French Social Codes
Like Duolingo, but for French Social Codes. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
For the part of you with thirty open tabs that never became anything.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in French Social Codes
- Entering a French shop requires acknowledging the staff's humanity with a verbal greeting
- French social norms treat 'Bonjour' as a mandatory 'unlock' for any service request
- Silence upon entry is interpreted as treating the staff like an invisible service machine
- Starting with a request like 'Je voudrais...' without a greeting is seen as a major faux pas
- A second 'Bonjour' implies you have 'mal réveillé' or forgotten the first encounter
- Applying 'Bonjour' as a mandatory social prerequisite before any transaction
- Repeating the greeting suggests the previous interaction didn't register in your memory
- French interactions require a formal closing sequence to maintain social harmony
- Understanding the human-to-human recognition required when entering a shop
- The 'Merci, au revoir' loop is as mandatory as the initial 'Bonjour' greeting
- Closing the social loop of a French interaction correctly
- French politeness favors a soft, direct greeting intended only for the recipient
- Shouting a greeting across a room is viewed as a jarring 'American' style of behavior
- Judging the appropriate volume and direction for a polite French greeting
- Bread is placed directly on the tablecloth to the left of the plate
- French hospitality dictates that a guest should never be rushed to leave
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives French Social Codes the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
You are at a café counter. What is the necessary first step before you can successfully order your espresso?
Get it right to open this lesson and 11 more in the app.
Where French Social Codes takes you
Move beyond basic phrases and master the unwritten rules of French etiquette to avoid common social friction and connect like a local.
- 1
The Social Contract
- The 'Bonjour' Prerequisite
- Dining Without Faux Pas
- 2
The Local Mindset
- The Logic of 'Non'
- The Tu vs. Vous Tightrope
2 sections · 4 units · 12 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
You pick the voice
French Social Codes is taught in the The Professor style: clear, structured, thorough. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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Start French Social Codes today.
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