences in formal language. Thank you for reading!

Who has not gazed at le ciel (the sky) to check the weather or enjoy a sunset or a sunrise? Indeed, the sky can take on many colors, from somber gray to magnificent sunset-red. There are many ways, colors, and expressions to describe the wild blue yonder. Poets, songwriters, weather forecasters, and ordinary people are all adept at describing le ciel. So, let's join them and explore some sky-related vocabulary. But first, let us find out where le ciel (the sky) is…

In this video, sweet cartoon character Piggeldy wants to know where le ciel (the sky) begins, and he asks his older brother Frédéric to take him there:

Piggeldy voulait savoir où commence le ciel.

Piggeldy wanted to know where the sky begins.

Caption 1, Piggeldy et Frédéric Le ciel

 Play Caption

Piggeldy’s mission to reach the heavens (on foot, no less) is bound to fail because, as the saying goes, la limite, c'est le ciel (the sky is the limit):

La limite, c'est le ciel, tu sais de qui c'est

The sky is the limit, you know whose it is

Caption 53, Disiz la Peste Dans tes rêves

 Play Caption

Though it's impossible to walk up to le ciel, it is certainly possible to gaze at it and enjoy its bright blue hue. In his humorous song, "Cha Cha du Marin," singer Cré Tonnerre sings about a ciel bleu (blue sky) that reflects his happy mood:

Tout heureux, tout amoureux, tout bleu comme le ciel bleu

All happy, all in love, all blue as the blue sky

Caption 26, Cré Tonnerre Cha Cha du Marin

 Play Caption

In his video about dog training, trusty guide Lionel also enthuses over a ciel radieux (glorious sky) as he finishes his visit to a canine club:

Nous allons prendre congé sous ce ciel radieux, bleu-azur.

We're going to take our leave under this glorious, azure-blue sky.

Captions 52-53, Lionel au club canin - Part 5

 Play Caption

And in Metz, Lionel enjoys another ciel estival (summer sky):

Nous sommes donc ici toujours à Metz, sous un ciel estival, ciel bleu

So we're still here in Metz under a summer sky, a blue sky

Caption 1, Lionel à Metz - Part 2

 Play Caption

While un ciel estival is a blue summer sky, un ciel gris (a gray sky) usually means drab winter days. And yet, people like Sophie and Patrice see beauty in les dégradés du gris (the shades of gray) in the Parisian skies:

Entre les dégradés de gris du ciel et les dégradés de gris des toits c'est vrai c'est super beau, hein?

Between the shades of gray in the sky and the shades of gray of the roofs, it's true it's super beautiful, huh?

Captions 9-11, Sophie et Patrice Paris, c'est gris

 Play Caption

Still, most people seem to prefer un ciel dégagé (a clear sky) over un ciel couvert (an overcast sky) or un ciel nuageux (a cloudy sky):

Cette nuit le ciel est dégagé avec huit degrés pour les températures... Et puis pour la journée de jeudi un ciel couvert avec quinze degrés le matin

Tonight the sky is clear with eight-degree temperatures... And then for daytime on Thursday an overcast sky with fifteen degrees in the morning

Caption 9, 14, Grand Lille TV Prévisions Météo (Juin)

 Play Caption

Un ciel dégagé est plus agréable qu’un ciel nuageux.

A clear sky is more pleasant than a cloudy sky.

In any case, not everyone is as fond of gray skies as Sophie and Patrice. Most would agree with the speaker in the video below, who describes gray skies as maussade (gloomy) and pluvieux (rainy):

Malheureusement avec un ciel maussade et un peu pluvieux...

Unfortunately under a gloomy and somewhat rainy sky...

Caption 15, Lionel Le club de foot de Nancy - Part 1

 Play Caption

Sometimes the sky is bleak and pale instead of gray, and when it comes to describing pale skies, who does it better than renowned poet Charles Baudelaire? In his poem "À une passante" (To a Passersby), Baudelaire depicts a bleak sky with the adjective livide, which means “pale” or even “deathly pale." (Unlike its English cognate, the French livide does not mean “livid/angry.")

Dans son œil, ciel livide où germe l'ouragan

From her eye, pale sky where a hurricane grows

Caption 41, Le saviez-vous? "À une passante" de Charles Baudelaire

 Play Caption

Still on a bleak note, singer Zaz portrays the sky in an even gloomier way:

Je mettrais du ciel en misère

I would put some sky in misery

Caption 9, Zaz Si

 Play Caption

In yet another sad song, singer Lesieur laments over un ciel sans avenir (a sky without a future), projecting even sadder feelings, a sense of hopelessness into a sky that refuses to rain:

Un ciel qui vous oublie... -Un ciel sans avenir

A sky that's forgetting you... -A sky with no future

Caption 26, Lesieur Des Ricochets

 Play Caption

Thankfully, le ciel does not always spell gloom. What could be a happier sight than un arc-en-ciel (a rainbow, literally an “arc-in-the-sky”)? In his humorous song, Oldelaf sings the praises of the colors of the rainbow in his own unique way:

Et j'avoue que j'aime aussi / Toutes les couleurs de l'arc-en-ciel / Le rouge, le jaune, le vert-de-gris / Le pourpre, le mauve, même le bleu ciel

And I'll admit that I also like / All the colors of the rainbow / Red, yellow, verdigris / Purple, mauve, even sky blue

Captions 30-33, Oldelaf J'aime les bêtes

 Play Caption

If un arc-en-ciel is close to a heavenly sight, le ciel is most certainly heavenly. It's synonymous with “heaven” when talking about the afterlife:

...et que le roi est leur meilleur guide sur terre en attendant d'aller au ciel.

...and that the king is their best guide on earth while they wait to go to heaven.

Captions 45-46, d'Art d'Art Vitraux de la Sainte-Chapelle

 Play Caption

Whatever you may see or choose to see in le ciel, you are now armed with extra vocabulary that will enable you to better paint the sky in words—French words, of course—or just talk about the weather. Thank you for gazing at le ciel (the sky) or les cieux (the skies) with Yabla!