FlexiLingoIn one line
Public announcements use fixed wording — once you know the template, you only have to catch the numbers and place names.
Station and airport announcements
| French | Meaning | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
Mesdames et messieurs, votre attention s'il vous plaît. | ladies and gentlemen, your attention please | /me.dam e me.sjø votʁ a.tɑ̃.sjɔ̃ sil vu plɛ/ |
Le train à destination de Lyon… | the train to Lyon | /lə tʁɛ̃ a dɛs.ti.na.sjɔ̃ də ljɔ̃/ |
…en provenance de Marseille… | …from Marseille | /ɑ̃ pʁov.nɑ̃s də maʁ.sɛj/ |
…entrera en gare voie 5. | …will arrive at platform 5 | /ɑ̃.tʁə.ʁa ɑ̃ ɡaʁ vwa sɛ̃k/ |
…partira à 14h30. | …will depart at 14:30 | /paʁ.ti.ʁa a ka.tɔʁ.z‿œʁ tʁɑ̃t/ |
Le train a un retard de vingt minutes. | the train is twenty minutes late | /lə tʁɛ̃ a œ̃ ʁə.taʁ də vɛ̃ mi.nyt/ |
Le train est supprimé. | the train is cancelled | /lə tʁɛ̃ ɛ sy.pʁi.me/ |
Éloignez-vous de la bordure du quai. | stand back from the platform edge | /e.lwa.ɲe.vu də la bɔʁ.dyʁ dy ke/ |
L'embarquement pour le vol AF 1234 commence porte B12. | boarding for flight AF 1234 begins at gate B12 | /lɑ̃.baʁ.kə.mɑ̃ puʁ lə vɔl a.ɛf mil dø.sɑ̃ tʁɑ̃t.katʁ kɔ.mɑ̃s pɔʁt be duz/ |
Dernier appel pour les passagers… | last call for passengers | /dɛʁ.njeʁ a.pɛl puʁ le pa.sa.ʒe/ |
Merci de vous présenter à la porte 12. | please proceed to gate 12 | /mɛʁ.si də vu pʁe.zɑ̃.te a la pɔʁt duz/ |
à destination deanden provenance deare the key pair — one is the destination, the other the origin. The exam question is almost always about this.English says "the train to Lyon" and "the train from Marseille" — two tiny words. French uses two long phrases that sound nothing like each other, which is actually helpful once you know them:
destination= to,provenance= from.
Telephone recordings
| French | Meaning | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
Vous êtes bien chez… | you have reached | /vu.z‿ɛt bjɛ̃ ʃe/ |
Nous ne sommes pas disponibles pour le moment. | we are not available at the moment | /nu nə sɔm pa dis.po.nibl puʁ lə mo.mɑ̃/ |
Laissez votre message après le bip. | leave your message after the tone | /lɛ.se votʁ mɛ.saʒ a.pʁɛ lə bip/ |
Nous vous rappellerons dès que possible. | we will call you back as soon as possible | /nu vu ʁa.pɛl.ʁɔ̃ dɛ kə pɔ.sibl/ |
Le numéro que vous demandez n'est plus attribué. | the number you have dialled is no longer in service | /lə ny.me.ʁo kə vu də.mɑ̃.de nɛ ply.z‿a.tʁi.by.e/ |
Veuillez patienter, nous allons donner suite à votre appel. | please hold, your call will be answered | /vœ.je pa.sjɑ̃.te nu.z‿a.lɔ̃ dɔ.ne sɥi.t‿a votʁ a.pɛl/ |
Toutes nos lignes sont occupées. | all our lines are busy | /tut no liɲ sɔ̃.t‿ɔ.ky.pe/ |
Pour le service client, tapez 1. | for customer service, press 1 | /puʁ lə sɛʁ.vis kli.ɑ̃ ta.pe.z‿œ̃/ |
A voicemail left by a person
This is the most frequent A2 listening text — and it has a fixed structure:
| Step | French | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| who | Bonjour, c'est Marie. | /bɔ̃.ʒuʁ sɛ ma.ʁi/ |
| why | Je t'appelle au sujet de samedi. | /ʒə ta.pɛl o sy.ʒɛ də sam.di/ |
| the news | En fait, je ne peux pas venir. | /ɑ̃ fɛ ʒə nə pø pa və.niʁ/ |
| the reason | Parce que j'ai un empêchement. | /paʁs.kə ʒe œ̃.n‿ɑ̃.pɛʃ.mɑ̃/ |
| a proposal | On pourrait se voir dimanche ? | /ɔ̃ pu.ʁɛ sə vwaʁ di.mɑ̃ʃ/ |
| a request | Rappelle-moi quand tu peux. | /ʁa.pɛl.mwa kɑ̃ ty pø/ |
| closing | À bientôt, bisous. | /a bjɛ̃.to bi.zu/ |
The exam question usually comes from steps three and five: what the news was, and what was proposed.
