She and her family were moving to Russia for three years for a job opportunity. One of my good friends in France asked me to create an invitation (in French) for her going away party. STORYTIME: My confused French friends and the French invitationĭespite being an abbreviation for a French phrase, RSVP, has fallen out of fashion in France, considered old-fashioned- but I didn’t know that when I first moved to France.
I found out the hard way that, although it’s customary to respond to an invitation in France, no one uses the acronym “RSVP” on invitations despite it being a French acronym. “REPLY IF IT PLEASES YOU,” but idiomatically, it means “PLEASE REPLY.” RSVP is an abbreviation of the phrase “ Répondez, S’il Vous Plaît
Like so many English words, RSVP is a French word (in this case an abbreviation of a French phrase), adopted into the English language. And you probably already know that you’re supposed to respond and let the host or hostess know whether or not you can accept their invitation. If you’re reading this, you speak English, and most likely, you’re accustomed to seeing the phrase “RSVP” on birthday party invitations or wedding invitations. Here’s everything you need to know, its meaning in French and English, its origins, how to use it and my embarrassing story. I was curious to learn why RSVP, a French abbreviation, isn’t used in France.
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