content de te voir
The English phrase 'good to see you' is translated into French as content de te voir.
This phrase is a friendly greeting used when meeting someone you already know.
What does it mean word for word?
Literally, content de te voir means 'happy to see you'.
Which one should you use?
The form content de te voir is used with friends, family or peers, whereas content de vous voir is used for formal situations.
How does it change in a sentence?
If the speaker is female, the adjective changes from content to contente to say contente de te voir. To use this phrase with someone you address formally or with a group of people, replace te with vous, resulting in content de vous voir. Other variations include Heureux de vous retrouver (happy to see you again) and Content de vous revoir (glad to see you again).
Did you know?
- In France, saying content de te voir is often accompanied by 'la bise', the custom of kissing people on both cheeks.
- The adjective content is derived from the Latin contentus, which literally meant 'contained' or 'held together'.
- The word voir shares an ancient ancestor with the English word 'wit', which relates to knowledge and seeing. This connection exists because, in many ancient languages, 'knowing' something was conceptually linked to 'seeing' it.
Examples in context
- Content de te voir, salut !Good to see you, hi!
- Ah, content de te voir enfin !Ah, good to see you at last!
Example conversation
Manon and Gabriel run into each other at a cafe.
- ManonGabriel ! Je suis content de te voir !Gabriel! I'm glad to see you!
- GabrielMoi aussi, Manon. Comment ça va ?Me too, Manon. How is it going?
- ManonTrès bien, merci. Et toi ?Very well, thanks. And you?
- GabrielÇa va super, merci.I'm doing great, thanks.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries content, de, te, voir, CC BY-SA 4.0.
