Is Emily in Paris good for learning French?

It is useful in a limited way. Most of the dialogue is in English, so it is poor listening practice, but the French scenes are short, clear and built around everyday situations — shops, cafés, greetings. Treat it as a phrasebook with a plot rather than an immersion tool.

Why do the French characters find Emily rude?

Mostly because she skips bonjour. In France, entering a shop, bakery or small business without saying bonjour first reads as genuinely impolite, regardless of how friendly the rest of your sentence is. The show exaggerates the reaction, but the underlying rule is real.

What should you actually say when entering a French bakery?

Bonjour first, always. Then your order with a conditional and s'il vous plaît: Bonjour, je voudrais une baguette, s'il vous plaît. Finish with merci, au revoir, bonne journée. That sequence will get you treated well anywhere in France.

Do French people really say 'oh là là'?

Yes, constantly — but not romantically. It expresses surprise, exasperation or dismay, closer to 'oh dear' or 'for goodness' sake'. The seductive version used in English-language films does not exist in French.

Learn French with Emily in Paris: What's Real and What Isn't

Let's be honest about what this show is. As listening practice it is weak — most of the dialogue is in English. But the French scenes are short, slow and built entirely around situations you will genuinely be in: a bakery, a café, a first day at work. And the show is unexpectedly good at one thing, mostly by accident: it demonstrates French politeness rules by having Emily break every single one.

🎬 The bakery scene — and the rule Emily forgets.

The rule the whole show turns on: say bonjour

This is not a nicety. In France, walking into a bakery, a pharmacy or any small shop and launching straight into your request — however politely worded — reads as rude. Bonjour is the entry ticket. Skip it and the temperature drops before you have finished your sentence.

The full sequence, which works everywhere in France:

Bonjour (or bonsoir after around 6 pm)
Je voudrais…, s'il vous plaît.
Merci. Au revoir, bonne journée !

Je voudrais — conditional — not je veux. "I want" sounds like a demand to a French ear. This one substitution changes how people treat you more than any amount of vocabulary.

Phrases from the show worth keeping

Bonjour, je voudrais un pain au chocolat, s'il vous plaît.
C'est combien ? — How much is it?
Je ne comprends pas, vous pouvez répéter ? — I don't understand, can you repeat?
Excusez-moi de vous déranger. — Sorry to bother you.
Ce n'est pas possible ! — That's not on / no way.
Oh là là… — surprise or dismay. Never seduction.

What to ignore

The idea that Parisians are hostile to foreigners. They are reserved with strangers and warm once you have made the ritual gesture — which is largely what bonjour is.
The workplace French. Real French office language is far more formal: vous by default, Cordialement at the end of emails, and considerably less kissing.
The pronunciation of English-speaking characters. Do not model your accent on it.

The tu / vous question the show fudges

Emily is on first-name, casual terms with people who would realistically address her as vous for months. The safe rule for you: use vous with anyone you have just met, anyone serving you, and anyone at work, and wait to be offered tu — on peut se tutoyer ? The offer usually comes from the older or more senior person. Getting this wrong is the most common social slip learners make; there is more on it in formal vs informal French.

How to use the show properly

Watch it for fun in English if you like — but when a French scene starts, rewind it, put on French subtitles, and shadow the two or three lines that are actually useful. Ten seconds of genuine bakery French repeated aloud beats an episode watched passively. For proper listening material, move to Dix pour cent or Family Business, where the French is real and continuous.

Practise this on your own

Reading about everyday Paris French is the easy half — you only own it once you've produced it yourself. On parisly.app you can work through this material at your own pace — reading, listening, writing and speaking practice with feedback, so the vocabulary in this lesson turns into French you can actually use.

Going to Paris for real? Load up on metro vocabulary, pharmacy phrases and supermarket vocabulary first. To rehearse these exchanges out loud before you go, book a first lesson.