tu es si jolie
In French, "you're so pretty" is expressed as tu es si jolie.
This phrase is a compliment used to tell a woman or girl that she is very attractive.
What does it mean word for word?
The word si in this context functions as an intensifier meaning so or very.
Which one should you use?
The form tu es si jolie is used for a single female subject. If you are speaking to someone you do not know well, or to a group of women, you should use vous êtes si jolie or vous êtes si jolies.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase tu es si jolie uses the feminine form of the adjective jolie to match a female subject. To vary the intensity of the compliment, you can use tellement for so, vraiment for really or trop for too.
Did you know?
- In modern colloquial French, using trop instead of si to say 'you are too pretty' actually functions as a high compliment rather than a criticism.
- While jolie is used for being 'pretty', French speakers use belle for a more profound or classic beauty. This creates a specific cultural distinction between 'cute' and 'beautiful' that does not exist with a single word.
- The pronoun tu shares the same Proto-Indo-European root as the English word 'thou', which was the standard informal singular pronoun in English until the early modern period.
Examples in context
- Tu es tellement belle.You are so beautiful.
- Vous êtes vraiment jolie.You are really pretty.
- Mademoiselle, vous êtes d'une grande beauté.Miss, you are of great beauty.
- T'es trop belle.You're too beautiful.
- Tu es vraiment canon.You're really hot.
- Waouh, t'es vraiment magnifique !Wow, you're really stunning!
- T'es ben belleYou're very beautiful.
- Tu es si jolie avec ce chapeau.You're so pretty with this hat.
- Regarde-toi, tu es si jolie ce soir.Look at yourself, you're so pretty tonight.
- Je voulais te dire que tu es si jolie.I wanted to tell you that you're so pretty.
Example conversation
Lucas is complimenting Manon before a party.
- LucasManon, tu es si jolie ce soir !Manon, you're so pretty tonight!
- ManonC'est gentil, merci Lucas.That's kind, thank you Lucas.
- LucasC'est la vérité, tu rayonnes.It's the truth, you're glowing.
- ManonTu me fais rougir !You're making me blush!
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries si, tu, CC BY-SA 4.0.
