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🇫🇷 French Level A1

At the police station in French

You're at a police station in France (a “commissariat”), at the front desk. Listen to the officer (Brigadier Durand), then choose how to reply — tap an answer to hear its pronunciation and see its translation, then confirm. What you pick changes what he says. Open “Vocabulary” for the words (or “Explore the scene”) and tap “🗣️ On the street” for the real language.

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At the police station — French

What you'll learn here

Key words

porter plainte por-TE plant
to file a complaint
“Porter plainte” = to file an official complaint, which can trigger an investigation. You do it at the “commissariat” (national police, in towns) or the “gendarmerie” (rural areas). Note: there's also “une main courante” — a simple record of the facts, with no investigation; it's not the same as a complaint.
volé vo-LE
stolen
The most natural way to say “something was stolen from me” is “On m'a volé...” (literally: someone stole from me...). “Volé” = stolen; “voler” = to steal. Watch the agreement: “mon sac a été volé” (the bag was stolen). Don't confuse with “voler” = to fly — it's the same verb!
le portefeuille lö por-tö-FÖY
the wallet
“Le portefeuille” = the wallet (for notes, cards, IDs). Don't confuse it with “le porte-monnaie” = a small coin purse. “Le sac (à main)” = the (hand)bag. And “le portable” = the mobile phone, also often stolen.
le vol lö vol
the theft
Watch out, a homonym! “Le vol” = the theft, BUT also the flight (airplane). Context makes it clear: “déclarer un vol” = to report a theft; “le vol Paris–Nice” = the Paris–Nice flight. Both come from the verb “voler” (to steal / to fly). “Un vol à la tire” = pickpocketing.
les objets trouvés le-zob-ZHE tru-VE
lost and found
“Les objets trouvés” (or “le bureau des objets trouvés”) = the office where lost items handed in end up. In Paris it's run by the police prefecture. If you LOST something (not stolen), you check there; if it was STOLEN, you file a complaint. In an emergency: 17 (police) or 112 (the Europe-wide number).

How locals really say it

Not the textbook version — the real language you hear in French.

“Bonjour, c'est pour quoi ?” — Hello, what's it about?
“Allez-y, je vous écoute.” — Go ahead, I'm listening.
“C'est bien un vol, hein, pas un truc perdu ?” — It really is a theft, right, not just something lost?
“On vous a pris quoi, au juste ?” — What did they take, exactly?

Dialogue (excerpt)

A taste of the conversation — play the rest in the app.

Brigadier Durand
Bonjour, bienvenue au commissariat. Je suis le brigadier Durand. Qu'est-ce qui vous amène ?
Hello, welcome to the police station. I'm Brigadier Durand. What brings you in?
Brigadier Durand
Je vous écoute, ne vous inquiétez pas. Que s'est-il passé ?
I'm listening, don't worry. What happened?
You
Bonjour. Je voudrais porter plainte.
Hello. I'd like to file a complaint.
Brigadier Durand
Donc on vous a volé quelque chose. C'est un vol, pas une perte ?
So something was stolen from you. It's a theft, not a loss?
Brigadier Durand
Qu'est-ce qu'on vous a volé exactement ?
What exactly was stolen from you?
You
On m'a volé mon portefeuille.
My wallet was stolen.

…continues in the app →

🎵 This scene also has a song: Le Récépissé du Brigadier

Step into the scene now

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