How to welcome guests and offer food or drinks politely in French
Learn beginner-friendly French phrases to welcome someone into your home, invite them to sit down, and politely offer drinks or food using tu and vous appropriately.
By LiamCulture & nuance · Yapr Learn
When someone arrives at your home in France or another French-speaking place, a few set phrases do most of the work. You greet them at the door, invite them in, tell them to relax, and then offer something to drink or eat. This lesson gives you ready-made French sentences for each step, with notes on when to use tu (informal) and vous (formal or plural). It focuses only on you as the host, not on what a guest should say.
By the end, you can…
- welcome someone at the door and invite them inside in French.
- tell a guest to make themselves at home using tu or vous.
- politely offer a drink or something to eat in French.
- ask whether a guest prefers one option or another.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
Bonjour, entrez, je vous en prie.
Hello, come in, please.
bohn-ZHOOR, ahn-TRAY, zhuh voo zahn PREE
Formal or plural welcome at the door. Use vous with an adult you do not know well or with several guests.
Salut, entre, je t'en prie.
Hi, come in, please.
sah-LOO, AHN-truh, zhuh tahn PREE
Informal welcome for one friend or family member. The tu form entre has no final s.
Fais comme chez toi.
Make yourself at home.
fay kohm shay TWAH
Informal, to one person you address as tu. Very common among friends and family.
Faites comme chez vous.
Make yourself at home.
fayt kohm shay VOO
Formal or plural. Use this with a boss, an older person, or more than one guest.
Tu veux boire quelque chose ?
Would you like something to drink?
tew vuh BWAHR kel-kuh SHOHZ
Informal question to one person. In speech, the question is often just rising intonation, with no est-ce que.
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
To offer a choice politely, use Tu veux… ? informally or Vous voulez… ? formally, then name two options with ou (or): Tu veux du thé ou du café ? (Do you want tea or coffee?) Vous voulez de l'eau ou du jus ? (Would you like water or juice?) After vouloir, drinks usually take partitive articles: du for masculine, de la for feminine, de l' before a vowel. So du café, de la limonade, de l'eau.
When to use it
Use tu with friends, close family, children, and people your own age who have invited you to use it. Use vous with strangers, older people, colleagues you do not know well, and any group of two or more people. At the door, Bonjour, entrez, je vous en prie is safe with almost anyone. With a close friend, Salut, entre, je t'en prie sounds warmer. If you are unsure, start with vous; the other person may say on peut se tutoyer (we can use tu with each other).
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
Bonjour Claire, entrez, je vous en prie.
Hello Claire, come in, please.bohn-ZHOOR klehr, ahn-TRAY, zhuh voo zahn PREEMerci beaucoup.
Thank you very much.mehr-SEE boh-KOOFaites comme chez vous. Vous voulez boire quelque chose ?
Make yourself at home. Would you like something to drink?fayt kohm shay VOO. voo voo-LAY BWAHR kel-kuh SHOHZOui, un thé, s'il vous plaît.
Yes, a tea, please.wee, uhn TAY, seel voo PLEHA little context goes a long way
French politeness often relies on set phrases rather than a constant smile. Bonjour is expected when someone enters your home, and skipping it can seem cold. Je vous en prie and s'il vous plaît are standard courtesy formulas. In many families, guests are offered a drink soon after arriving, and refusing once is normal; a host may ask again. Tutoiement (using tu) is common among younger people but not automatic with older acquaintances.
One thing to watch for
Using the informal Fais comme chez toi with everyone, including a new older neighbour or your manager.
Try this instead: Match the form to the relationship. With someone you address as vous, say Faites comme chez vous. The verb changes from fais to faites, and toi becomes vous. If you are unsure, vous is the safer choice.
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1How would you tell a single close friend to make themselves at home?
Show a sample answer
Fais comme chez toi.
This uses the tu imperative fais and the stressed pronoun toi. If you were speaking to an older person or a group, Faites comme chez vous would be correct instead.
2Translate politely for a formal guest: Would you like something to drink?
Show a sample answer
Vous voulez boire quelque chose ?
Vous voulez matches a formal or plural guest. With a friend you could say Tu veux boire quelque chose ? Both are correct; the choice depends on the relationship.
3You want to offer tea or coffee to one friend. What can you say?
Show a sample answer
Tu veux du thé ou du café ?
This offers two options with ou. Du is the partitive article used with masculine drinks. For a formal guest, change to Vous voulez du thé ou du café ?
Welcome with Bonjour, entrez, je vous en prie, relax your guest with Faites comme chez vous or Fais comme chez toi, then offer a drink with Vous voulez… ? or Tu veux… ? Match tu and vous to the person, and you will sound polite and natural.
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