va-t'en, s'il te plaît
In French, "please go away" is expressed as va-t'en, s'il te plaît.
This phrase is used to request that someone leave the current location.
Which one should you use?
The default form va-t'en, s'il te plaît uses the informal 'tu' form and should only be used with friends, family or children. For more formal or polite situations, you might use variants such as Prière de vous en aller. or Voudriez-vous bien partir, s'il vous plaît? In a familiar context, one might also use the variant S'il te plaît, va-t-en. or the slightly different J'apprécierais que tu t'en ailles, s'il te plaît.
Did you know?
- If you want to be extremely dismissive, you can replace va-t'en with the phrase Va te faire voir!, which is the French equivalent of telling someone to 'get lost'.
- The phrase va-t'en is reflexive, meaning the person is linguistically 'going themselves away' to emphasize their removal from the space.
- The phrase va-t'en contains a hidden 't' that is not a pronoun for 'you', but a phonetic bridge required by French grammar to link the verb 'va' and the pronoun 'en'.
Examples in context
- Va-t'en, s'il te plaît, je veux être seul.Please go away, I want to be alone.
- Va-t'en, s'il te plaît, tu m'agaces.Please go away, you are annoying me.
- Je suis fatigué, va-t'en, s'il te plaît.I am tired, please go away.
Example conversation
Nathan is trying to study, but Léa keeps talking to him.
- NathanLéa, je ne peux pas me concentrer.Léa, I cannot concentrate.
- LéaJe veux juste discuter un peu.I just want to chat a little.
- NathanVa-t'en, s'il te plaît, j'ai du travail.Please go away, I have work to do.
- LéaD'accord, je te laisse tranquille.Okay, I will leave you alone.
