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Where will you keep the butter?

Cognac-paris-perfect-vacation-rental-balcony-and-Eiffel-viewA private French class at Darty, one of the biggest appliance stores in Paris


Click to listen to the French lesson!

Many people dream of owning a small pied-à-terre in Paris. A small and charming apartment with a view of the Eiffel Tower where every morning you can sip coffee and eat fresh bread smothered with butter and jam while listening to your favorite French music on repeat. It is easy to dream, but sometimes a little more complicated in real life. How will you make your coffee? Well, you’ll need a coffeemaker. Where will you keep the butter and jam? You will need a refrigerator. And what will you play the music on? You may need a stereo.

To help your dream move closer to reality, how about a fun French lesson at an appliance store. Darty at Place de la Madeleine in the Paris 8th is the perfect place to go.

You can start the lesson by identifying all the big appliances you will need in your imaginary apartment: check the non exhaustive list below you’ll review with your French tutor in Paris

After you have learned or review all this vocabulary, then focus on one appliance. Suppose you wanted to buy a refrigerator, how do you know which one to choose? First there is the size or height, width, and depth to think about. A ‘réfrigerateur americain’ is a large, double door refrigerator, a ‘refrigerateur bar’ is a very small refrigerator, and the ‘réfrigerateur armoire’ falls in between the two. You may also be concerned about the consommation d’énergie and classe énergétique. This will tell you how much electricity the refrigerator uses. You can even ask for the coût estimé d’utilisation or how much it will cost to run it per year.

Once you have selected which refrigerator you need, then you can move onto purchasing it. Do you want a warranty? How much extra does it cost and what does it cover? Is there an extra charge for delivery or is it free? Will they remove an old fridge the previous owners left: reprise de l’ ancien appareil?

Below are a few questions you may also need to ask while in the store (rehearse with this recorded conversation): 

Bonjour, je voudrais:
Un appareil ménager: an appliance
Un lave linge : a washing machine
Un  lave vaisselle : a dish washer
Un micro ondes:  a microwave
Un four: an oven
La télé: short for a television
Un aspirateur : a vacuum cleaner
Un réfrigirateur ou frigo: a refridgirator or fridge
Une cafetière : a coffee maker
Une chaine hifi : a stereo
-oui, bien sûr, j’ai:
La hauteur: the height
La largeur: the width
La profondeur: depth
-Est-ce que la livraison est gratuite ? Is the delivery free ?
-Reprenez vous l’ancien appareil ? Do you take back the old appliance ?
-Quels sont les termes de la garantie ?  What are the details of the warranty ?

Ready to make that pied-à-terre in Paris happen? Start by booking a series of lessons to learn how to speak about and purchase French appliances, furniture, homeware, house plants, and hardware. Call +33 (0)6 66 10 53 64 or contact us at

Photograph from Paris Perfect.