Latest / Learn French with Fexingo / French at the Dentist - Basic Phrases
Transcript
- Lucas: Hey, welcome back to Learn French with Fexingo! I'm Lucas. Luna: And I'm Luna. Ready for another bite-sized French lesson? Lucas: Let's get into it. Today we're talking about something everyone dreads — a trip to the dentist. Luna: Oh no. I'm already nervous. But okay, let's do this. What's the first phrase? Lucas: First, if you have a toothache, you say: j'ai mal aux dents. Say it with me: j'ai mal aux dents. Luna: J'ai mal aux dents. Lucas: Perfect. That means 'I have a toothache.' Literally, 'I have pain in the teeth.' Let's break it down: j'ai means 'I have', mal means 'pain', aux dents means 'in the teeth'. Luna: J'ai mal aux dents. So if I say it to a dentist, they'll know what's wrong. Lucas: Exactly. Now, when you're at the dentist, they might ask you to open your mouth. In French: ouvrez la bouche. Luna: Ouvrez la bouche. That sounds formal, right? With the 'vous' form? Lucas: Good catch. Yes, ouvrez is the formal or plural command. If it's a child or a friend, you can say ouvre la bouche. But for the dentist, ouvrez is fine. Let's practice: ouvrez la bouche. Luna: Ouvrez la bouche. Lucas: Great. Now, if something hurts, you can say: ça fait mal. That means 'that hurts' or 'it hurts'. Luna: Ça fait mal. Lucas: Yes. You can also say c'est douloureux, which means 'it's painful.' That's a bit more formal. Let's try both. Repeat after me: ça fait mal. Luna: Ça fait mal. Lucas: And c'est douloureux. Luna: C'est douloureux. I like ça fait mal better — it's simpler. Lucas: Totally. Now, a key word you might hear is la carie, which means 'cavity'. Luna: La carie. So if I hear 'vous avez une carie', I know I have a cavity. Lucas: Exactly. Let's put it all together in a mini dialogue. Imagine you're at the dentist. You say: Bonjour docteur, j'ai mal aux dents. Luna: Bonjour docteur, j'ai mal aux dents. Lucas: The dentist says: Ouvrez la bouche, s'il vous plaît. Luna: Ouvrez la bouche, s'il vous plaît. Lucas: Then they poke a bit and you say: Aie, ça fait mal! Luna: Aie, ça fait mal! That's useful. Lucas: And they might say: Vous avez une carie. C'est douloureux. Luna: Vous avez une carie. C'est douloureux. So I'd need a filling. Lucas: Right. Let's practice the whole dialogue once more. I'll be the dentist, you be the patient. Luna: Okay. Lucas: Bonjour, j'ai mal aux dents. Luna: Bonjour docteur, j'ai mal aux dents. Lucas: Ouvrez la bouche, s'il vous plaît. Luna: Ouvrez la bouche, s'il vous plaît. Lucas: Vous avez une carie. C'est douloureux? Luna: Oui, ça fait mal! Lucas: Excellent. You handled that like a pro. Now, you know, we make these episodes because we love helping people like you learn French in real situations. Luna: Yeah, and if Fexingo has been helping you make progress with your French, you can support the show at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Every little bit helps keep these episodes ad-free. Lucas: Seriously, a couple of dollars a month genuinely makes a difference — it's what keeps us going. So if you've gotten something out of these lessons, consider it. Luna: Now, before we go, let's do a quick recap. We learned: j'ai mal aux dents, ouvrez la bouche, ça fait mal, c'est douloureux, and la carie. Lucas: Repeat after me one more time: j'ai mal aux dents. Luna: J'ai mal aux dents. Lucas: Ouvrez la bouche. Luna: Ouvrez la bouche. Lucas: Ça fait mal. Luna: Ça fait mal. Lucas: And la carie. Luna: La carie. Lucas: Perfect. Practice these until next time, and keep brushing — in French, that's se brosser les dents. Maybe we'll cover that in a future episode. Luna: Ooh, I'd love that. See you next time! Lucas: À bientôt!