amuse-toi
In French, the phrase to say 'enjoy yourself' is amuse-toi.
The phrase is used to tell someone to have a good time and have fun. While amuse-toi focuses on the act of being entertained, you might use profite bien if you want to tell someone to enjoy it or make the most of a specific opportunity or experience.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase amuse-toi is a reflexive imperative that literally means 'amuse yourself'.
Which one should you use?
Amuse-toi is used when the focus is on having fun, whereas profite bien is used to tell someone to make the most of a specific opportunity or experience.
How does it change in a sentence?
When speaking to more than one person, or when using the formal 'vous' with a single person, you should use the form amusez-vous. It is also very common to add the adverb bien to the phrase, such as in amuse-toi bien, to make the wish sound more natural and complete.
Did you know?
- The word amuse is related to the Old French muser, which meant 'to loiter' or 'to waste time', suggesting that having fun is a form of productive idling.
- In France, using profite bien to 'enjoy yourself' can sometimes sound slightly greedy if used in the wrong context, as profiter can also mean 'to take advantage of someone'.
- In some French-speaking regions like Quebec, you might hear different ways to express having a good time that rely on different verbs entirely, such as 's'éclater'.
Examples in context
- Amuse-toi bien à la fête, John.Enjoy yourself at the party, John.This sentence shows how to wish someone enjoyment at a specific event using amuse-toi.Tatoeba #399908 by sysko, translation #52842 by CN
- Amuse-toi bien !Enjoy yourself!This is a simple way to say 'Enjoy yourself!' using amuse-toi.Tatoeba #9390 by Archibald, translation #21274 by 100nosewiggles
- Amuse-toi au bal.Enjoy yourself at the ball.This sentence uses amuse-toi to wish someone enjoyment at a ball.Tatoeba #8602642 by Aiji, translation #5404339 by AlanF_US
- Lors de la cérémonie, profitez bien de votre soirée.During the ceremony, enjoy your evening.
- Passez un bon moment à la réunion.Have a good time at the meeting.
- Amuse-toi bien à la soirée!Have fun at the party!
- Amusez-vous bien à la fête de mariage!Enjoy yourselves at the wedding party!
- Profitez bien de vos vacances!Enjoy your vacation!
- Amusez-vous bien à la plage!Have fun at the beach!
- 2 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucas is seeing Chloé off to a concert.
- LucasAmuse-toi bien au concert, Chloé.Have fun at the concert, Chloé.
- ChloéMerci, je vais bien m'amuser !Thanks, I am going to have a great time!
- LucasTu me raconteras tout demain.You will tell me all about it tomorrow.
- ChloéPromis, à demain !I promise, see you tomorrow!
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
