Have you ever tried to make a phone call and panicked when the other person’s voicemail came on? Here’s a guide on how to master leaving voicemails in French.
Leaving a message can feel intimidating for some, especially if it’s doing it in a foreign language. And this obviously depends on who you’re trying to get in touch with.
This guide will focus on more formal situations, or when you don’t know the person well and are asking them for something or need their help.
The simplest structure to follow is: greeting, who you are, why you are calling/what you need the person to do, goodbye.
The courtesies are important so begin your message with a greeting – easy phrases to start the message are either bonjour or bonsoir (hello or good evening).
Say who you are
There are a few ways you can introduce yourself after the first greeting.
C’est [your name] – It’s [your name]
Je m’appelle… – My name is…
If you’re calling from a company you can also add ‘de‘ plus the company name eg C’est Emma de Rolls Royce
Say why you’re calling
Je vous appelle au sujet de… – I’m calling about….
Je vous appelle pour… – I’m calling to…
C’est pour … – It’s for …
Ask them to call back
Pouvez-vous me rappeler s’il vous plaît ? – Can you call me back?
Merci de me rappeler au... – Please call me back at this number…
Make sure to recite the number French style – meaning in pairs – and don’t hesitate to repeat it a second time.
So for example the phone number 06 12 34 56 78 would be zero-six, douze, trente-quatre, cinquante-six, soixante-dix-huit.
Ending
Merci, au revoir – Thank you, goodbye
Bonne journée – Have a nice day
Bonne fin de journée – Have a good rest of day
Bonne soirée – Have a good evening
A full message could look something like this:
Bonjour, je m’appelle [name]. Je vous appelle au sujet de notre rendez-vous. Pouvez-vous me rappeler sur ce numéro s’il vous plaît ? Merci et au revoir. – Hi, my name is … I’m calling you in regards to our appointment. Can you please call me back on this number? Thank you, goodbye.
