French · Real conversations
Ask someone to repeat naturally in French
You can request a repeat, identify the part you missed, or ask for slower delivery. Explain the listening problem rather than implying the speaker's information is wrong.
Three ways to say it
Pardon, tu pourrais répéter ?
Sorry, could you say that again?
A polite general repeat request when you missed the whole message.
Je n'ai pas entendu la dernière partie.
I didn't catch the last part.
Identify the last part as the part you did not hear clearly.
Tu pourrais le dire un peu plus lentement ?
Could you say it a little more slowly?
Ask for a slower version when hearing the same speed again would not help.
Avoid translating word by word
In English, 'I didn't catch that' means you did not hear or understand it; 'catch' does not refer to grabbing something. The examples use a natural hearing or understanding expression for that situation.
See the difference in context
Hearing the time of a meeting
La réunion commence à neuf heures et demie.
The meeting starts at half past nine.
Pardon, tu pourrais répéter ?
Sorry, could you say that again?
Missing the last part of directions
On se retrouve à la gare, à côté du guichet.
We meet at the station, beside the ticket office.
Je n'ai pas entendu la dernière partie.
I didn't catch the last part.
Your turn
Ask the person to say the message a little more slowly. Make the listening adjustment specific.
Reveal a sample reply
Tu pourrais le dire un peu plus lentement ?
Could you say it a little more slowly?
This speaking goal in other languages
A note on speaking French
Use vous with strangers, staff, and people you address formally; use tu when that relationship is established. Je voudrais and pourriez-vous can make a request considerate. The most appropriate choice depends on the person and the situation.
Keep accents and apostrophes. A familiar spoken expression may differ from its literal English translation. Read the complete line, including the pronoun and the words that connect the request.
