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A2 French Culture Lesson

The French Greeting Kiss (La Bise)

La bise

5:29 min video · 20 sentences · 5 key words

Transcript with English

Hide the English to test yourself.
  1. Tom arrive à Paris pour travailler.Tom arrives in Paris to work.
  2. Léa lui fait la bise.Léa gives him the bise.
  3. Tom est très surpris.Tom is very surprised.
  4. La bise, c’est un baiser sur la joue.La bise is a kiss on the cheek.
  5. On fait la bise à ses amis.We give la bise to our friends.
  6. On la fait aussi à la famille.We also do it with family.
  7. Souvent, on se dit bonjour avec la bise.Often, people say hello with la bise.
  8. Au travail, on la fait parfois aussi.At work, people sometimes do it too.
  9. Combien de bises faut-il faire ?How many bises do you need to give?
  10. À Paris, on fait deux bises.In Paris, we give two bises.
  11. Dans le Sud, on en fait parfois trois.In the South, people sometimes give three.
  12. Ça change selon les régions.It changes depending on the region.
  13. Hier, Tom est allé à une fête.Yesterday, Tom went to a party.
  14. Il a voulu faire la bise.He wanted to give la bise.
  15. Mais il a tourné la tête du mauvais côté !But he turned his head the wrong way!
  16. On commence souvent par la joue droite.People often start with the right cheek.
  17. Aujourd’hui, la bise est moins fréquente.Today, la bise is less common.
  18. Pendant le Covid, les gens ont arrêté.During Covid, people stopped.
  19. Avec un inconnu, on serre la main.With a stranger, you shake hands.
  20. Tu as déjà fait la bise ?Have you ever given la bise?

About this lesson

This lesson explains la bise, the French custom of greeting with kisses on the cheek, and how it works today.

How to practise

  1. Read what you will learn on the first card, then follow the lesson section by section with English.
  2. Repeat every sentence out loud in the À toi · Your turn pause: you learn the facts and the words together.
  3. At the end, check the recap and answer the question in the YouTube comments.

La bise

The French Greeting Kiss

In this lesson

  • What la bise is
  • Who people give it to
  • How many kisses by region
  • When to shake hands instead

Key takeaways

  • La bise is a kiss on the cheek to say hello.
  • Friends and family do it most.
  • The number of kisses changes by region.
  • With strangers, people shake hands.

Your turn: How do people greet each other in your country?

Key words

FrenchEnglishLevel
la bisegreeting kiss on the cheek
la jouethe cheek
un inconnua stranger
le Sudthe South
une fêtea party

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