How to Ask Someone to Repeat Themselves Politely in French
Learn five polite French phrases for asking someone to say something again, with pronunciation, register guidance and a short dialogue.
By LiamCulture & nuance · Yapr Learn
When you miss part of what someone said in French, the fastest fix is a short, polite request for repetition. This lesson gives you five reliable phrases, from neutral to formal, plus the pronunciation details that make them sound natural. You will practise asking a speaker to repeat their exact words, not to explain them. Keep your tone light and add a smile or a slightly apologetic expression; in French, politeness is carried as much by tone and 's'il vous plaît' as by the words themselves.
By the end, you can…
- ask someone to repeat what they just said in polite, natural French.
- choose between neutral, formal and informal requests for repetition depending on who I am speaking to.
- recognise and respond appropriately when someone asks me to repeat something in French.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
Pouvez-vous répéter, s'il vous plaît ?
Could you repeat that, please?
poo-vay VOO ray-pay-TAY, seel voo pleh
Standard polite form with vous. Safe with strangers, colleagues, shop staff and anyone older than you.
Pourriez-vous répéter, s'il vous plaît ?
Could you possibly repeat that, please?
poo-ree-yay VOO ray-pay-TAY, seel voo pleh
The conditional pourriez-vous softens the request further. Good in formal or service situations.
Excusez-moi, pouvez-vous répéter ?
Excuse me, could you repeat that?
ex-koo-zay MWAH, poo-vay VOO ray-pay-TAY
Opens with an apology to signal that the interruption is yours, not the speaker's fault.
Comment ?
Sorry, what was that?
ko-MAHN
Very common in everyday French. Use a rising, gentle tone; a flat tone can sound abrupt. Avoid with people you have just met or in very formal settings.
Tu peux répéter, s'il te plaît ?
Can you repeat that, please?
tew puh ray-pay-TAY, seel tuh pleh
Informal tu form for friends, family, classmates and children. Do not use it with strangers or in formal contexts.
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
Most polite requests follow a simple frame: a polite opener plus the verb répéter. With vous, say Pouvez-vous répéter ? or the softer Pourriez-vous répéter ? With tu, say Tu peux répéter ? Add s'il vous plaît or s'il te plaît at the end. You can also use the pronoun le to stand in for the missed words: Pouvez-vous le répéter ? means 'Can you repeat it?' This is useful when the thing you missed has already been mentioned.
When to use it
Choose the form by relationship and setting. Use Pouvez-vous répéter, s'il vous plaît ? with strangers, in shops, at work or with anyone you address as vous. Use Pourriez-vous répéter ? when you want extra politeness, for example with a client or an official. Use Tu peux répéter, s'il te plaît ? only with people you already call tu. Comment ? is fine among friends and family, but in formal French it can sound too direct, so prefer Pardon ? or Excusez-moi, pouvez-vous répéter ? instead.
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
Alors, le train pour Lyon part à quatorze heures trente, voie six.
So, the train to Lyon leaves at 2:30 p.m., platform six.a-LOR, luh tran poor lee-ON par a ka-TORZ UHR TRANT, vwah SEESExcusez-moi, pouvez-vous répéter, s'il vous plaît ?
Excuse me, could you repeat that, please?ex-koo-zay MWAH, poo-vay VOO ray-pay-TAY, seel voo plehBien sûr. Le train pour Lyon part à quatorze heures trente, voie six.
Of course. The train to Lyon leaves at 2:30 p.m., platform six.byan SEWR. luh tran poor lee-ON par a ka-TORZ UHR TRANT, vwah SEESMerci beaucoup, c'est plus clair maintenant.
Thank you very much, that is clearer now.mair-SEE bo-KOO, say plew KLAIR man-tuh-NANA little context goes a long way
In France, Belgium and Switzerland, Comment ? is extremely common in casual speech, but it can sound blunt in formal settings; Pardon ? is a safer one-word alternative. In Quebec, Comment ? is also used, but the more formal vous forms remain standard in service encounters. Across all regions, a rising intonation and a brief apologetic expression matter as much as the words.
One thing to watch for
Using Répétez ! on its own as a command, which can sound like an order.
Try this instead: Add a polite frame: Pouvez-vous répéter, s'il vous plaît ? or Pourriez-vous répéter ? The bare imperative Répétez ! is grammatically correct but pragmatically abrupt with strangers.
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1You are speaking to a shop assistant you have never met. Which phrase is most appropriate: Tu peux répéter ? or Pouvez-vous répéter, s'il vous plaît ?
Show a sample answer
Pouvez-vous répéter, s'il vous plaît ?
The vous form and s'il vous plaît match the formal, unfamiliar relationship. Tu peux répéter ? would be too informal here.
2How would you ask a close friend to repeat something, using the informal tu form?
Show a sample answer
Tu peux répéter, s'il te plaît ?
This uses tu and the matching s'il te plaît. Among close friends, Comment ? with a rising tone is also acceptable.
3What does the pronoun le refer to in Pouvez-vous le répéter ?
Show a sample answer
It refers to the words or information you missed, already mentioned in the conversation.
Le replaces the thing to be repeated, so the sentence means 'Can you repeat it?' The same pattern works with la for a feminine noun.
Keep one neutral phrase ready, Pouvez-vous répéter, s'il vous plaît ?, and switch to Pourriez-vous for extra politeness or Tu peux for friends. Tone and a brief apology do the rest.
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