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Why do French say mercy?
We discover this important little word’s Roman roots and how ‘merci’ can mean thanks or no thanks – A simple ‘merci’ often fits the bill, but if you are writing you might use ‘je vous remercie’ Pic: Nelosa The little word merci dates back to the Romans with a meaning of ‘wages’, then later it meant a favour or ‘mercy’, which made its way into English, and still later ‘thanks’.
You still see the old meaning in expressions like être à la merci de l’orage (at the mercy of the storm) – in which case merci is feminine. As for the ‘thanks’ meaning, in medieval times they would say: ‘ grand merci! ‘ – referring to the ‘great favour’ someone had done you (you can still say ‘ un grand merci ‘).
A simple merci often fits the bill, but if you are writing you might use je vous remercie – I thank you ( remercier is ‘to thank’, not ‘thank again’). This may be followed by de or pour, though it is always de if it is then followed by the full infinitive form of a verb: je vous remercie de m’avoir aidé or je vous remercie pour votre cadeau,
Another formal way of thanking is en vous remerciant You might write it in expressions such as En vous remerciant par avance (thanking you in advance). Merci d’avance is an acceptable, more relaxed alternative. The noun is un merci (‘a thank you’ – referring to the word) or un remerciement (the act of thanking).
A polite response to merci is merci à vous (‘it is I who thank you’). Do not be surprised if someone says merci to refuse the offer of, for example, a drink. It is often short for ‘no thanks’. Merci can sometimes have a sense of ‘please’ in a phrase such as merci de me laisser faire mon travail (please let me get on with my work).
What does Merci literally mean?
French merci (‘thank you’)
What does Merci mean in French language?
Exclamation. thank you. merci beaucoup thank you very much.
Does Merci beaucoup mean?
French phrase mer·ci beau·coup mer-sē-bō-kü : thank you very much.
Is Merci polite?
Good manners are always important for good communication, whatever language it is you’re speaking, and whoever it is you’re addressing. With that in mind, our next French conversation blog looks at those common courtesies that feature in so many of our everyday interactions.
Please In most cases, you would use the phrase s’il vous plaît to say please in French when asking for something, or requesting information: Un café au lait, s’il vous plaît. A coffee with milk, please. S’il vous plaît, où sont les toilettes? Where are the toilets, please? If you want to say yes, please, you would usually use oui, s’il vous plaît,
You could also say oui, merci to mean much the same thing; or, if you wish to be particularly emphatic, you could use oui, volontiers ( with pleasure ). As discussed in the previous blog, vous is the safest pronoun to use when speaking to someone new.
- If you are addressing someone you know well, then you would use s’il te plaît instead.
- Thank you / You’re welcome The most common way to say thank you in French is merci ( thanks ), but there are plenty ways of expressing your gratitude a bit more effusively: Merci beaucoup,
- Thank you very much.
- Merci bien,
Thanks a lot. (This can be said sarcastically too, so use with caution!) Merci mille fois! Thanks a million! (Or, literally, Thanks a thousand times ! Not that anyone’s really counting) A more formal way of saying thank you is Je vous remercie or Je te remercie ( I thank you ) – this isn’t used often in conversational language, but you may want to use this phrase when giving particular thanks to an individual or a group.
One thing worth remembering is that when you are being offered something, you should stipulate oui, merci or non, merci, as merci on its own could mean either Yes, thanks or No, thanks. The usual response to merci is de rien ( You’re welcome – literally, It’s nothing ) or il n’y a pas de quoi, In a more formal context, you could say Je vous en prie or Je t’en prie.
Excuse me / Sorry The phrases excuse me and sorry both have lots of different senses in English, and there are various ways of translating these into French – let’s look at some possible translations and where you might use these phrases: Excusez-moi,
- Excuse me.
- This covers most situations, whether you’re looking to attract someone’s attention, making a polite request, or apologizing. Pardon,
- Pardon / Sorry,
- Usually given as a polite apology or, when used as a question, to ask someone to repeat something they’ve said – if you’re starting to learn French, you’ll use this a lot! Je suis désolé,
I’m sorry. If you’re looking to express regret for something, or offering somebody your sympathies, then you would use this phrase, or you could simply say désolé, Note that in written French, you would add an extra e to désolé if you are a woman, but the pronunciation in spoken French remains the same.
