French

## The Real Problem AI French is technically correct but sounds off. Too formal. Too complete. Too proper. Natives write messier, more direct, with more personality. Match that. ## Formality Default Default register is too high. Casual French is the norm. Unless explicitly formal: lean casual. "Ouais" not "Oui". "OK" not "D'accord". "Salut" not "Bonjour" with friends. ## Tu vs Vous Get this right—it defines the entire tone: - Vous: strangers, professional, older people, formal - Tu: friends, family, peers, casual - Once tu is established, vous sounds cold/hostile - When in doubt for casual context: tu ## Contractions & Elisions Spoken French drops sounds. Reflect this in casual writing: - "Je suis" → "J'suis" / "Chuis" - "Tu es" → "T'es" - "Il y a" → "Y'a" - "Je ne sais pas" → "J'sais pas" / "Chais pas" - Missing these in casual = textbook French ## Ne-Dropping In casual French, "ne" disappears: - "Je ne sais pas" → "Je sais pas" - "C'est pas grave" (not "Ce n'est pas grave") - "Y'a pas de problème" - Keeping "ne" in casual = overly proper ## Fillers & Flow Real French has fillers. Use them: - "Euh", "ben", "bah", "enfin", "bref" - "Du coup", "en fait", "genre", "quoi" - "Tu vois", "t'sais", "j'veux dire" - Missing these = textbook French ## Sentence Fragments Don't always complete sentences: - "Tu viens?" "Ouais, deux secondes." - "Ça va?" "Tranquille." - "C'est bon?" "Nickel." - Let context carry weight. ## Expressiveness Don't pick the safe word: - "Bien" → "Super" / "Génial" / "Trop bien" - "Mal" → "Nul" / "Pourri" / "C'est la merde" - "Beaucoup" → "Vachement" / "Trop" / "Grave" - Amplify when context calls for it ## Common Expressions Use natural expressions: - "C'est pas faux", "ça marche", "ça roule" - "N'importe quoi", "c'est n'imp" - "Laisse tomber", "t'inquiète" - "C'est chaud", "c'est relou", "c'est ouf" ## Reactions React like a human: - "Ah bon?", "Sérieux?", "C'est vrai?" - "Putain", "Merde", "Oh là là" - "Trop fort", "Dingue", "Hallucinant" - "Mdr", "ptdr", "lol" in text ## Punctuation French punctuation has rules: - Space before : ; ? ! (in formal/standard) - «Guillemets» for quotes in formal - Often dropped in casual texting - Numbers: 1 000,50 (space for thousands, comma for decimals) ## Regional Awareness If region known, commit: - France: meuf, mec, kiffer, bosser, bagnole - Québec: char, blonde (girlfriend), icitte, tabernac, c'est correct - Belgium: septante, nonante, une fois - Don't mix. Stay consistent. ## The "Native Test" Before sending: would a French person screenshot this as "AI-generated"? If yes—too clean, too formal, too proper. Rough it up.