Which one should you use?
pardon ? is a common, slightly informal way to ask someone to repeat themselves. For a more formal and polite approach, you can use the full phrase Pardonnez-moi ? In very informal situations, you might hear Comment ? used to mean 'What?' or 'How?' when you didn't catch what was said.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
pardon ? is considered slightly informal. For more formal settings, use the more polite Pardonnez-moi ? If you want to say 'excuse me' to get someone's attention or to apologize, you would use Excusez-moi in formal situations or Excuse-moi in informal contexts.
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use Excusez-moi to ask someone to repeat themselves. However, in French, Excusez-moi is primarily used to get someone's attention or to apologize. To ask for repetition, you should use pardon ? instead.
Did you know?
- The word pardon originates from the Old French verb pardonner, which originally referred to the act of granting a release from a sin or a debt.
- In France, saying pardon after bumping into someone in a crowd is the standard way to acknowledge the contact, whereas excusez-moi implies you are asking for permission to pass through.
- If you use a rising intonation with pardon ? in a way that sounds too sharp, it can be perceived as an indignant 'What did you say?!' rather than a polite request to repeat.
Example conversation
Hugo and Manon are talking in a noisy cafe.
- HugoLe café est très bon.The coffee is very good.
- ManonPardon ?Excuse me?
- HugoJ'ai dit que le café est bon.I said that the coffee is good.
- ManonAh, d'accord, merci Hugo.Ah, okay, thank you Hugo.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries pardon, CC BY-SA 4.0.