- Je m’excuse.
- Excuse me / I’m sorry.
- This would be used in much the same way as excusez-moi, in the sense of offering an apology.
- However, although it’s relatively widely used by French native speakers, there are many people who would say it’s not correct French –the phrase literally means I excuse myself.
Excusez-moi is a safer term to use, but don’t be surprised if you hear je m’excuse used by French friends in informal conversation. Terms of address As a rule, if you’re addressing a stranger, it’s always most polite to refer to them as monsieur or madame,
Is Merci bien correct?
2. Merci infiniment (mekh-see an-fee-nee-man) – You can combine merci with adverbs such as beaucoup, mille fois, infiniment to form expressions such as merci beaucoup (thank you very much), merci bien (thanks a lot), merci mille fois (thank you a thousand times) and the strongest, merci infiniment translating to “thanks infinitely”.
Do French people actually say merci?
1. Merci – Purpose: Keep it short and simple Context: Formal, informal You’ll hear merci often. While this French word is a common way to say thank you in French that works for just about any audience, it can also come off perfunctory and cold. If you’re trying to express a more profound sense of appreciation, you’ll want to be more specific to the situation.
Can I say merci a vous?
Merci à toi / vous – If someone thanks us, and we want to reciprocate, we would say “no, thank you “. In French, we can drop the “no” and say thank you to you, keeping the emphasis on the last word, just like in English. Here are some examples that specify why we are saying thank you to show the context, however it’s important to note that we can also say merci à toi/merci à vous as a sentence without any explanation.
“Merci de m’avoir aidé à préparer la fête” “Merci à toi de l’avoir organisé” “Thanks for helping me get the party ready” “No, thank you for planning it” “Merci d’être venu à mon anniversaire” “Merci à vous de nous avoir invité” “Thanks for coming to my birthday (party)” “Thank you for inviting us”
Note: It’s important to know the difference between merci à toi (“thank you” ) and je te remercie (“I thank you”). The former is used to reply to another person who said thank you first, while the latter is its own way of saying thanks in the first place.
Do Arabs say merci?
5 Ways to say “thank you” in Persian – 
Reading Time: 3 minutes Salaam ( سلام, hello)! After exploring how to say “thank you” in Spanish and Arabic in our previous posts, this week we bring you 5 culturally meaningful ways to express gratitude in Persian! 1. Sepās-gozāram (سپاسگزارم) Mostly used in formal settings with roots dating back to ancient Persia (before the Arabic influence over the Persian language circa 600s AD), the term Sepās-gozāram (سپاسگزارم) is used to say “I am grateful”.
- Want to impress? Add kheili (خیلی) meaning “very” before sepās-gozāram to emphasize your gratitude.
- In semi-casual settings, you can shorten the phrase to sepās (سپاس).
- Looking for a more colloquial term? You can use the French loan word, Merci – pronounced “mer-see” with a rolled r.
- It is an informal term which is used commonly within Farsi-speaking communities.
As a response, you may hear khahesh mikonam (خواهش میکنم) meaning “you’re welcome”.
How do you respond to salut?
Conclusion – We’ve covered a lot of ways to say hello and goodbye in French in this post! First off, remember to respect the different levels of formality with these French greeting expressions: you will want to pick an expression that matches the situation.
For example, if you are greeting your boss for the first time, you’ll want to say ” bonjour ” instead of ” coucou,” Conversely, if you are saying hi to a friend in the corridor, you can use any greeting but would probably use ” salut,” You’ll also need to use the appropriate expression for the time of day, with specific ways to say good evening in French or good night in French.
We saw that only in Canada is there a literal translation for good morning in French, rather than sticking with ” bonjour ” for the whole day. Finally, you’ll want to consider the context of the conversation and whether you will see that person again on the same day, soon, or ever again.
What does oui mean?
Interjection. yes used to express agreement or consent. Yes, that is true. Yes, you may go.
