ça s'épelle
To say it is spelled in French, use ça s'épelle. It introduces the letters that make up a word.
ça s'épelle is used before spelling out a word or name letter by letter.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
ça s'épelle is common in spoken French. cela s'épelle is the more formal version, used in writing or very polite speech.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase uses a reflexive construction, which is why s' comes before the verb.
When do people say it?
To ask how something is spelled, people often say Comment ça s'écrit? or Ça s'écrit comment? To ask someone to spell a word, say Tu peux me l'épeler?
Did you know?
- French speakers often use a specific phonetic alphabet for spelling over the phone to avoid confusion. For example, they might use A comme Alice or B comme Berthe instead of just saying the letter.
- Because ça s'épelle is reflexive, it literally translates to 'that spells itself' in a word-for-word sense.
- The word ça in ça s'épelle is a syncopic contraction of cela, which was formed by combining ce and là.
Examples in context
- Comment ça s'écrit le prénom de ton nouveau collègue?How is your new colleague's first name spelled/written?
- Il est épelé comment?How is my last name spelled/written?
- Ça s'épelle C-A-T.It is spelled C-A-T.
- Je ne sais pas comment ça s'épelle.I don't know how it is spelled.
- Est-ce que tu sais comment ça s'épelle ?Do you know how it is spelled?
Example conversation
Hugo is asking Manon how to spell a name in a notebook.
- HugoManon, comment ça s'épelle ?Manon, how is it spelled?
- ManonÇa s'épelle M-A-R-I-E.It is spelled M-A-R-I-E.
- HugoD'accord, merci beaucoup.Okay, thank you very much.
- ManonDe rien, Hugo.You're welcome, Hugo.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ça, CC BY-SA 4.0.
