parler de
The English phrase "speak about" is translated into French as parler de.
How does it change in a sentence?
The preposition de must be used even if the English equivalent is "about" or "of". Note that when de is followed by the masculine definite article le, they contract to form du. Similarly, when de is followed by the plural definite article les, they contract to form des.
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use parler sur as a literal translation of "speak on", but you should use parler de instead.
Did you know?
- The word parler is a cognate of the English 'parley', which refers to a discussion or conference, often between enemies.
- French has a specific expression parler pour ne rien dire, which literally means to 'speak about nothing' but is used to describe someone who talks a lot without saying anything meaningful.
- In French, if you use parler de to describe a conversation that is essentially gossip, you might hear the slang term causer, which specifically implies a more informal or idle chat.
Examples in context
- Tu ne devrais pas parler des autres derrière leurs dos.You should not speak about others behind their backs.Tatoeba #11133947 by Aiji, translation #27094 by ToxicFriu
- J'espère que j'aurai le courage de parler de mes sentiments.I hope I'll have the courage to speak about my feelings.Tatoeba #8413001 by Aiji, translation #2845879 by AlanF_US
- Hum ! Je ne veux pas parler de ce sujet maintenant !Humph! I don't want to speak about this now.Tatoeba #1046947 by Bruno, translation #1214889 by eadbannon
- Nous allons parler de la situation actuelle.We are going to speak about the current situation.
- Il est temps de parler de notre stratégie future.It is time to speak about our future strategy.
- Nous devons discuter de nos préoccupations principales.We need to speak about our main concerns.
- Le conseil d'administration va discuter de la proposition.The board of directors is going to speak about the proposal.
- On peut parler de nos vacances maintenant ?Can we speak about our holidays now?
- Hier, nous avons parlé de films pendant des heures.Yesterday, we spoke about movies for hours.
- Les deux amis causent souvent de leurs passe-temps préférés.The two friends often speak about their favorite hobbies.
- J'ai besoin de te parler au sujet de la réunion.I need to speak to you about the meeting.
- On devrait parler de ça plus tard.We should speak about that later.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Léa and Lucas are sitting in a cafe discussing their plans.
- LéaLucas, est-ce qu'on peut parler de notre voyage ?Lucas, can we speak about our trip?
- LucasOui, bien sûr, de quoi veux-tu parler ?Yes, of course, what do you want to speak about?
- LéaJe veux parler de l'hôtel que nous avons choisi.I want to speak about the hotel we chose.
- LucasD'accord, parlons-en maintenant.Okay, let's speak about it now.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