What is Danke?
September 14, 2022 
Danke is the most common way to express thanks in German. Danke in English is literally Thank you or Thanks. Danke can be used in any type of situation. We can also combine Danke with other words for some alternate expressions, such as Danke schön, or thank you very much. These important words of gratitude sound like this:
| German | English |
|---|---|
| Danke | |
| Thank you | |
| Danke schön | |
| Thank you very much |
Click Purple Words to Play
What does oui merci mean?
Translation of ‘Oui, merci’ in English. Yes, thank you.
What does Merci Boku mean?
Merci beaucoup in American English (meʀˈsi bouˈkuː) interjection. thank you very much.
What Bonjour means?
: good day : good morning.
How do Germans say thanks?
How to say thank you in German
| English | German | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Thanks | Danke | |
| Thank you very much | Vielen Dank | |
| No, thank you | Nein, danke | |
| Okay, thank you | Okay, danke |
How do you say merci in slang?
When Texting – “Mci” – 
Just like English speakers, French people use abbreviations and short versions of words when texting. “Mci” is one of them – and it literally means something like our ” thx. ” It’s the word that you will come across often if you text with someone in French – and it’s simply a short version of “Merci.” Use it with your friends and peers, but remember that “Mci” is informal – and avoid texting it to your boss.
Which language is non merci?
No, thank you – Non, merci – Imagine a situation: you’re buying a croissant in a Parisian boulangerie, and the baker asks whether you want a gâteau or a pain au chocolat as well. You know that the following morning, you would come here as well to try something else, so you want to politely refuse the offer.
Can I say je suis bien?
Comment allez-vous? Je vais bien! J’entends souvent “Je suis bien” qui est la traduction mot à mot de l’anglais “I’m fine”. La réponse “Je suis bien” n’est pas correcte. La réponse correcte est “Je vais bien” ou “Je ne vais pas bien”. Vous pouvez répondre “Je suis bien” si la question est “Est-ce que tu es bien dans ton nouvel appartement?” Oui, j’y suis bien.
What is Bonsoir Merci?
Translation of ‘Merci, bonsoir’ in English. Merci. thank you thanks. bonsoir. good evening hello.
Is je suis tres bien correct?
Je suis très bien – Do not say “je suis très bien” for “I’m doing very well”. To express how you’re doing, use the verb aller (to go). “Je vais très bien” (I’m doing very well). This page covering French greetings covers several ways to say how you’re doing.
What is the difference between mercy and merci?
The word came into early French as mercit or merci with much the same meaning as was later passed on to our Modern English word mercy. But while mercy in English now has the meaning ‘kindness or pity shown to someone,’ the word merci in French has lost much of that meaning and is chiefly used today to mean ‘thank you.’
Is it Merci or mercy in French?
The French word merci means thank you while the English word mercy usually means showing forgiveness or compassion to someone—particularly instead of punishing them.
Why do we say pardon our French?
Intertwining of Languages and Origins of Pardon my French – Thanks to the intertwining of the French (and other languages), with the English languages, English subsequently evolved into a rich and versatile global language. So how did this lead to “pardon my French”? The phrase was originally used in England when someone used a French word, when speaking to someone who may not have had the social standing to understand French.
Due to the vast history of conflict between the French and the English, “pardon my French” soon became a dig at the French! As adversity to the French grew in England, anything regarded as rude or uncouth was dubbed as French, regardless of whether it was or not! Did you know other phrases were used at the time that also took a bash at the French, but have become less commonly used in today’s language.
These include the phrase “to take a French leave”, which means to leave a party impolitely. We should be thanking the French for adding so many interesting and richly historical words to the English language! Why not study French through films? Check out our blog on the ! : The Origin of “Pardon My French”
What’s the difference between mercy and merci beaucoup?
What is difference between “Merci” and “Merci beaucoup”? No. “Merci” means “thanks / thank you” (there’s no difference in French), and “merci beaucoup” means “thank you very much “. “Beaucoup” is an adverb used to express a big quantity or intensity. With “merci beaucoup”, you say that you are very thankful to whom you’re speaking.
