je ne parle que français
To say "I only speak french" in French, use je ne parle que français.
This phrase is used to inform others that French is the only language the speaker can communicate in.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to "I do not speak except French". It uses the ne… que construction to express the idea of "only".
Is it said differently in some regions?
The addition of the word Ici at the beginning, as in Ici, je ne parle que français, is used to mean "Here, I only speak French".
How does it change in a sentence?
In this specific construction, the word que functions as a restrictive particle meaning "only" rather than acting as the conjunction "that".
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid saying je ne parle seulement français. While English speakers may try to use seulement to mean "only", using the ne… que construction sounds much more natural in this context.
Did you know?
- If a speaker says je ne parle que français in a sarcastic tone, it can be a way of refusing to acknowledge someone's presence or request.
- In casual spoken French, the ne in je ne parle que français is almost always dropped, leaving only je parle que français.
- While français refers to the language here, it is only capitalized when referring to a person, such as un Français.
Examples in context
- Je ne parle que français et anglais.I only speak French and English.This sentence is useful for demonstrating how to add another language to the phrase using je ne parle que français.Tatoeba #10689633 by AutoBot, translation #10674501 by CK
- Désolé, je ne parle que français.Sorry, I only speak French.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
