Making Plans in French: From Ça te dit ? to On décale ?

Textbooks hand you « Voulez-vous aller au cinéma avec moi ? » — a sentence no French person has texted since the invention of the phone. Real plans run on ça te dit, on pourrait and a volley of short messages. Here’s the full toolkit, from first invitation to last-minute rescue.

Inviting: ça te dit ?

The all-purpose friendly invitation is ça te dit de + infinitive — literally “does that say anything to you?”, really “fancy it?”.

• Ça te dit d’aller au ciné ? — fancy going to the cinema? Note the elision: de becomes d’ before a vowel.
• Ça vous dit ? — how about it? (to a group, or to anyone you vouvoie)
• Ça te dirait de venir samedi ? — the conditional dirait softens it even further

No inversion, no est-ce que, no stress. Your tone does the work.

Suggesting: on pourrait… et si on allait… ?

• On pourrait se faire un resto. — we could do a restaurant. Se faire + noun is gloriously spoken French.
• Et si on allait voir un film ? — how about a film? After et si, French uses the imparfait: allait, never va.
• Pourquoi pas jeudi ? — why not Thursday?

One trap while you’re at it: assister à un concert means to attend it, not to help backstage. To help someone is aider. File it under false friends and move on.

Saying yes like you mean it

A flat oui sounds like you’re doing them a favour. Pick something warmer:

• Avec plaisir ! — with pleasure; warm and safe everywhere
• Carrément ! — totally! the enthusiastic yes you’ll hear constantly
• Je suis partant. — I’m in; a woman says je suis partante
• Volontiers. — gladly; a touch more polished
• Ça marche. — that works; the phrase that seals a plan

Declining without killing the friendship

The French polite no has three parts: soften, give a reason, offer a next time.

• Ça ne va pas être possible. — that’s not going to work; neutral and blame-free
• J’aurais bien aimé, mais je travaille. — I’d have loved to, but I’m working
• Une autre fois, peut-être ? — another time, maybe? Add it only if you mean it — the French remember.

Pinning down the where and when

• On se retrouve où ? — where shall we meet? Se retrouver is the verb for meeting people you already know.
• On se retrouve à quelle heure ? — what time are we meeting?
• On dit 19 h devant le cinéma ? — shall we say 7 pm outside the cinema?
• Ça me va. — works for me

Planning a cinema night: a real exchange

— Ça te dit d’aller au ciné vendredi soir ?
— Carrément ! Il y a quoi en ce moment ?
— On pourrait voir la comédie qui vient de sortir. La séance est à 20 h 15.
— Parfait. On se retrouve où ?
— Devant le cinéma à 20 h ? On prend les billets sur place.
— Ça marche. Si je suis en retard, je t’envoie un message.

Notice the machinery: an invitation (ça te dit), a suggestion (on pourrait), the two fixing questions, and ça marche to close. Six lines, plan made.

By text: late, moving, cancelling

French plans are confirmed — and wobbled — by message. The survival kit:

• Je suis en retard, désolé ! — I’m late, sorry (désolée from a woman)
• Je suis à la bourre. — running late; casual and very common
• On décale ? — shall we push it back? Décaler is the verb of the rescued plan: on décale à 21 h ?
• Je dois annuler, pardon. — I have to cancel, sorry
• On se rattrape bientôt ? — shall we make up for it soon?

Real French texts compress hard — decode slt and dsl with French text speak before Friday night.

FAQ

Can I use ça te dit with people I vouvoie?

Yes — just switch the pronoun: ça vous dit de déjeuner ? works perfectly with colleagues. The conditional ça vous dirait is smoother still.

Does assister à ever mean to assist?

No. Assister à = to attend (a film, a match, a meeting); helping someone is aider. It’s a classic among the French false friends — English speakers offer help, French speakers just take a seat.

Why do the French write 20 h 15 instead of 8.15 pm?

Anything written — timetables, cinema listings, texts — runs on the 24-hour clock. Get quick at converting with telling the time in French.

Quick practice