【Etiquette】After learning French for so long, you should know French social etiquette

Today, the general characteristics of French social customs can be summed up in the following sentences: French friends are very straightforward and mostly cheerful; Humorous and funny, especially good at communicating; It is taboo to ask personal matters, and secrets are never told to others. The French are gentle, warm and humorous, and they have a habit of shrugging their shoulders to express their pleasure. When they talk to people, they like to stand close to each other, thinking that this makes them seem cordial. The French are very talkative and good at talking. But he never touches on vulgar topics, and has a great contempt for vulgar and obscene behavior. Avoid topics like personal issues, politics, and money.

 Etiquette of being invited

It is rare to be invited to someone's house as a guest, when you go to the invitation, send flowers to the hostess, the number of flowers must be singular (7 is the best, but don't send 13 Oh, 13 is an unlucky number in France), be sure to unpack before sending flowers, and don't send carnations, for some people, carnations can bring bad luck, and don't give chrysanthemums, this kind of flower is placed on the tombstone of a loved one on Halloween, so it symbolizes death. Small gifts such as chocolates can also be given. Upon arrival, the host will invite you to the main house, but will not show you the whole house, the French do not like to show their house to others. On the subject of timing, the French are generally very tolerant of tardiness, but people living in the north and east of France are more punctual than southerners, and it is normal for southerners to be 10 to 15 minutes late.

 Dining etiquette

The French are very particular about etiquette, generally with a long dining table, the male and female hosts sit at both ends of the table, other members of the family or guests on both sides of the table according to the direction of decreasing importance from the hostess side to the side of the male host, the tableware uses a variety of different shapes of knives, forks and spoons, dining plates, there can only be one dish on the table, remove the previous one to go to the second course, but the tableware is placed on both sides of the diner's dinner plate according to the dining situation, and is used from the outside to the inside. Generally, the first course is an appetizer soup, followed by a cold dish, followed by a main course, and finally a dessert. Liqueur is served before the meal, with dry white wine for aquatic and poultry dishes, and dry red wine for meat dishes.

It is rude to point a knife at someone while speaking, and you can't hold any food with your hands, but you can hold bread with your hands, and you can only tear it with your hands, you can't cut it with a knife. You can only take one piece of bread at a time, and then take another piece after eating one piece. Throughout the meal, the French eat bread, but they don't wipe the dishes with bread.

 Of particular note:

Regarding drinking, the French will drink water while drinking, and drinking is only a small sip so as not to affect the conversation. If it is not invited by the host, please do not pour your own wine, and do not get drunk!