tu es tellement belle
The English phrase "you're so beautiful" is translated into French as tu es tellement belle.
This phrase is a compliment used to tell a woman or girl that she is very attractive. You might also use variations to express different nuances of beauty, such as Tu es vraiment belle (You are truly beautiful), Tu es une vraie beauté (You're a true beauty) or Tu es d'une beauté renversante (You're breathtakingly beautiful). If you want to say someone looks charming, use Tu es vraiment ravissante (You are truly charming) or if you want to say someone looks very hot, you can say Tu es vraiment canon. For a more intense way to say someone is stunning, you can use Vous êtes sublime.
What does it mean word for word?
The word tellement literally translates to "so much" and is used here as an intensifier for the adjective.
Which one should you use?
While tellement is very common in spoken French to mean "so", the word si can also be used in tu es si belle to express the same intensity, though si is slightly more formal or literary. In very informal speech, you may hear T'es trop belle ! to mean "You're so beautiful!"
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase tu es tellement belle uses the feminine adjective belle to agree with a female subject. To say "you are so beautiful" to a man, change the adjective to the masculine form beau (tu es tellement beau).
Did you know?
- The adjective ravissante comes from the verb ravir, which can mean both 'to delight' and 'to seize by force'.
- The pronoun tu is a cognate of the German du and the Russian ты, reflecting a shared Proto-Indo-European root for the singular 'you'.
- In very casual spoken French, you might hear the phrase shortened to T'es trop belle !, where trop actually means 'too much' but is used to mean 'so'.
Examples in context
- Tu es tellement belle dans cette robe !You're so beautiful in that dress.This sentence is useful for showing how to use tu es tellement belle in a compliment regarding clothing.Tatoeba #1711397 by sacredceltic, translation #1689895 by Spamster
- Sarah, tu es vraiment belle ce soir.Sarah, you are truly beautiful tonight.
- Mon amie Laura, t'es trop belle dans cette robe.My friend Laura, you're so beautiful in that dress.
- Marie, tu es d'une beauté renversante. Tout le monde en est émerveillé.Marie, you're breathtakingly beautiful. Everyone is amazed by you.
- Tu es tellement belle aujourd'hui.You are so beautiful today.
- Regarde-toi, tu es tellement belle !Look at yourself, you're so beautiful!
Example conversation
Hugo compliments Chloé while they are walking in a park.
- ChloéMerci, c'est très gentil.Thank you, that's very kind.
- HugoNon, je le pense vraiment, tu es tellement belle.No, I really mean it, you're so beautiful.
- ChloéTu me fais rougir, Hugo.You're making me blush, Hugo.
- HugoC'est parce que c'est la vérité.It's because it's the truth.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries tellement, tu, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
