French - Phone Messages

Lesson 139 of 159

Learner on a phone practising French phone messages; lesson focuses on calling and voicemail phrases.

Goal: Calling, holding, and passing on messages

Free French lessons with guided practice, audio, and speaking support.

A quick, friendly lesson about short phone phrases you can actually use. We'll practice common ways to say why you called, ask someone to hold, and confirm or pass messages.

Level A2: In this lesson you will practice handy phone phrases: say why you're calling, ask when someone will be back, ask someone to hold, check the connection, report poor line quality, and confirm or pass on messages. This CEFR-aligned pack is focused on realistic short lines for everyday phone messages—straightforward and useful.

After this lesson you'll be able to:

  • Learn useful phone phrases for calls and voicemail (A2).
  • Practice saying and recognizing nine common message-related sentences.
  • Be able to hold a short phone exchange, check the line, and pass on a message.
A friendly office phone scene showing a caller and a colleague passing a message; supports phone messages practice in French.

Ready? Let's go!

When you tap play on phrases, we track your progress through this lesson.

1. Reading + Listening Practice

Hear core phrases, repeat aloud.

J'appelle à propos de ___.

I'm calling about ___.

Meaning: I'm calling about ___.

When to use: Use this phrase to state the reason for your call (appointment, delivery, bill, etc.).

J'appelle à propos de ma réservation.
I'm calling about my reservation.
J'appelle à propos de la facture impayée.
I'm calling about the unpaid bill.

Quand est-ce que ___ sera de retour ?

When will ___ be back?

Meaning: When will ___ be back?

When to use: Ask this when you want to know when a person (a colleague, delivery person, or manager) will return.

Quand est-ce que le responsable sera de retour ?
When will the manager be back?
Quand est-ce que le livreur sera de retour ?
When will the delivery person be back?

Restez en ligne un instant, s'il vous plaît.

Please hold for a moment.

Meaning: Please hold for a moment.

When to use: Use this polite request to ask the caller to wait on the line while you check something.

Restez en ligne un instant, s'il vous plaît.
Please hold for a moment.
Restez en ligne un instant, je vérifie.
Please hold for a moment, I'll check.

Tu m'entends ?

Can you hear me?

Meaning: Can you hear me?

When to use: Say this to check if the other person can hear you clearly during a call.

Tip: Beginners sometimes use the informal 'tu' when the situation needs 'vous' (Vous m'entendez ?).

Tu m'entends ?
Can you hear me?
Tu m'entends bien maintenant ?
Can you hear me well now?

La ligne est mauvaise.

The line is bad.

Meaning: The line is bad.

When to use: Use this to say the phone connection is poor or audio is breaking up.

La ligne est mauvaise.
The line is bad.
Désolé, la ligne est mauvaise, je n'entends pas bien.
Sorry, the line is bad, I can't hear well.

J'ai raté ton appel.

I missed your call.

Meaning: I missed your call.

When to use: Send or say this after you were unable to answer someone's call and you want to explain.

Tip: Some learners mix 'raté' with 'manqué'—'J'ai raté ton appel' is the natural colloquial form.

Désolé, j'ai raté ton appel ce matin.
Sorry, I missed your call this morning.
J'ai raté ton appel — je te rappelle tout de suite.
I missed your call — I'll call you right back.

J'ai bien eu ton message.

I got your message.

Meaning: I got your message.

When to use: Use this to confirm you received a voicemail, text, or passed-on message.

J'ai bien eu ton message, merci.
I got your message, thanks.
Oui, j'ai bien eu ton message hier soir.
Yes, I got your message last night.

Je vais passer le message à ___.

I'll give ___ the message.

Meaning: I'll give ___ the message.

When to use: Say this when you promise to pass a caller's message to someone else.

Je vais passer le message à Marie.
I'll give the message to Marie.
Je vais passer le message à votre collègue ce matin.
I'll pass the message to your colleague this morning.

Veuillez laisser un message après le bip.

Please leave a message after the beep.

Meaning: Please leave a message after the beep.

When to use: Use this formal prompt on voicemail systems or when instructing callers to record a message.

Tip: Learners sometimes drop 'après le bip' and say only 'Laissez un message'—the full phrase is clearer on voicemail.

Veuillez laisser un message après le bip.
Please leave a message after the beep.
Nous sommes absents. Veuillez laisser un message après le bip.
We are away. Please leave a message after the beep.

2. Conversational Listening Practice

Hear phrases in a real mini-conversation.

A short phone exchange about a delivery and passing a message.

Two colleagues on a short French phone call; the scene illustrates holding, checking the line, and passing messages.

What is the caller asking about?

Portrait of Anna in a French lesson dialogue

Anna

Bonjour, j'appelle à propos de la livraison.

Hello, I'm calling about the delivery.

Portrait of David in a French lesson dialogue

David

Restez en ligne un instant, s'il vous plaît.

Please hold for a moment.

Portrait of Anna in a French lesson dialogue

Anna

Tu m'entends ? La ligne est mauvaise.

Can you hear me? The line is bad.

Portrait of David in a French lesson dialogue

David

Oui, maintenant. Quand est-ce que le livreur sera de retour ?

Yes, now. When will the delivery person be back?

Portrait of Anna in a French lesson dialogue

Anna

Je ne sais pas. J'ai bien eu ton message.

I don't know. I got your message.

Portrait of David in a French lesson dialogue

David

D'accord. Je vais passer le message à Marie.

Okay. I'll give the message to Marie.

3. Guided Practice

Quizzes and matching to lock in meaning.

Which French phrase means 'Please hold for a moment'?

How do you say 'I missed your call' in French?

Which phrase asks 'When will the manager be back?'

Which phrase would you hear on a voicemail telling you to leave a message?

The recorded message says: 'Please leave a message after the beep.'

The recorded message says: '___'.

After you couldn't answer, you text: 'I missed your call.' to explain what happened.

After you couldn't answer, you text: '___' to explain what happened.

If the connection keeps cutting out, you can say: 'Can you hear me?' to check if they hear you.

If the connection keeps cutting out, you can say: '___' to check if they hear you.

Match the core phrases

Match the extra phrases

4. Speaking Practice

Say phrases yourself (mic/recording).

Recording stays on your device only. Check speech uses your browser's speech tools when available.

Say this phrase out loud:

J'appelle à propos de ___.

I'm calling about ___.

Say this phrase out loud:

Quand est-ce que ___ sera de retour ?

When will ___ be back?

Say this phrase out loud:

Restez en ligne un instant, s'il vous plaît.

Please hold for a moment.

Say this phrase out loud:

Tu m'entends ?

Can you hear me?

Say this phrase out loud:

La ligne est mauvaise.

The line is bad.

Say this phrase out loud:

J'ai raté ton appel.

I missed your call.

Say this phrase out loud:

J'ai bien eu ton message.

I got your message.

Say this phrase out loud:

Je vais passer le message à ___.

I'll give ___ the message.

Say this phrase out loud:

Veuillez laisser un message après le bip.

Please leave a message after the beep.