Speaking French
How to describe something in French when you don't know the word
If you are in the chair right now
Je ne sais pas comment ça s'appelle, mais ça sert à serrer des vis.
I don't know what it's called, but it's used for tightening screws.
If that gets brushed off
C'est un truc en métal, à peu près grand comme ça.
It's a metal thing, about this big.
«Ça sert à» plus a verb is the master key: name the function and the noun becomes optional. And «truc» is not defeat — it is what French speakers themselves say, dozens of times a day.
Sooner or later you need an object whose name you do not know in any language — the thing for the thing. Phrasebooks cannot help, because the whole point is that the word is missing. What helps is a pattern, and French happens to have an excellent one.
If you need more than one line
neutral
Ça sert à ouvrir les boîtes de conserve.
It's for opening tins. Ça sert à + infinitive — function first, always.
neutral
C'est comme une cuillère, mais plus plat.
It's like a spoon, but flatter. Comparison is the second tool when function needs help.
neutral
C'est un truc pour nettoyer les vitres.
It's a thing for cleaning windows. Un truc pour — the everyday scaffold French hangs missing nouns on.
firmest
Comment ça s'appelle en français ?
What's it called in French? Ask once they've guessed it — the word you fought for is the one you keep.
Two things worth knowing
This is a skill, not a vocabulary list, which is why almost nobody teaches it.
Function beats appearance
«Ça sert à ouvrir les bouteilles» finds the corkscrew faster than any description of its shape, because the listener searches their shelves by use, not by looks. Lead with what it does, add size and material only when asked — which is also exactly the order the shopkeeper's questions will arrive in.
Truc, machin, bidule — the legitimate vocabulary of missing words
French has an entire register for objects it cannot name, and native speakers use it constantly: un truc, un machin, un bidule. Reaching for «un truc pour…» does not mark you as a learner; it marks you as someone comfortable enough to talk around a gap the way the locals do.
What Louis actually said
What you have to get done
- Explain what the object does
- Answer questions about size and material
- Confirm if they are making the correct thing
Louis
Hello! What tool are you after today?
You
Hello! I'm looking for a tool used for tightening or loosening a part, but I have no idea what it's called.
Louis
I see, a handy tool; is it small or large?
You
It's fairly small, and I'd prefer it in steel, if possible.
Louis
Very well, I'll fetch a small steel tool that tightens and loosens; here, try this one.
You
Thanks, I'll try it… Yes, that's exactly what I need: a small steel spanner for tightening and loosening this part.
Louis
Perfect, it's yours; have a good day!
The whole conversation, unedited
A real run in the app, nothing scripted on the shopkeeper's side. The transcript above is taken from this recording, and the objectives tick off on screen as they are met.
Turn sound on to hear it.
Now say it yourself
Reading that is not the same as producing it with someone waiting, which is the entire difficulty. You can have this exact conversation in the app: Louis is a third of the way through, and you have three things to get done.
It is free, it takes about a minute to start, and the first attempt is allowed to be terrible.
Practise this conversation
