Learn French expressions that are used in English

Voila is a pretty common French word that is becoming more popular to use in English. It literally means "behold" or "look there". This word is mainly used to grab someone's attention. Often times chefs will use it to indicate that a task is finished.

Example: "Just add the spices into the mixture, and voila!"

Caution: Do not spell it vwala or wala (waalaa!?) Also, do not confuse it with viola, which is a musical instrument.

Tout de suite means "right away". Often used to indicate urgency.

Example: Meet me on the 2nd floor tout de suite.

Caution: Do not spell it "toot sweet", which is what some people hear and thus write it that way.

Je ne sais quoi is an expression that isn't used that frequently, but it can still pop up sometimes. In French, it literally means "I don't know what" which relates to the English meaning "indescribable quality" or "certain something". Use this expression to indicate that an object/idea has a certain quality to it that you can't quite put in words.

Example: That film has a je ne sais quoi about it that I like.

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