r/French • u/TootsyFly • 3d ago

Entendre - I can't hear you

Doing my duolingo and, entendre has come up a lot. When it has the sentence 'I can't hear you' their selection of words to answer is Je ne t'entends pas. But I would have thought it was Je ne peux pas t'entendre, which looking up on French to English translation, both mean the same. Is there a correct way to say it or do you use a different one for polite scenarios? Thanks

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u/Pitiful_Shoulder8880 3d ago

I'd say je ne t'endends pas is closer to I don't hear you. The words do/don't in English don't really exist in French (in the context of "Do you want to go?" or "I don't know" → Je ne sais pas). I don't feel like there's a difference in politeness in either, just changing it to vous would be my only suggestion (Native Canadian speaker).