j'attends de vos nouvelles avec impatience
The English phrase "I am looking forward to hearing from you" is expressed in French as j'attends de vos nouvelles avec impatience.
This phrase is used to express that you are eager to receive a reply. It conveys a higher degree of eagerness or excitement than the standard English "I look forward to hearing from you".
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase j'attends de vos nouvelles avec impatience literally translates to "I await news from you with impatience".
Which one should you use?
While j'attends de vos nouvelles avec impatience emphasizes excitement, the phrase dans l'attente de vous lire is a more formal and standard way to end professional correspondence, meaning "awaiting reading you".
How does it change in a sentence?
When speaking to someone you know well or use tu with, you should replace the possessive adjective vos with tes, resulting in j'attends de tes nouvelles avec impatience.
Did you know?
- French has no single word for the English 'looking forward to', so it must describe the internal feeling of 'impatience' or the act of 'awaiting'.
- In English, 'impatience' often carries a negative or rude connotation, but in the French phrase j'attends de vos nouvelles avec impatience, it is a standard way to express polite eagerness.
- Historically, avec replaced an older Old French word for 'with' called od, which can still be found in some Normandy dialects today.
Example conversation
Chloé sends a professional email to Lucas about a project.
- ChloéBonjour Lucas, j'ai terminé le dossier.Hello Lucas, I have finished the file.
- LucasMerci Chloé, je vais le lire ce soir.Thank you Chloé, I will read it tonight.
- ChloéParfait, j'attends de vos nouvelles avec impatience.Perfect, I look forward to hearing from you.
- LucasJe vous répondrai demain matin.I will answer you tomorrow morning.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries avec, de, impatience, vos, CC BY-SA 4.0.
