service
/sɛʁ.vis/masculine
The French word for 'service' is service.
The noun service refers to the act of being of assistance to someone. If you wish to express the action of serving or being of use, you should use the verb servir. To perform maintenance, use the verb maintenir.
Meaning: act of being of assistance to someone (noun)
Which one should you use?
While service is the noun used to describe the act of assistance, servir is the specific verb used to express the action of serving.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Quebec French, the phrase for customer service, service à la clientèle, is often abbreviated as SAC.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun service is masculine. This means it is used with the masculine indefinite article un (as in un service) or the masculine definite article le.
How do you pronounce it?
The word has two syllables and is pronounced /sɛʁ.vis/.
When do people say it?
The phrase À votre service is a polite way to respond to a thank you, functioning much like saying 'You're welcome' or 'Happy to help' in English.
Did you know?
- A service can refer to a full set of matching tableware, such as a service à thé for tea or a service à café for coffee.
- The word service comes from the Latin servitium, which is derived from servus, meaning 'slave'.
- The expression rendre service literally means 'to render service' and is the standard way to say 'to do a favor' in French.
Examples in context
- À votre service !Always at service!This sentence shows how to use service in a polite response.Tatoeba #7499542 by Micsmithel, translation #810877 by BraveSentry
- À votre service !At your service!Tatoeba #12264122 by Orange, translation #12264121 by Orange
- Je suis à ton service.I'm at your service.This sentence shows how to use service when expressing being at someone's disposal.Tatoeba #5565850 by sacredceltic, translation #2267196 by _undertoad
- Je vous remercie pour votre service de qualité.Thank you for your quality service.
- Nous vous garantissons une prestation de haut niveau.We guarantee you a high-level service.
- Je suis spécialiste du service à la clientèle.I am a customer service specialist.
- 95 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucas is at a restaurant and is talking to Manon, who is a waitress.
- LucasLe service est très rapide ici.The service is very fast here.
- ManonMerci, nous essayons d'être efficaces.Thank you, we try to be efficient.
- LucasEst-ce que le service est compris ?Is the service included?
- ManonOui, le service est inclus dans le prix.Yes, the service is included in the price.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “service” translations and entries service, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries service, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