Shop and public-place announcements
| French | Meaning | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
Le magasin fermera ses portes dans dix minutes. | the shop will close in ten minutes | /lə ma.ɡa.zɛ̃ fɛʁ.mə.ʁa se pɔʁt dɑ̃ di mi.nyt/ |
Nous vous rappelons que… | we remind you that | /nu vu ʁa.plɔ̃ kə/ |
Une promotion exceptionnelle au rayon… | a special offer in the … department | /yn pʁo.mo.sjɔ̃ ɛk.sɛp.sjɔ.nɛl o ʁɛ.jɔ̃/ |
Merci de votre visite. | thank you for your visit | /mɛʁ.si də votʁ vi.zit/ |
Il est interdit de fumer. | smoking is not permitted | /il ɛ.t‿ɛ̃.tɛʁ.di də fy.me/ |
En cas d'urgence, appelez le… | in an emergency, call | /ɑ̃ ka dyʁ.ʒɑ̃s a.ple lə/ |
Sortie de secours | emergency exit | /sɔʁ.ti də sə.kuʁ/ |
Radio reports — weather and traffic
| French | Meaning | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
Voici la météo pour demain. | here is tomorrow's forecast | /vwa.si la me.te.o puʁ də.mɛ̃/ |
Le temps sera nuageux dans le nord. | it will be cloudy in the north | /lə tɑ̃ sə.ʁa ny.a.ʒø dɑ̃ lə nɔʁ/ |
Des averses sont prévues. | showers are expected | /de.z‿a.vɛʁs sɔ̃ pʁe.vy/ |
Les températures seront comprises entre 5 et 12 degrés. | temperatures between 5 and 12 degrees | /le tɑ̃.pe.ʁa.tyʁ sə.ʁɔ̃ kɔ̃.pʁizz ɑ̃tʁ sɛ̃k e duz də.ɡʁe/ |
Attention aux embouteillages sur l'A6. | watch out for congestion on the A6 | /a.tɑ̃.sjɔ̃ o.z‿ɑ̃.bu.tɛ.jaʒ syʁ la sis/ |
La circulation est difficile. | traffic is heavy | /la siʁ.ky.la.sjɔ̃ ɛ di.fi.sil/ |
Un accident bloque la voie de droite. | an accident is blocking the right-hand lane | /œ̃.n‿ak.si.dɑ̃ blok la vwa də dʁwat/ |
What is usually asked
| Text | What is usually asked |
|---|---|
| station announcement | platform number, time, destination, length of delay |
| voicemail | why they called, what they proposed, when |
| shop announcement | closing time, which department has the offer |
| weather report | which region, what weather, what temperature |
| automated message | which button, which number |
Traps
| Trap | Explanation |
|---|---|
à destination de ≠ en provenance de | Destination against origin. Confusing them inverts the answer. |
supprimé means cancelled, retardé means delayed | Two completely different pieces of news. |
Vous êtes bien chez… means the number is right | Not that anybody is there. |
| Catch the number before the unit | voie cinq — the number comes after voie. |
dans dix minutes is future | il y a dix minutes is past. |
empêchement means something came up | J'ai un empêchement = something has come up. |
| Announcements use the simple future | partira, entrera, fermera — not the present. |
The fourth row is worth practising. English says "platform five", "gate B12" — with the number where you expect it. French says
voie cinq,porte B12— noun first, number second. If you are listening for a number at the start of the phrase, you will already have passed the wordvoieand may not register which number belongs to what.
Why announcements are easier than conversation
and how to take advantage of it
A recorded announcement has three features that work in your favour:
| Feature | Why it helps |
|---|---|
| slow and deliberate | syllables are fully pronounced |
| fixed wording | there are only a few templates |
ne is not dropped | it is formal language |
So if you memorise the templates, you effectively only have to catch the variables:
Le train à destination de [city] partira à [time] voie [number].
Three blanks: city, time, platform. The rest of the sentence is constant.
An effective drill: instead of listening to the whole sentence, aim your attention at those three points. After a few attempts your mind fills in the template automatically and listens only for the variables.
And a numerical point: in announcements the time is always given on the 24-hour clock:
quatorze heures trente= 14:30
Not deux heures et demie. So you need to recognise numbers above twelve quickly — see chiffres-a-loreille.
This is a strategy you already use in English without noticing. In a British or Canadian station you do not parse "the next train to arrive at platform four is the delayed 10:42 service to…" word by word — you listen for the platform, the time and the destination and ignore the rest. Do exactly that in French, and learn the fixed parts once so they stop competing for attention.